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new skis require a different skiing style?



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 21st 04, 02:03 AM
Goldenset
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?

I just bought some Atomics R:8's w/ Atmoic R:3.10 bindings and new
Salomon Xwave 8.0 boots to replace my almost 10 year old Dynastar 4.1
and Lange boots. I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.

I did take them for a run for the first time this weekend and there
was a big difference in carving, though I wonder how much of that is
just me (or the boots also) since I'm starting to pick it up again.
But I wanted to validate this statement if it some of you have noticed
it to be true. That'll help me gather some info when I take a lesson
the next time I'm at the slopes in 2 wks or so.
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  #2  
Old January 21st 04, 03:33 AM
mark
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?


"Goldenset" wrote ...
I just bought some Atomics R:8's w/ Atmoic R:3.10 bindings and new
Salomon Xwave 8.0 boots to replace my almost 10 year old Dynastar 4.1
and Lange boots. I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.


Skis have always worked best when there's some space between the skis. Look
at photos and videos of racers over the years, they've almost always kept
their feet hip or shoulder width apart, except in fairly specific
situations.

I did take them for a run for the first time this weekend and there
was a big difference in carving, though I wonder how much of that is
just me (or the boots also) since I'm starting to pick it up again.
But I wanted to validate this statement if it some of you have noticed
it to be true. That'll help me gather some info when I take a lesson
the next time I'm at the slopes in 2 wks or so.


A lot of the difference you noticed was probably the skis, the boots may
have helped if the new ones fit significantly better than the old ones.
--
mark






  #3  
Old January 21st 04, 06:41 AM
foot2foot
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?


"Goldenset" wrote in message
om...
I just bought some Atomics R:8's w/ Atmoic R:3.10 bindings and new
Salomon Xwave 8.0 boots to replace my almost 10 year old Dynastar 4.1
and Lange boots. I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.

I did take them for a run for the first time this weekend and there
was a big difference in carving, though I wonder how much of that is
just me (or the boots also) since I'm starting to pick it up again.
But I wanted to validate this statement if it some of you have noticed
it to be true. That'll help me gather some info when I take a lesson
the next time I'm at the slopes in 2 wks or so.


Somewhere around shoulder width apart should do nicely.
You can't get much closer because the skis will hit each
other. Also, a wider stance provides better stability.


They carve better because they bend more easily
tip to tail without twisting.

That "feet together waggle" thing is an old European
style. It basically locks you into doing nothing much
more than repetitive, boring "S" turns down the hill.

No versatility.

You can do so many more things with the skis these
days. If you watch some racing on TV, you'll notice a
fairly wide stance, with one short leg and one long, hips
forward and down into the center of the turn. This is
quite a departure from the old days. It's all only possible
because of the new skis.




  #4  
Old January 21st 04, 08:45 AM
Alan Baker
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?

In article ,
(Goldenset) wrote:

I just bought some Atomics R:8's w/ Atmoic R:3.10 bindings and new
Salomon Xwave 8.0 boots to replace my almost 10 year old Dynastar 4.1
and Lange boots. I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.


It's definitely preferable to keep your feet a little apart.

It was preferable before "carvers", but the difference between feet
together and feet apart was not enough that intermediate skiers would
automatically notice.

Now they do.


I did take them for a run for the first time this weekend and there
was a big difference in carving, though I wonder how much of that is
just me (or the boots also) since I'm starting to pick it up again.
But I wanted to validate this statement if it some of you have noticed
it to be true. That'll help me gather some info when I take a lesson
the next time I'm at the slopes in 2 wks or so.


The skis are playing a very large role in what you're feeling.

Believe it.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling 4 feet, move the fireplace from that wall
to that wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect
if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard."
  #5  
Old January 21st 04, 02:28 PM
Mary Malmros
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?

"mark" writes:

"Goldenset" wrote ...
I just bought some Atomics R:8's w/ Atmoic R:3.10 bindings and new
Salomon Xwave 8.0 boots to replace my almost 10 year old Dynastar 4.1
and Lange boots. I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.


Skis have always worked best when there's some space between the skis. Look
at photos and videos of racers over the years, they've almost always kept
their feet hip or shoulder width apart, except in fairly specific
situations.


Yup. That feet-glued-together stance was kind of like '70s disco
platform shoes: some people really liked the look and went through
all kinds of contortions to get it, but you can't really argue that
it was functional. You simply can't get much edge angle with your
feet glued together. This puts you at a disadvantage with any ski,
but on a shaped ski what you lose is just more exaggerated.

--
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.
  #7  
Old January 21st 04, 03:31 PM
Walt
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?

Goldenset wrote:

I just bought some Atomics R:8's ...
I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.


The new skis don't necessarily *require* a diferent skiing style, but
you'll get more out of them if you ski them the way they were designed
to be skiied. i.e. work with the ski, not against it.

Basically, that means putting them on edge. Once you put the skis on
their edges, the shape comes into play and they turn. You don't have to
twist or pivot them to get them to turn, and any twisting or pivoting
means that you're working against the ski, not with it. Modern skis work
best when the tail follows the same path as the tip in a smooth carve.

It is very hard to edge your skis when your feet are glued together, so
you should have some distance between them. Personally, I think
shoulder width is too wide, but there are some very good skiers who
adopt a stance that wide.

A wider stance makes it easier to roll the skis onto their edges, but a
wider stance also makes it harder to transfer your weight from one ski
to the other. A narrower stance makes it a little harder to edge, but
much easier to transfer your weight. Somewhere in between a
ridiculously narrow stance and a ridiculously wide stance lies the sweet
spot. Feet glued together is ridiculously narrow. Looking like a
shortstop ready to field a ground ball is ridiculously wide.


--
//-Walt
//
// http://tinyurl.com/3xqyq
  #9  
Old January 21st 04, 03:57 PM
Walt
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?

John Moore wrote:

On 20 Jan 2004 18:03:52 -0800, (Goldenset)
wrote:

I was informed that these carvers are best used when
feet are should width apart rather than that smooth and cool looking
way of keeping the boots together (which I'm still trying to work
on!). Is this true? Today's carvers are most effective when there's
some space between the skis.


You won't find universal agreement on that. Two highly influential ski
instruction gurus, Lito Tejada-Flores and Harald Harb, both emphasize
the importance of keeping your feet close together, and it's a major
plank of Harb's Primary Movements Teaching System. Check out the
little animation on he

http://www.harbskisystems.com/olk1.htm


But you'll notice that they don't advocate the old-fashioned technique
of skiing with your feet glued together. Lito describes it as a
"comfortably narrow" stance. Your feet are about as far apart as they
are when you're walking - not shoulder width, but not right next to each
other either. By adopting a walking-width stance, weight transfer
becomes very easy since we're all quite used to transferring our weight
when we walk.

Weight transfer is a key building block to Lito's & Harold's approach,
so they advocate adopting a stance that facilitates easy weight
transfer. Something like 4 to 8 inches between your feet. Definitely
not the old style of the feet touching, or with one knee tucked behind
the other.

But everybody agrees with the statement "Today's carvers are most
effective when there's some space between the skis." How much space?
Well, yeah, there's not universal agreement on that point.


--
//-Walt
//
// http://tinyurl.com/3xqyq
  #10  
Old January 21st 04, 04:18 PM
John Moore
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Default new skis require a different skiing style?

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 15:44:29 -0000, "MoonMan"
wrote:


but OTOH I don't think you'll find many ski schools anywhere in the world
which won't tell you your feet should be about shoulder width apart. even
the Austrians have seen the light


Harb's stance on this is very interesting and quite controversial. He
reckons that the wider stance that has been settled on in teaching is
a cop-out, a crutch which gives beginners enough stability so they
don't keep falling over and can move beyond the snowplough, but which
ultimately impedes their progress beyond a certain level. He stresses
the opposition between stability and balance - he constantly stresses
the importance of one-footed balance as being _the_ vital skill.

What's more, he seems to have got more insistent on this in recent
years, instead of less. The second of his 'Anyone Can be an Expert
Skier' books (which I'm currently reading) stresses how bringing in
your free foot next to your stance foot is a critical part of the
method, not merely an aesthetic benefit.

John
 




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