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How did I get so amazing? I'm confused!

newboots

Angel Diva
I went to Big Snow, the indoor skiing place in NJ today. I am sick of using my old Quattros (153, soft, narrow) and getting thrown around in the crud and feeling like a bad skier. My current skis (BP 82s) are in Vermont. So I dragged an old pair of Dynastar Glorys (very narrow, they're in the car so I can't give the exact stats) in 153. Heaviest darn skis I've ever had to carry across a parking lot.

Whoa! What happened! I was carving! Run after run! Going much faster than I usually allow myself, and not scared. (In other words, in control!) No tossing around.

So what changed? The skis, obviously. I also bought Effortless Skiing's kindle book (it's only 27 pp) and had been reading it. She has an entirely different approach than what we are all used to. I found the book somewhat difficult (my Ph.D. is not in engineering, or anatomy, or whatever this stuff is) but intriguing. However, the last time I read it was a few days ago, and it wasn't fresh in my mind. So that changed, too. (Here is her first post on TSD: Effortless Skiing's posts.)

I am so shocked. I feel like I can actually ski! And it was fun, really fun. It was an uncrowded day; that was nice. But I was skiing faster than anyone there, except two kids who were bombing straight down the hill. Unbelievable.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Like I've been saying for a long time.....narrower skis carve better than wide ones. The glory's are most likely 74(?) underfoot. And they are probably stiffer than the Blizzard's.

Keep all of that feeling, and tuck it away till next time!!

They are definitely stiffer. And very heavy. Mr. Blizzard (who gave these to me) said they have metal in them (that's new for me).

I'm still astonished!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
A quick look online says your Quattros may be 80 at the waist. Your BPs are 82. The Glory's may be anywhere from 74 to 84, but you say they are much narrower than your Quattros so I'm going to guess 74.

That 74 waist alone will make getting your skis up on edge much easier. The same body movements you are used to using on the 80s and 84s will result in a higher edge angle on 74s, and that edging will happen faster. So maybe you were doing nothing different, but your skis were getting up on edge earlier in the turn and attainging a higher edge angle as well.

Getting skis up on edge before they point downhill helps them grip better when they are pointing in the new direction. This is why narrower skis can be easier to ski. The ski starts working earlier in the turn. Plus, if you want to use the edge angle to help with the turn instead of relying on twisting a flat ski, getting those edge angles is easier on the knees and body.

---------------
What does Effortless Skiing tell you to do? I got the idea it promotes starting a turn by twisting and untwisting the upper body rather than by starting the turn with the feet and legs. But I'm guessing from hints online, not from a full review that explained the technique she promotes as I couldn't find one. I did look as I was curious.
 
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newboots

Angel Diva
What does Effortless Skiing tell you to do? I got the idea it promotes starting a turn by twisting and untwisting the upper body rather than by starting the turn with the feet and legs. But I'm guessing from hints online, not from a full review that explained the technique she promotes as I couldn't find one. I did look as I was curious.

It’s hard for me to explain. It seems to me she is describing the same movements differently, and people find it easier. But I have to look at the book again to describe it!

She is explaining the essentials of carving using the approach she used as a designer in robotics. In skiing, she describes how the body creates torque, using the shoulders in opposition to the direction of the skis. Also, she describes the transition into a turn involving pressure to the tongue and shifting the weight between the two skis. [As I try to summarize what she has written, my mind gets all tangled up again trying to understand it. I’m starting to think that understanding her techniques didn’t create the big change in my skiing. It did get me to struggle with the body positions and movements she described and think about how making these turns on edge would feel.]

Maybe @EffortlessSkiing can return and do a better job herself. I know I’m not doing it justice!

The Quattros turn out to be 72 underfoot. I’m thinking that the weight and the torsional stiffness of the Glorys made the most of the difference. And the shift in my mindset from the book. One of the most important things I read was that doing it correctly is easier and leads to more confidence. That was very true for me. I felt much more stable. And it did feel easy.

Other factors include the lack of crowding and better grooming than the last time I was at Big Snow.

This is not the first time I’ve struggled to put physical concepts into words. It’s just not my strength.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
And new boots. And a helmet after last year’s adventure on a trail aptly named “Fool’s Errand.”

Yes, I am excited and happy to be getting these discounts working in the shop!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
So, yes. The Quattros are 72 and the Glorys are 69. It felt like the Quattros were really holding me back, which was why I switched skis. I had a very good time today, too, but my legs were tired, and after skiing two hours today, they were toast! New movements with old muscles!

Big Snow was mobbed today . . . [see photo] :becky:A2FD7856-A3D2-426D-AAA5-1AD230795FF8.jpeg

This sort of crowd does make it easier to practice my huge, wide C turns.
 

Polly

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I went to Big Snow, the indoor skiing place in NJ today. I am sick of using my old Quattros (153, soft, narrow) and getting thrown around in the crud and feeling like a bad skier. My current skis (BP 82s) are in Vermont. So I dragged an old pair of Dynastar Glorys (very narrow, they're in the car so I can't give the exact stats) in 153. Heaviest darn skis I've ever had to carry across a parking lot.

Whoa! What happened! I was carving! Run after run! Going much faster than I usually allow myself, and not scared. (In other words, in control!) No tossing around.

So what changed? The skis, obviously. I also bought Effortless Skiing's kindle book (it's only 27 pp) and had been reading it. She has an entirely different approach than what we are all used to. I found the book somewhat difficult (my Ph.D. is not in engineering, or anatomy, or whatever this stuff is) but intriguing. However, the last time I read it was a few days ago, and it wasn't fresh in my mind. So that changed, too. (Here is her first post on TSD: Effortless Skiing's posts.)

I am so shocked. I feel like I can actually ski! And it was fun, really fun. It was an uncrowded day; that was nice. But I was skiing faster than anyone there, except two kids who were bombing straight down the hill. Unbelievable.
That is awesome!!!!! A pivotal point !!!! I’ll never forget my first legit turn :smile: mind you I’m not great but I’m trying! But when you start to get it, you get it and it just keeps getting better! Good for you!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
@newboots I wish I lived closer to Big Snow, I'd be there with you! Sounds like you had nasty fall on Fools Errand.
I wish you did, too!

Remarkably, I didn't get hurt in that fall. I was rolling somehow, and kept thinking I saw a post repeatedly and was afraid I would hit it. It wasn't a post; it must have been my skis. (I was aiming for the black trail next to it, which I had been watching others navigate all morning, and was pretty sure I could do it!)
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
My narrowest ski is 77 underfoot (Renoun Z-77's, which I think is currently the Atlas), and I have to say that it's a real blast on groomers in a wide range of conditions. Really, these skis always put a smile on my face.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The Glory was a really popular ski. Ironically, my husband somehow ended up with a pair before I met him (not unusual when you work at a shop) and they are sitting in the garage. I keep thinking I should take them out...

I'm looking to possibly downsize my daily driver ski from an 88 to an 84 or narrower. Narrower is funnerer if the construction is right.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Funnerer! That's exactly what I felt on those Glorys!

. . . Yes, Mr. Blizzard got two pairs of Glorys (a 149 and a 153) that were left at the shop when someone bought new skis.
If they're still in good condition, keep skiing them!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
^^But do have the bindings checked. If they are more than 10 years old, the bindings may be too old to be safe. How old are these skis?
 

newboots

Angel Diva
^^But do have the bindings checked. If they are more than 10 years old, the bindings may be too old to be safe. How old are these skis?
The extremely picky Mr. Blizzard tuned them and checked and adjusted the bindings before he gave them to me. He is a perfectionist about bindings (and many other things), so I am not worried. I can check in the book at work to be sure, though.
 

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