Shorter Poles

[marzNC]

Thanks! I'll check that out today. Yesterday felt much better. Think I really noticed difference when skating on flats or just moving along in lift lines.
I did notice the swing action felt good barely touching the snow. Isn't that crazy I've been measured for poles incorrectly all these years? And btw, I have a long torso and short legs... Unrelated, or maybe not, a skier in line yesterday complimented me on my skiing..
Thank you for your suggestions...

Don't know for sure, but I don't think my poles were the wrong length when I bought them . . . back in the early 1980s when I bought my first skis. Got a pair of basic straight skis for a intermediate when skiing again in NC after 10 years. I never got past stem turns during the two seasons I skied in middle school. The changes in ski design after the 1990s mean that some tweaks in technique help make better use of the side cut. I think that has an impact on pole length.

One of the things my ski buddy Bill learned on the first day the Taos Ski Week last year (first time for him) was that he was aiming his pole tips at the wrong place for good bump skiing. He was skiing bumps on Bell Mountain at Aspen in high school back in the 1960s. I have no doubt he was a good bump skier on straight skis. He looked good to me in recent years in all sorts of challenging terrain. But after two days learning from a Taos instructor, he looked noticeably smoother on steep bump runs. And it stuck. He was smoother off-piste at Alta a couple months later. So it is possible for an old dog to learn new tricks.

 

[marzNC]

This PSIA video is about hand position, not pole touch per say. But watch how the poles get used when the hands are in the wrong place and when the proper hand position is being demonstrated together with a pole swing and pole touch.

 

[santacruz skier]

Thanks @marzNC . Skiing now and will look later. Practicing all the suggestions!My next trip in two weeks will have lessons. New tricks for me!

 

[Pequenita]

Think I really noticed difference when skating on flats or just moving along in lift lines.

The lift line is where I notice the shortness the most, but I got used to it.

 

[W8N2SKI]

Can someone illuminate me about the (seemingly) new interest in bamboo poles?

 

[ski diva]

Can someone illuminate me about the (seemingly) new interest in bamboo poles?

They're light, strong, and sustainable, which seems to appeal to a lot of people. Plus, there's the cool factor.

In 2011, I did an interview for my blog with one of the co-founders of Soul Poles, a company founded by US Ski Team Members and World Cup Racers Bryon Friedman and Erik Schlopy that makes bamboo poles. You can read it here. It might answer some of your questions.

 

[marzNC]

Can someone illuminate me about the (seemingly) new interest in bamboo poles?

Comments on ski forums made it easier to get started in the last decade without much of a marketing budget. The companies are American and all based in the Rockies so see a lot more bamboo poles in the west.

I checked out the Grass Sticks (Steamboat) that @santacruz skier bought when I was at the Boston Ski Expo. They are very lightweight. Bamboo is naturally strong and flexible so less like to snap when stressed. I remember my ski buddy bending a metal pole when it got stuck in some rocks at Big Sky. The rep bent a Grass Stick more than that and it could spring back.

The other bamboo pole company is Panda Poles is in Pocatello, ID.

 

[Skisailor]

This PSIA video is about hand position, not pole touch per say. But watch how the poles get used when the hands are in the wrong place and when the proper hand position is being demonstrated together with a pole swing and pole touch.

Lol. Love the funny arm position demos. But - for me, his poles are still too long! See how he has to swing them out wide and cock his elbow to get his hand high enough for the pole touch? And we aren't even talking steeps or bumps or moments where he might be in a more flexed body position.

 

[santacruz skier]

And I'm finally getting used to shorter poles.. we got 13 in overnight at Northstar and they opened more terrain.

 

[WaterGirl]

@santacruz skier glad your getting some fresh

So DH has been watching some threads about "new" gear, heard him laughing at this..... seems everyone needs poles....

gotta admit he rips and I love that he needs two different sizes LOL

 

[santacruz skier]

@santacruz skier glad your getting some fresh

So DH has been watching some threads about "new" gear, heard him laughing at this..... seems everyone needs poles....

gotta admit he rips and I love that he needs two different sizes

And the Black Crows loved the new freshies. Very different feel than the Sambas. Took me a few runs to ease back and not "work" so hard. I do love the sambas. Skied 5 in a row but today had to bring out the BC's.

 

[WaterGirl]

@santacruz skier see love for both ;) I got on the crows last saturday for the first time this season after demoing skis friday w/ DD.
After the first run I remembered why I loved them.

 

[elemmac]

@santacruz skier glad your getting some fresh

So DH has been watching some threads about "new" gear, heard him laughing at this..... seems everyone needs poles....

gotta admit he rips and I love that he needs two different sizes LOL

AHAHAHAHAH