Boot fit vs Technique

[litterbug]

Well I'm back again and in a much better and optimistic state of mind. Last Friday after I was sad and exhausted and despairing of ever getting control of my skis, Zo added pads to either side of the fronts of my ankles to try and lock my heels down. Today was my first try on them, and while it will take a little bit to see how it shakes out, today was amazing. Aside from several buckle readjustments, it was all about skiing, trying to get this whole shin/tongue thing figured out, and then letting go of the thinking and just hunting out piles of chopped up snow to turn in and feeling like I was moving through a lovely white world lidded with a cap of turquoise.

Sigh.

Now that I have functioning boots and am skiing as well as I can I signed up for that private lesson I promised myself in December, then couldn't do in January because of my strained shoulder, and February I had non stop boot weirdness, but now I'm at the point where I can work on technique and hopefully discover that my unevenness is all about form. There's no bouncy smiley on Tapatalk, but you'll have to take my word for how tickled I am.

 

[Little Lightning]

My bootfitting story is quite different. During Christmas break I replaced my old boots with my new boots, same model. This time my boot fitter heat molded the liner. The boots have lots of adjustments so I adjusted them the way I had the old boots adjusted. I had been working with a PT on changing my stance from a "flat lower back" to a "natural curve" or "neutral spine" and bending from the hips rather than my waist. With my boots adjusted the old way, tight, no heel movement, I couldn't flex the boots and I couldn't bend from the hips, only from the waist which caused pain in my lower back and SI joint. Btw, this was my "old" stance. Finally, I realized the old way just wasn't working and started playing with the adjustments.

One day, after readjusting after lunch, I thought I had it right and started off feeling pretty good. We were skiing a short powder run and by the end of the run I was in so much pain that I sat down in the snow and loosened the buckles of both boots. I figured that I was going to slop around the rest of the afternoon but amazingly I didn't notice my boots the rest of the day. I did notice my stance was better and I could flex the boots. After playing with the adjustments I've finally figured out what the best adjustments are and am amazed to find I don't need my boots "super tight" to ski well.

This doesn't mean that proper fitting and balancing aren't important, they most certainly are, but I have a better stance on my skis with moderate tightness in my boots. I can move better and have much more awareness of where my body is in relation to my skis. With better stance I'm a stronger skier and my, oh, my how sore my glutes and hip flexors were after a week of skiing powder.

 

[geargrrl]

I got custom footbeds about 3 weeks ago. I have a great fit with my boots so I decided to take it to then next level. In addition to the footbeds, he did a cuff alignment. All I can say is WOW now I can really feel my inside edges! I have been working, working working on trying to engage the inside edge, especially on the left... and very first run I could feel the difference.! Amazing. Sorry I waited so long.

 

[Snowsong]

Skisci, so awesome you got to go to Green Mountain for your boot fitting . Although I like to shop at your local shop for other things, I don't go there for my boots or bootfitting for the reason you stated. And the person I told you to see has had some bootfitting experience, he just doesn't have the equipment to work with. Too bad, because it would only be an hour for me instead of driving to Chambersburg.