Guys! (Sorry... ladies... I'm from NY, everyone is "guys")
So after all my pondering, deliberating, and frankly spending too much mental energy on which skis to demo at Winter Park last weekend, I ended up finding a pair of used K2 Potion 84 skis in 146 cm for a really good deal, and (urged on by a friend) I bought them. The only other skis I've used were 130cm and 140cm "sport" package beginner skis and a pair of 146 cm K2 Strikes with a 70mm waist, so I was just a little worried that the wider, stiffer Potions might be too much for me. (Online reviews rate them anywhere from Intermediate to Expert, so no help there!)
BUT, they were awesome! I had no trouble turning; if anything I actually had an easier time tipping my skis to get from edge to edge (rather than "muscling" them around). Last time I skied, with the Strikes, my knees were really sore by the end of the day and I could tell that turning was putting a lot of twisting stress on them. I knew it, and I knew better technique would fix it, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it. This past weekend I could just tip from one side to the other and I could feel the edges of the skis turning me. NO knee pain or fatigue.
It took me a couple runs to get used to them, and what I eventually realized is that I needed to be a little more aggressive than with the skinnier, more flexible skis. When I started to just drift down, la-di-da, take it easy... it didn't go so well... I found myself too far back, kind of bumping over the snow and not feeling connected to the ground, like I could slide out any minute. When I approached a run in what I think of as "attack mode" I felt more in control than I have ever felt so far. (This was my 3rd trip, 8th day skiing total) The skis really bit into the snow and I was having fun experimenting with how precisely I could control my speed and steering. I even skied through a few small fields of bumps (top of "Cranmer", sides of "Larry Sale" to anyone who knows Winter Park well) with no mishaps. It was 50 deg the first day (Feb 10) so the snow was really soft and wet, and then it cooled off a lot the second day. Some runs were icy and "crunchy" and some had what I thought was pretty nice snow, deeper and chopped up, but still pretty soft. Felt pretty secure on all of it though. And the Trace app I had running on my phone recorded my fastest speed yet - 32mph, with 28.4mph "sustained" (not racing speeds, but exciting for me)
Anyway, you guys have been so helpful with my questions about which skis to try or buy that I wanted to give you an update. I am going to Steamboat for 5 days in March and I can't wait!!
So after all my pondering, deliberating, and frankly spending too much mental energy on which skis to demo at Winter Park last weekend, I ended up finding a pair of used K2 Potion 84 skis in 146 cm for a really good deal, and (urged on by a friend) I bought them. The only other skis I've used were 130cm and 140cm "sport" package beginner skis and a pair of 146 cm K2 Strikes with a 70mm waist, so I was just a little worried that the wider, stiffer Potions might be too much for me. (Online reviews rate them anywhere from Intermediate to Expert, so no help there!)
BUT, they were awesome! I had no trouble turning; if anything I actually had an easier time tipping my skis to get from edge to edge (rather than "muscling" them around). Last time I skied, with the Strikes, my knees were really sore by the end of the day and I could tell that turning was putting a lot of twisting stress on them. I knew it, and I knew better technique would fix it, but I couldn't seem to do anything about it. This past weekend I could just tip from one side to the other and I could feel the edges of the skis turning me. NO knee pain or fatigue.
It took me a couple runs to get used to them, and what I eventually realized is that I needed to be a little more aggressive than with the skinnier, more flexible skis. When I started to just drift down, la-di-da, take it easy... it didn't go so well... I found myself too far back, kind of bumping over the snow and not feeling connected to the ground, like I could slide out any minute. When I approached a run in what I think of as "attack mode" I felt more in control than I have ever felt so far. (This was my 3rd trip, 8th day skiing total) The skis really bit into the snow and I was having fun experimenting with how precisely I could control my speed and steering. I even skied through a few small fields of bumps (top of "Cranmer", sides of "Larry Sale" to anyone who knows Winter Park well) with no mishaps. It was 50 deg the first day (Feb 10) so the snow was really soft and wet, and then it cooled off a lot the second day. Some runs were icy and "crunchy" and some had what I thought was pretty nice snow, deeper and chopped up, but still pretty soft. Felt pretty secure on all of it though. And the Trace app I had running on my phone recorded my fastest speed yet - 32mph, with 28.4mph "sustained" (not racing speeds, but exciting for me)
Anyway, you guys have been so helpful with my questions about which skis to try or buy that I wanted to give you an update. I am going to Steamboat for 5 days in March and I can't wait!!
Also I am definitely planning to take a lesson during my Steamboat trip, so hopefully I can nip any bad habits I'm forming in the bud!
