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#1
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
After spending the summer recovering from back surgery by hiking the Grand
Mesa here in Colorado, my doctor has suggested that I take up xc since my hiking routes are now snowed shut. My wife and I just went out and got equipped for our first foray into this sport but would like some poiunters as to any books, tapes, websites, etc that would help a first timer. Thanks !! |
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#2
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 02:15:33 GMT, "VISAMAN" wrote:
After spending the summer recovering from back surgery by hiking the Grand Mesa here in Colorado, my doctor has suggested that I take up xc since my hiking routes are now snowed shut. My wife and I just went out and got equipped for our first foray into this sport but would like some poiunters as to any books, tapes, websites, etc that would help a first timer. Thanks !! Lessons. I didn't take my first lesson until I had been skiing 17 years.I advanced more in those two hours than I had in the previous 10 years. g.c. |
#3
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
I agree with George - that's the best advice you can get. You could also
get either of the DVDs from xczone [www.xczone.com], because there's excellent instructional material on them, plus video clips. Plus, they're entertaining! Tim on 11/8/03 22:02, George Cleveland wrote: On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 02:15:33 GMT, "VISAMAN" wrote: After spending the summer recovering from back surgery by hiking the Grand Mesa here in Colorado, my doctor has suggested that I take up xc since my hiking routes are now snowed shut. My wife and I just went out and got equipped for our first foray into this sport but would like some poiunters as to any books, tapes, websites, etc that would help a first timer. Thanks !! Lessons. I didn't take my first lesson until I had been skiing 17 years.I advanced more in those two hours than I had in the previous 10 years. g.c. |
#4
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
If you are talking about XC touring it is a wrong board.
Touring can be done without lessons at all, just get a group of people with the same interest and physical abilities. As far as racing goes, you should take lessons first, learn skate, stride etc., than go buy equipment with a help from your coach. Unlike many other sports ski racing has very little to share in a way of equipment and technique with recreational variety of skiing. I mean, you can get a high - end racing bike and and ride around casually; many people do. You can not do anything on high - end racing ski but train and race on prepared surface. More over it puts strain on your back your doctor has no idea about. |
#5
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
If you are talking about XC touring it is a wrong board.
Well ... let's just say this group leans towards hardcore. :^] If you're just beginning, just about any video would be beneficial. jw milwaukee |
#6
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
Serge wrote:
I mean, you can get a high - end racing bike and and ride around casually; many people do. You can not do anything on high - end racing ski but train and race on prepared surface. That's not true: I have skied more than 10 times from north to south of Telemark county in Norway (a 180 km backcountry, four-day trip) using my skate skis (with grip wax on them though). Skate skis are slightly easier to control than classics, since they have a straight edge instead of a significantly narrower front and tail. Terje -- - "almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching" |
#7
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Best advice for a first time xc'er
Two bits of advice:
- Take a lesson (as mentioned) - Take whatever the clowns who regularly post on this board say with a grain of salt. bt |
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wronng board for touring??? Best advice for a first time xc'er
But there is no board for touring, is there? And you guys know all the
answers! (at least to the questions I have asked; thanks for all the help since I started 3 yrs ago) gr "Serge" wrote in message om... If you are talking about XC touring it is a wrong board. Touring can be done without lessons at all, just get a group of people with the same interest and physical abilities. As far as racing goes, you should take lessons first, learn skate, stride etc., than go buy equipment with a help from your coach. Unlike many other sports ski racing has very little to share in a way of equipment and technique with recreational variety of skiing. I mean, you can get a high - end racing bike and and ride around casually; many people do. You can not do anything on high - end racing ski but train and race on prepared surface. More over it puts strain on your back your doctor has no idea about. |
#9
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Beginner advice; Best advice for a first time xc'er
Here is a running faq like doc that I have been adding to since I was a
beginner. Maybe some of the things will be helpful (esp since I am a tourer, not a racer!) gr 10/2002; beginning my 3rd year xc skiing, things I learned so far; XC Things I have found so far from a new skier; (First Year 2000-2001) 1) You need to wax waxless skis. SWIX Easy Glide, a liquid rub on wax is quick and easy and stops snow from sticking and clumping. 2) When you buy garage sale skis, pay some attention to how stiff they are. If you put the skis back to back, you should be able to push them together with both hands pressing but not be able to with one hand squeezing (or close to this). Usenet comment; This is for classical skis, as skate skis flex more stiffly. With two hands you should just barely be able to squeeze the skis together or almost so. If it's easier than that, but not easy enough for one hand, they will probably be a little draggy. GR comment; I have not done anything with skate skis so this is not about them, and I find this a useful ball park on ski stiffness for used skis. 3) It is real hard to turn skis on virgin snow with no base or formal track. With a base it is not to bad (so far I know how to turn by; point one ski (the outside one of the turn) in the direction you want to turn , and lean onto this ski; ) Usenet comment: Turning can be facilitated by rotating the hips, knee and feet in the direction you want to turn, which puts weight on the outside ski. That's rotate, as in twist, keeping oneself centered over the two skis. Leaning into the turn destroys that balance and actually makes it harder if not impossible to weight and/or wedge the outside, turning ski 4) You don't have to hold the poles with the grip of death (which ends up making your fingers cold) if you use the straps (insert hand from top(NO:see below!)) and use the strap to push instead of your grip. Usenet comment:Hands should be inserted from the bottom, not the top. With pole straps where there is a top and bottom coming out the back, the whole hand is put through so that the thumb side rests on the bottom one. Many people hold the pole with their thumb and index finger, letting the other three fingers cradle the pole lightly. Active use of the latter allows you to block the pole tips from swinging forward. GR comment: oops, got that one written backwards, even though I was doing it the right way! Usenet comment 2: Not instead. Both have a part of the action. 5) Learn to fall down without getting hurt. Great way to stop quickly. Usenet comment: Falling improperly can cause injury or broken equipment. When possible, fall to the back and side, i.e., on one's butt. 6) If you come to a steep hill on a trail and don't want to plow into the trees from going too fast, spread your skis apart a bit, drag your butt on the ground (as a brake) and slide down the hill. Usenet comment 1: DO Not Sit, if the trail is rough. Watch out for protruding stones, roots or solid chunks of ice left by the trail making machine. A damaged tailbone is extremely painful,believe me. Usenet comment 2:The commentator is correct; except in soft snow, what you propose is quite dangerous. Snow plowing from the beginning is the best way to control speed while moving (take a lesson and practice). If you can't do this, either sidestep down the hill or just take off your skis and walk on the side. There is a kids' exercise that might be of help for gaining confidence on hills: kneel forward onto your skis, holding the tips, and then go down as if steering a boat. I wouldn't try this on long steep hills in fast conditions, however. GR comment: This has been a problem for me as I use trails that are too narrow to sidestep or snowplow. I will try the kneeling! 7) You can rejuvenate old skis with oxidized P-tex (the plastic on the bottom) by sanding the bottom with 150 grit sandpaper and a flat backer to the sandpaper. Always sand parallel to the direction of ski travel. Only do this to old skis in case you wreck them. This will also remove many scratches and gouges. It also creates a fuzz which will not easily go away. To get rid of the fuzz, use Scotchbrite (green abrasive fibrous pad), and press very hard while you are using it. If you side light the base, you can see when you have got rid of the fiber. This will make the ski glide much easier. 8) Some bindings have a thing that goes on the ski under the heel. The metal ones grab good and the plastic ones get snow on them and let your heel slip when you try to turn. 9) Wax the top and sides of your skis (and poles) with car wax, it helps a lot in keeping snow and ice off them. 10) Dr. Scholl foam pads in the bottom of your boots add a lot of comfort and especially insulation. 11) Hot waxing the glide areas of waxless skis helps the glide tremendously. I used Toko yellow for warm and Toko Molybdenum for cold wax. 12) The minimum snow needed is about enough to cover the grass so there are almost no blades sticking through (about 3"). 13) The total lack of wax on a ski can make it very slow (Easy Glide did not help the rough ground bottoms of Fischer Super Crowns in wet snow, but hot waxing Toko Yellow low floro helped a lot. 14) Bindings often (always? (3 pin only?)) have a left and right side, if you don't put the right ski on the right foot, your heel may hit at other than the center of the ski, and make it hard to be stable. I guess this is really just 3 pin bindings. From comments on my posts of this FAQ: "New snow, depending on temperature, can be very fast or very slow" - bull****. New snow is never fast or very fast! (Learning of the Second Year, but 2001-2002 was a low snow year) 15) I found heavier boots to be much better for me than lightweight. Ones much more like hiking boots and intended to Backcountry or Telemark skiing. More comfortable and better control. I settled on 3 pin style so far. I like the style about 6 inches high. 16) Lack of snow was helped by finding the nearest local place. Less than an hour away was a magic place which for a couple of square miles had hills that raised elevation a couple thousand feet and was right on the end of a lake to pick up moisture, so I could ski most every weekend when up to a few miles away the land was barren of snow. 17) Keeping warm; was hard for me with hands and feet getting cold easily. A switch to moisture wicking socks (anything but cotton!) made a tremendous difference. Wicking long underwear/shirt didn't change upper body warmth much (no problem anyway) but was much more comfortable. 18) I learned to bring a spare dry shirt to change into for the ride home! 19) I learned what kind of skiing I like and that many people only think about their particular niche, so some advice is slanted (such as advice suitable for racing, but not for my preference of mostly virgin snow, backcountry trails) 20) Some tremendous bargains can be had at charity/garage sales, and they are an excellent way to try out different kinds of skis for very little. 21) Metal edge xc skis can be found to help with melted/icy snow and ungroomed surfaces. I don't have much practical experience with these yet. 22) Waxable skis do indeed glide much nicer, if the snow is cooperating at all, but the kick wax requires much more careful attention to how you kick, and is rather tricky to get to work/apply the right amount/deal with sun/shade trails. 2003-2004; going to try NOTWAX this year , hopefully to produce a decent glide under almost all conditions, and very easy application (primarily for waxless skis) "VISAMAN" wrote in message m... After spending the summer recovering from back surgery by hiking the Grand Mesa here in Colorado, my doctor has suggested that I take up xc since my hiking routes are now snowed shut. My wife and I just went out and got equipped for our first foray into this sport but would like some poiunters as to any books, tapes, websites, etc that would help a first timer. Thanks !! |
#10
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wronng board for touring??? Best advice for a first time xc'er
On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 23:57:09 GMT, "GR" wrote:
But there is no board for touring, is there? And you guys know all the answers! (at least to the questions I have asked; thanks for all the help since I started 3 yrs ago) gr Seriously, the racers here vastly outnumber the touring types. This is especially true in the off season. But I've noticed a fair number of less competitive types who drop in during the ski season. The group is probably in inverse relation (percentage wise) to the skiing population as a whole in the racer to tourer ratio. But as was said, they do know their stuff. Also, since this is a usenet group, all you need is to post a subject thats vaguely on topic and those who want to get in the thread will. Those who don't wont. Simple as pie, eh? g.c. Who used to race, but now is a duffer and enjoys that too. "Serge" wrote in message . com... If you are talking about XC touring it is a wrong board. Touring can be done without lessons at all, just get a group of people with the same interest and physical abilities. As far as racing goes, you should take lessons first, learn skate, stride etc., than go buy equipment with a help from your coach. Unlike many other sports ski racing has very little to share in a way of equipment and technique with recreational variety of skiing. I mean, you can get a high - end racing bike and and ride around casually; many people do. You can not do anything on high - end racing ski but train and race on prepared surface. More over it puts strain on your back your doctor has no idea about. |
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