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#1
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Alps this year
I think I can safely say that snow isn't a problem in the Alps this year,
certainly not in Flaine. I also /need/ some all-mountain skis and another week's off-piste training. I tried hiring a pair of older Scott Crusade skis for a day - surprisingly light and even carved a quite well on piste, albeit in near-perfect snow. I also later tried a pair of Dynastar Cham-87 skis: I was suspicious of the discreet "Rocker technology" logo, but they were fine in fluffy powder (and there was a lot of that around), on red-run bumps and scraped-hard red home runs, and they carved well, maybe better than the Scotts. Trouble is, I was finding my powder legs afer 3-4 years of mostly on-piste skiing using carving skis, and despite a week's off-piste traning several years ago, I'm not that experienced, so the subjective feel of the skis might have changed over the week and it's probably not a fair comparison. I really liked the Scotts - a revelation in powder after my own skis, but the Dynastars might be the better all-rounder. Doesn't it echo in here, now? -- Pip |
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#2
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Alps this year
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:58:51 +0000, PipL wrote:
I think I can safely say that snow isn't a problem in the Alps this year, certainly not in Flaine. Yeah, tons of the stuff all over the place. I imagine Flaine was brilliant. Must get back there one of these years - having repped and/or lead holidays there just about every year from 1999 to 2006 I do miss the place. I also /need/ some all-mountain skis and another week's off-piste training. Practice. No substitute for miles under skis. Of course training is great, but unless you do enough 'variable' snow skiing it's likely to go to waste. Come out to Engelberg one of these years and I'll show you what it's all about. I also later tried a pair of Dynastar Cham-87 skis: I was suspicious of the discreet "Rocker technology" logo, but they were fine in fluffy powder (and there was a lot of that around), on red-run bumps and scraped-hard red home runs, and they carved well, maybe better than the Scotts. A lot of the current crop of skis bear such logos, but on many of them there's no sign of ab actual rocker. My off-piste tools of the last couple of seasons are Salomon Czars, and you can really see the front 67cm (it says it on the ski) lift well up from the snow on a flat piste. Makes carving 'interesting' as and when the front part engages the snow part-way through a turn ;-) Trouble is, I was finding my powder legs afer 3-4 years of mostly on-piste skiing using carving skis, and despite a week's off-piste traning several years ago, I'm not that experienced, so the subjective feel of the skis might have changed over the week and it's probably not a fair comparison. I really liked the Scotts - a revelation in powder after my own skis, but the Dynastars might be the better all-rounder. Maybe you should bite the bullet and go for a more dedicated off-piste ski, rather than trying to find one 'all-rounder'. I've only recently re-discovered proper piste (i.e. race) skis and am blown away by them, so I have to make a conscious choice of what I'm going to be doing each day, but they make piste days, i.e. teaching at a reaonsbly high level, much more fun, while for free skiing I'll nearly alwayys take the fat rockers out and just suffer a little bit when using the pistes. I've also got some great all-round skis in the twintip 1080 Foil from some years back - lightweight, relatively wide shovel and tail, quite shaped, and great fun. But I'd not use them for serious on- or off-piste stuff if I have the choice, simply because the other ones are much better for it. Doesn't it echo in here, now? Heh. Does a bit. Usually pick up a few replies though, mostly from ukrm residents. -- Ace Ski Club of Great Britain http://www.skiclub.co.uk/ All opinions expressed are those of the poster and in no way reflect those of the Ski Club or its members |
#3
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Alps this year
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 21:58:18 +0100, Ace wrote:
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:58:51 +0000, PipL wrote: I think I can safely say that snow isn't a problem in the Alps this year, certainly not in Flaine. Nor, it would seem, in Avoriaz. One week and counting. Doesn't it echo in here, now? Heh. Does a bit. Usually pick up a few replies though, mostly from ukrm residents. Yep - the buggers crop up everywhere. -- Colin Irvine http://www.colinandpat.co.uk |
#4
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Alps this year
Colin Irvine wrote:
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 21:58:18 +0100, Ace wrote: On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:58:51 +0000, PipL wrote: I think I can safely say that snow isn't a problem in the Alps this year, certainly not in Flaine. Nor, it would seem, in Avoriaz. One week and counting. Doesn't it echo in here, now? Heh. Does a bit. Usually pick up a few replies though, mostly from ukrm residents. Yep - the buggers crop up everywhere. *Waves* Three Valleys in a week's time. -- Honda CB400 Four x3 Triumph Street Triple Ducati 800SS BMW K100RS Yamaha 660 Tenere Suzuki GN250, TS250ER x3 So many bikes, so little garage space.... chateau dot murray at idnet dot com |
#5
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Alps this year
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 21:58:18 +0100, Ace wrote:
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:58:51 +0000, PipL wrote: I think I can safely say that snow isn't a problem in the Alps this year, certainly not in Flaine. Yeah, tons of the stuff all over the place. I imagine Flaine was brilliant. Even just the easy-to-get-at stuff was; that's pretty much all I skied. Oh, I did the Corblanche black run on the snowboard: bloody brilliant i thigh-high powder, albeint getting a bit choppy. I also /need/ some all-mountain skis and another week's off-piste training. Practice. No substitute for miles under skis. Of course training is great, but unless you do enough 'variable' snow skiing it's likely to go to waste. I'm sure you're right: there's no substitute for practice. One advantage of a course though is that one gets to ski with people of a roughly similar standard. Come out to Engelberg one of these years and I'll show you what it's all about. I'll take you up on that. A lot of the current crop of skis bear such logos, but on many of them there's no sign of ab actual rocker. My off-piste tools of the last couple of seasons are Salomon Czars, and you can really see the front 67cm (it says it on the ski) lift well up from the snow on a flat piste. Makes carving 'interesting' as and when the front part engages the snow part-way through a turn ;-) I guess there must be a lean angle at which the entire ski suddenly engages with the snow, yes? Maybe you should bite the bullet and go for a more dedicated off-piste ski, rather than trying to find one 'all-rounder'. Well, I was thinking of just having the one pair, assuming that I won't always be driving. But it is tempting. At the moment, pressure from 'er Ladyship's job means that I can't take much over a week away at a time like I used to be able, and I reckon that per day of skiing, an eight-skiing-day week (well, realistically 7.5 days of skiing), travelling alone, costs about 8-9 quid more per skiing day than flying would. It's a lot more convenient, though. Doesn't it echo in here, now? Heh. Does a bit. Usually pick up a few replies though, mostly from ukrm residents. And out of the trees.... -- Pip |
#6
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Alps this year
On Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:00:07 +0000, PipL wrote:
On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 21:58:18 +0100, Ace wrote: My off-piste tools of the last couple of seasons are Salomon Czars, and you can really see the front 67cm (it says it on the ski) lift well up from the snow on a flat piste. Makes carving 'interesting' as and when the front part engages the snow part-way through a turn ;-) I guess there must be a lean angle at which the entire ski suddenly engages with the snow, yes? Not so much a function of lean angle but of forward pressure. If your weight's just a little bit back only the back half of the ski is really being pressured (and therefore bent into an arc) so the front doesn't really engage, but get properly centred and the pressure bends the front too, bringing the pre-bent portion into play as well. So yes, suddenly engaging with the snow. In effect, though, it's a good thing, as it really makes you concentrate on keeping well centred, which is a_good_thing, not just for carving like that but also essential for decent off-piste technique. (Ignore all the wannabees that talk about leaning back in powder - all they're really seeing is the action of angling the skis upward to raise them above the snow, or else in the case of the new skis the rocker doing that for you, but the skier's weight wil still remain centred around a 90deg angel to the ski. ITMS). Well, I was thinking of just having the one pair, assuming that I won't always be driving. Yeah, IKWYYM. Not such an issue for us, especially these days. I think I've got four pairs of skis I actually use, and J's got five, at the moment, plus a oerfectly serviceable pair of old twintips that we can lend out to smaller friends and family, such as is the case today. (I'm laid up with a bit of a cold today, and frankly CBA to go out with them today, despite the sunshine). -- Ace Ski Club of Great Britain http://www.skiclub.co.uk/ All opinions expressed are those of the poster and in no way reflect those of the Ski Club or its members |
#7
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Alps this year
In message
Ace wrote: On Sat, 16 Feb 2013 09:58:51 +0000, PipL wrote: [snip] I also /need/ some all-mountain skis and another week's off-piste training. Practice. No substitute for miles under skis. Of course training is great, but unless you do enough 'variable' snow skiing it's likely to go to waste. Come out to Engelberg one of these years and I'll show you what it's all about. I also later tried a pair of Dynastar Cham-87 skis: I was suspicious of the discreet "Rocker technology" logo, but they were fine in fluffy powder (and there was a lot of that around), on red-run bumps and scraped-hard red home runs, and they carved well, maybe better than the Scotts. A lot of the current crop of skis bear such logos, but on many of them there's no sign of ab actual rocker. My off-piste tools of the last couple of seasons are Salomon Czars, and you can really see the front 67cm (it says it on the ski) lift well up from the snow on a flat piste. Makes carving 'interesting' as and when the front part engages the snow part-way through a turn ;-) I've always thought that the ideal situation would be to have a ski-caddy follow you around with an assortment of different skis. Then at the top of each slope you'd be able to turn and ask for the most appropriate ski for that run. Indeed if the snow conditions turned out not to be consistent all the way down you could stop and ask for a change of skis. :-) Back to reality and currently I have two sets of skis on the go at the moment. A pair of Dynastar Altitrail Powder for touring and a pair of Dynastar Legend 8000 for all mountain use. Both sets are a few years old now and the manufacturers do seem to keep changing the design and marketing each season. Mike -- o/ \\ // |\ ,_ o Mike Clark \__,\\ // __o | \ / /\, "A mountain climbing, cycling, skiing, " || _`\,_ |__\ \ | caving, antibody engineer and ` || (_)/ (_) | \corn computer user" http://www.antibody.me.uk/ |
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