To become an expert skier

Have a good time skiing.

m

Thanks,

Chris

bumpfreaq wrote:



I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing. I

.....

What do any of you all think?

Chris


I find on most of the hills I ski on I am one of the faster skiers. I find
myself waiting for some skiers to get off of a run and when they are near
the end I push off. Sure enough, frequently I find myself having to slow
down at the end to ski around those folks. I have no problems managing most
of the "expert" runs in the areas I frequent and I have skied a
double-black diamond in the past.

But, that double-black diamond was at a nameless ski-pimple and does not
mean I can ski blacks out west or east. In fact, when I was in Colorado I
went no farther than medium blues. At the end of my second day I was
looking to ski something hotter, but my legs (even though they held out
much better than the day before) said no.

See the whole response at:
http://www.wi-ski.com/article.php?st...70311105632539


--
Before Heading to the Hills Head to The Wisconsin Skier:
http://www.wi-ski.com/

I knew all I needed to know about this sick freak last year...but this
is truly laughable.
No balls, no ethics, no morals, an rsa freak to his core.....and such
a laughable arrogance that I'm giggling at his hubris.
THE Wisconsin Skier? And the sick loser can't even ski a Western
black run?
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
He belongs here. Delusional. A pathological liar. Scam artist and
thief. RSA.

On Mar 11, 10:34 am, The Wisconsin Skier wrote:
bumpfreaq wrote:

I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing. I

....

What do any of you all think?

Chris

I find on most of the hills I ski on I am one of the faster skiers. I find
myself waiting for some skiers to get off of a run and when they are near
the end I push off. Sure enough, frequently I find myself having to slow
down at the end to ski around those folks. I have no problems managing most
of the "expert" runs in the areas I frequent and I have skied a
double-black diamond in the past.

But, that double-black diamond was at a nameless ski-pimple and does not
mean I can ski blacks out west or east. In fact, when I was in Colorado I
went no farther than medium blues. At the end of my second day I was
looking to ski something hotter, but my legs (even though they held out
much better than the day before) said no.

See the whole response at:http://www.wi-ski.com/article.php?st...70311105632539

--
Before Heading to the Hills Head to The Wisconsin Skier:http://www.wi-ski.com/

On Mar 10, 6:54 pm, "CBJack" wrote:
On Mar 10, 4:09 pm, "bumpfreaq" wrote:





I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing. I
certainly don't think of myself as an expert but I don't give a second
thought to skiing runs that are "expert only". I expect there are
runs at Jackson Hole,
Squaw Valley, Silverton and others that I would ski away from but I
haven't found any at the places I ski.

I suppose that's one way of assessing expert status but it doesn't
seem especially valid to me so my question is: what qualities
constitute an expert skier?

My goal is to get to a level where I can ski any line on the mountain
in any conditions with grace, speed and precision. If I ever get
there I will proclaim myself an expert.

What do any of you all think?

Chris

When you get to the place where you can ski ANY line on the mountain
with grace, speed and precison you'll be a God.

Good luck your worship.

Holy ****. Gawd Almighty. This freak really believes that skiing
well makes a person worthy of worship.
Of course, he's a decrepit, gutless, nutless pathological liar whose
only relationship with any higher power is swallowing Ex-Lax to get
his daily movement.
CB Jack. Probably stands for Cowardly Bitch Jack. A typical rsa
freak.

Two Buddha

Vail: I've met the Gods, and CB Jack is no God.

On Mar 10, 8:20 pm, "bumpfreaq" wrote:
On Mar 10, 9:01 pm, lal_truckee wrote:

bumpfreaq wrote:

... my question is: what qualities
constitute an expert skier?

An expert skier skis/rides on a "line," instead of only making turns.


My goal is to get to a level where I can ski any line on the mountain
in any conditions with grace, speed and precision. If I ever get
there I will proclaim myself an expert.

Exactly.

I've seen (nearly) the same definition in French as the goal for a skier
(except, you forgot "at all speeds"):

"toute neige, tout terrain, toute vitesse"

Well ya know, I edited that a bit before I posted it. Originally I
wrote "at appropriate speed" because I was thinking that even an
expert skier would check their speed on some lines in some conditions
ie: an icy, steep, densely treed line..... like the one I skied away
from at Crested Butte.

My old timer acquaintance can "line" through the trees without the
obvious turning moves, i.e. he cruises through the trees by ski/ride
on a line.


Maybe if Jack is right and the criteria is unattainable then the
French definition is right on. Do you think it's possible to ski any
line in any condition at any speed?

No, I don't think so; "any" is too strong a requirement and not all
the lines are ski-able; nevertheless, an expert skier can always find
an esthetic line to ski down gracefully.

The higher level skiing is an art; without the technical proficiency,
knowledgeable in its environment, and the philosophical insight to
blend them into a unison perception, skiing may well be just another
idle pastime.

Aim high,
IS


Chris

On Mar 10, 4:09 pm, "bumpfreaq" wrote:
I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing. I
certainly don't think of myself as an expert but I don't give a second
thought to skiing runs that are "expert only". I expect there are
runs at Jackson Hole,
Squaw Valley, Silverton and others that I would ski away from but I
haven't found any at the places I ski.

I suppose that's one way of assessing expert status but it doesn't
seem especially valid to me so my question is: what qualities
constitute an expert skier?

My goal is to get to a level where I can ski any line on the mountain
in any conditions with grace, speed and precision. If I ever get
there I will proclaim myself an expert.

What do any of you all think?

Chris

This reminds me of when I used to have a ski lease in Tahoe City in
the early nineties, and my work buddies and I would drive up for the
weekend, which would usually mean that we'd be out nights at the bars.
Occasionally it would turn out that we'd arrange to go skiing the next
day with people that we'd met, or with a new member of the ski lease,
or a new coworker. The results were sometimes surprising, comical, or
scary.

After a while, my buddies and I came up with a sort of code for the
way people described their skiing ability. If someone was truly a no
limits skier, they'd never offer an assessment of their ability. If
you asked, they'd just say, "I'm okay." The next day, you'd be left
slack jawed while they are launching cornices and ripping up the
bumps. Meanwhile, the guy who called himself an expert can ski nothing
but groomed.

I used to be okay, now I'm just an expert. :-) The names don't
matter, the point is getting out there and doing it, getting better if
you choose to try to, and having fun regardless.

frankenskier wrote:
On Mar 10, 4:09 pm, "bumpfreaq" wrote:
I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing. I
certainly don't think of myself as an expert but I don't give a second
thought to skiing runs that are "expert only". I expect there are
runs at Jackson Hole,
Squaw Valley, Silverton and others that I would ski away from but I
haven't found any at the places I ski.

I suppose that's one way of assessing expert status but it doesn't
seem especially valid to me so my question is: what qualities
constitute an expert skier?

My goal is to get to a level where I can ski any line on the mountain
in any conditions with grace, speed and precision. If I ever get
there I will proclaim myself an expert.

What do any of you all think?

Chris

This reminds me of when I used to have a ski lease in Tahoe City in
the early nineties, and my work buddies and I would drive up for the
weekend, which would usually mean that we'd be out nights at the bars.
Occasionally it would turn out that we'd arrange to go skiing the next
day with people that we'd met, or with a new member of the ski lease,
or a new coworker. The results were sometimes surprising, comical, or
scary.

After a while, my buddies and I came up with a sort of code for the
way people described their skiing ability. If someone was truly a no
limits skier, they'd never offer an assessment of their ability. If
you asked, they'd just say, "I'm okay." The next day, you'd be left
slack jawed while they are launching cornices and ripping up the
bumps. Meanwhile, the guy who called himself an expert can ski nothing
but groomed.

I used to be okay, now I'm just an expert. :-) The names don't
matter, the point is getting out there and doing it, getting better if
you choose to try to, and having fun regardless.

This is funny.

I have lots of people describing my skiing as "great" or
maybe "great for an 'old guy'" or maybe "I hope I can ski
like you when I'm your age" and it goes on. You can imagine.

Me, I'm not quite sure whether I should be flattered or
embarrassed. To me, it's just that. I get down the mountain
feeling really good about it. I have seen myself ski once
in the last 50 years on video, and the end of the video
was a crash that resulted in an AC separation of my
shoulder and ride in a sled. I'm not really very sure
what I look like skiing.

My wife is contemplating getting a video cam for her business,
I may just have to "borrow" it some time and see what a
willing friend who skis well can come up with. hmmm...

Most of the time when anyone asks my ability, if I'm in
a bar or otherwise off-hill, I just say that I'm aggressive.
That gives some idea of what I ski without saying how
"pretty" I am at it. If I'm on-hill, I usually say,
"follow me." If I'm hearing a lot of brag or other
nonsense from someone who wants to be shown around, I have
a couple of "favorite" trails that sorts the wheat from
the chaff.

A nasty little thing called Vertigo which is three drops
with flats between. The top drop is close to 45 degrees
with bumps. This will freak most anyone for a while and
I'm already down the first drop looking back up and waving.

Just to take this in a slightly different direction...

I spent a season in Chamonix, and a season in Whistler. I became good
friends with some guys who are INCREDIBLE skiers, a couple of whom are
still rather famous names and make their living from freeskiing. I
followed these guys around and learned about backcountry skiing and
extended my abilities far beyond what I would have thought I would
ever do.

My comment is that the really incredible skiers I've been around don't
bother skiing crap conditions. Now, if they find themselves in crap
conditions, they can still get through it just fine. But to me,
becoming an expert skier is as much physical talent as it is
developing your adventurousness and an eye for where the good stuff is
that others miss.

99% of the people that ski steep icy bumps at a mountain resort are
tourists. Same with steep inbounds chutes that quickly get skied-out
and iced up.

The really good skiers will shred everything after it snows, but when
it starts getting skied out, they move elsewhere-- to the backcountry,
or hidden inbounds stuff that might require a bit of hiking, which 99%
of tourists won't do.

The exact same line which totally sucks and is no fun (and which in
fact could be extremely dangerous) with bad snow, can be fun and easy
with good snow. IMO the highest level skiers are the ones who know
when to hit which lines. The guys I know would never spend an
afternoon skiing icy conditions. We'll either hike to something where
the snow is still awesome, or just go down and drink beer.

Just because these guys *can* ski anything, doesn't mean it's fun
fighting the mountain when the snow sucks.

Just my opinion, not intending to offend anyone.

Chris

bumpfreaq wrote:

I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing.

To help everyone judge their level of skiing, perhaps it is time to
revive Klaus' observations on the subject of Expert Skiers, as we seem
to have gone astray.

I quote from Klaus Biggers' post of Aug 13 1993 at 8:07 am (what - no
dawn patrol?) in this news group's predecessor rec.skiing.

The original is being faithfully preserved by our friend Google at
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.skiing/msg/7ba92838fb4e34b6?q=real+SKier+vs.+Expert&hl=en&lr= &ie=UTF-8&rnum=1

QUOTE Klaus

Well... the current (dying) thread on experts has got me thinking about
the differences between Real Skiers (tm) and Expert Skiers. The
following are my observations....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Expert Skier: Drives to the local resort in the Beemer with the skis on
the rack upside down, tips back, ...

Real Skier: Hasn't dug his/her 1976 Ford F150 Pickup out since the last
time he got an impound warning for impeding snow removal, walks to the
lift, never shows his pass.

Expert Skier: Got a great deal on the latest in ski gear at Sniagrab.

Real Skier: Picked up a used set at a garage sale and found his bindings
in the dumpster outside his apartment.

Expert Skier: Goes out to a fine restaurant for dinner apres ski.

Real Skier: Is his waiter.

Expert Skier: His favorite run has a name like Jaws of Death, Outer
Limits, White Heat, or some such.

Real Skier: His favorite run has no name.

Expert Skier: Counts the number of days he skied last season.

Real Skier: Counts the number of days he missed all year.

Expert Skier: Wishes the ski season was longer.

Real Skier: Didn't realize skiing was restricted to a particular season,
only that sometimes the lifts run and sometimes they don't.

Expert Skier: Calls the avalanche report before hitting the resort.

Real Skier: Calls in his observations to the Avalanche Forcast Center
when he gets back from his tour.

Expert Skier: Tells everyone that they should ski his favorite resort.

Real Skier: Tells everyone that they should ski somewhere else.

Expert Skier: Thinks the new lift is great.

Real Skier: Spent all last night loosening the bolts on pole 12 of the
new lift.

Expert Skier: Feels confident adjusting his binding.

Real Skier: Feels comfortable mounting his bindings.

Expert Skier: Thinks the female lift attendant is cute.

Real Skier: Blushes when she tells him how much she enjoyed last night.

Expert Skier: Subscribes to Powder Magazine to find out the hot places
to ski.

Real Skier: Skims through the ski rags while he's at the sev' buying
beer to see how many of his favorite places they've ruined.

Expert Skier: Thinks Vail is the resort of all resorts.

Real Skier: Tells everyone that Vail is the resort of all resorts.

Expert Skier: Buys all his buddies beers at the lodge.

Real Skier: Gets all his beer free cuz he lives with the guy tending bar.

Expert Skier: Gets real ****ed off when someone skis over the tops of
his skis.

Real Skier: Paints his skis flat black so no one will steal them,
worries about the bottoms of his skis... not the tops.

Expert Skier: Calls the resort snow report before heading up.

Real Skier: Carries a hand held scanner so he knows when the patrol is
going to open the bowls.

Expert Skier: Thinks off-piste is when you step into the trees to
relieve yourself. (Thanx Dave!)

Real Skier: Skis home to pee.

Expert Skier: Thinks the backcountry is a bar.

Real Skier: Chuckles when some touron asks him where he can find the
Backcountry.

Expert Skier: Thinks climbing skins are made of brightly colored Lycra(tm).

Real Skier: Knows how to reglue them.

Expert Skier: Thinks snowboarders are pretty damn funny.

Real Skier: Thinks snowboarders are pretty damn funny.

Expert Skier: Has a fancy ski rack on his car.

Real Skier: Has a fancy ski rack by the front door.

Expert Skier: Sharpens his edges once a week.

Real Skier: Sharpens his edges when he flies home to visit his parents
for Christmas in Vermont.

Expert Skier: Knows all about snow making....

Real Skier: Worked on the snowmaking crew for three years.

Expert Skier: Calls a 1-900 number to get the latest weather report.

Real Skier: Steps outside and looks up...

Expert Skier: Has a Grateful Dead sticker on his BMW.

Real Skier: Lives with four dead-heads in a one bedroom apartment.

Expert Skier: Has a gagloop of ski passes hanging all over his jacket
from places like Breckenridge and Vail and Aspen and .....

Real Skier: Forgot his season pass at home... but it doesn't really matter.

Expert skier: Narrowly avoided injury in his last fall cuz his skis came
off.

Real skier: Narrowly avoided injury in his last fall cuz his skis stayed on.

Expert Skier: Wears GoreTex(tm).

Real Skier: Wears duct tape.

Expert Skier: Thinks high speed quads are a type of ski lift.

Real Skier: Thinks high speed quads are the leg muscles of the guy
breaking trail. (Again.. Thanx Dave)

Expert Skier: Gets all excited cuz it snowed 12 inches, gets up early so
he can beat the crowds.

Real Skier: Sleeps in til noon since it only snowed a foot overnight.

Expert Skier: Goes on ski vacation, flies out, rents a fancy Ford
Explorer that he parks outside the three bedroom condo he rents.

Real Skier: Comes home from skiing to find some dumb**** tourist has
parked a Ford Explorer with a Budget Rent-a-Car sticker in his spot
again, pulls the valve stem cores from three tires, and tapes them to
the windshield with a nasty note.

DISCLAIMER: Any similarity to persons living or dead, real or
ficticious, was purposefully intended, and the author assumes no
responsibility for the clue-challenged that would take offense to said
similarity.... And if that was your Ford Explorer... it wasn't me.

UNQUOTE Klaus

On Mar 19, 3:38 pm, lal_truckee wrote:
bumpfreaq wrote:

I've described myself as an advanced but not expert skier. The truth
is I don't really know how to describe my level of skiing.

To help everyone judge their level of skiing, perhaps it is time to
revive Klaus' observations on the subject of Expert Skiers, as we seem
to have gone astray.

I quote from Klaus Biggers' post of Aug 13 1993 at 8:07 am (what - no
dawn patrol?) in this news group's predecessor rec.skiing.

The original is being faithfully preserved by our friend Google at
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.skiing/msg/7ba92838fb4e34b6?q=real...

QUOTE Klaus

Well... the current (dying) thread on experts has got me thinking about
the differences between Real Skiers (tm) and Expert Skiers. The
following are my observations....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Expert Skier: Drives to the local resort in the Beemer with the skis on
the rack upside down, tips back, ...

Real Skier: Hasn't dug his/her 1976 Ford F150 Pickup out since the last
time he got an impound warning for impeding snow removal, walks to the
lift, never shows his pass.

Expert Skier: Got a great deal on the latest in ski gear at Sniagrab.

Real Skier: Picked up a used set at a garage sale and found his bindings
in the dumpster outside his apartment.

Expert Skier: Goes out to a fine restaurant for dinner apres ski.

Real Skier: Is his waiter.

Expert Skier: His favorite run has a name like Jaws of Death, Outer
Limits, White Heat, or some such.

Real Skier: His favorite run has no name.

Expert Skier: Counts the number of days he skied last season.

Real Skier: Counts the number of days he missed all year.

Expert Skier: Wishes the ski season was longer.

Real Skier: Didn't realize skiing was restricted to a particular season,
only that sometimes the lifts run and sometimes they don't.

Expert Skier: Calls the avalanche report before hitting the resort.

Real Skier: Calls in his observations to the Avalanche Forcast Center
when he gets back from his tour.

Expert Skier: Tells everyone that they should ski his favorite resort.

Real Skier: Tells everyone that they should ski somewhere else.

Expert Skier: Thinks the new lift is great.

Real Skier: Spent all last night loosening the bolts on pole 12 of the
new lift.

Expert Skier: Feels confident adjusting his binding.

Real Skier: Feels comfortable mounting his bindings.

Expert Skier: Thinks the female lift attendant is cute.

Real Skier: Blushes when she tells him how much she enjoyed last night.

Expert Skier: Subscribes to Powder Magazine to find out the hot places
to ski.

Real Skier: Skims through the ski rags while he's at the sev' buying
beer to see how many of his favorite places they've ruined.

Expert Skier: Thinks Vail is the resort of all resorts.

Real Skier: Tells everyone that Vail is the resort of all resorts.

Expert Skier: Buys all his buddies beers at the lodge.

Real Skier: Gets all his beer free cuz he lives with the guy tending bar.

Expert Skier: Gets real ****ed off when someone skis over the tops of
his skis.

Real Skier: Paints his skis flat black so no one will steal them,
worries about the bottoms of his skis... not the tops.

Expert Skier: Calls the resort snow report before heading up.

Real Skier: Carries a hand held scanner so he knows when the patrol is
going to open the bowls.

Expert Skier: Thinks off-piste is when you step into the trees to
relieve yourself. (Thanx Dave!)

Real Skier: Skis home to pee.

Expert Skier: Thinks the backcountry is a bar.

Real Skier: Chuckles when some touron asks him where he can find the
Backcountry.

Expert Skier: Thinks climbing skins are made of brightly colored Lycra(tm).

Real Skier: Knows how to reglue them.

Expert Skier: Thinks snowboarders are pretty damn funny.

Real Skier: Thinks snowboarders are pretty damn funny.

Expert Skier: Has a fancy ski rack on his car.

Real Skier: Has a fancy ski rack by the front door.

Expert Skier: Sharpens his edges once a week.

Real Skier: Sharpens his edges when he flies home to visit his parents
for Christmas in Vermont.

Expert Skier: Knows all about snow making....

Real Skier: Worked on the snowmaking crew for three years.

Expert Skier: Calls a 1-900 number to get the latest weather report.

Real Skier: Steps outside and looks up...

Expert Skier: Has a Grateful Dead sticker on his BMW.

Real Skier: Lives with four dead-heads in a one bedroom apartment.

Expert Skier: Has a gagloop of ski passes hanging all over his jacket
from places like Breckenridge and Vail and Aspen and .....

Real Skier: Forgot his season pass at home... but it doesn't really matter.

Expert skier: Narrowly avoided injury in his last fall cuz his skis came
off.

Real skier: Narrowly avoided injury in his last fall cuz his skis stayed on.

Expert Skier: Wears GoreTex(tm).

Real Skier: Wears duct tape.

Expert Skier: Thinks high speed quads are a type of ski lift.

Real Skier: Thinks high speed quads are the leg muscles of the guy
breaking trail. (Again.. Thanx Dave)

Expert Skier: Gets all excited cuz it snowed 12 inches, gets up early so
he can beat the crowds.

Real Skier: Sleeps in til noon since it only snowed a foot overnight.

Expert Skier: Goes on ski vacation, flies out, rents a fancy Ford
Explorer that he parks outside the three bedroom condo he rents.

Real Skier: Comes home from skiing to find some dumb**** tourist has
parked a Ford Explorer with a Budget Rent-a-Car sticker in his spot
again, pulls the valve stem cores from three tires, and tapes them to
the windshield with a nasty note.

DISCLAIMER: Any similarity to persons living or dead, real or
ficticious, was purposefully intended, and the author assumes no
responsibility for the clue-challenged that would take offense to said
similarity.... And if that was your Ford Explorer... it wasn't me.

UNQUOTE Klaus

I was waiting for someone to post this. IMO it's pretty cute,
somewhat witty and insightful but really doesn't shed much light on
the subject other than to point out that the term 'expert' doesn't
have much value anymore.

That said, I wish I had written it.

Chris
Not a Real Skier (tm) but a
real skier