Finally skiing!

[coldthrill]

I am so happy to report that I am now an *actual* ski diva since joining this forum a year ago. Two wonderful days of skiing at Windham in The Catskills, one snowy and the next super sunny, with my teen daughter. First time in 25-ish years. I'd so been looking forward to this winter but twisted my ankle badly the Sunday after Thanksgiving and ended up with an avulsion fracture of my right tibia. Turns out it was classic blessing in disguise, as all winter long I had the guidance and encouragement of a great physical therapist. We are still working on core strength, stability and balance. I am rusty, for sure, but some runs reminded me of the grooves you get in that make skiing such a wonder. And: fresh powder! All the gear I'd amassed over the past year worked perfectly. Very happy about the 2022 Lange RX 110 boots I got a deal on; measured a size down from what I thought I'd be, and the fit is perfect for my high-instep foot. The only thing I'm wondering about is if I'm on the right skis. Got the Santa Ana 88s last year and I feel like they are wide for me. Guess that would make sense given the type of skis I was used to at the end of the last century. I would love to get the Stockli Nela 80s but they're pricey and tough to find. Does anyone have any other suggestions for great narrow skis? Though I used to be a completely fearless skier I'm taking the reentry slower than I might prefer, by choice. Seems the wise thing to do.

 

[newboots]

@coldthrill - What a wonderful screen name! What a joyful post that was!

I am a narrow-ski woman myself, but I want to assure you that a whole lot of people love 88s, and a huge number of them love the Santa Anas. How many times have you skied on them?

You may want a more narrow ski if you (1) really want to be carving, (2) have some difficulty putting the 88s on edge or (3) have older knees. (Notice I didn't refer to your age, just the age of your knees!) Wider skis are harder to put on edge than narrower ones, and can be harder on aging knees. That said, many women here would not describe 88s as "wide."

I ski the Blizzard Black Pearl 82s. I also have an older pair of Dynastar Glorys that have a 69 waist (they are teaching me how to carve, although the 82s are also good for carving). There are plenty of skis around in the 70s and low 80s; you might consider demoing with an eye toward buying (perhaps even buying the demo ski). Do you usually ski at Windham? Tell us a little more about you, and the suggestions will come rolling in. (Age, height, weight, rough location, preferred type of skiing.)

 

[coldthrill]

@coldthrill - What a wonderful screen name! What a joyful post that was!

I am a narrow-ski woman myself, but I want to assure you that a whole lot of people love 88s, and a huge number of them love the Santa Anas. How many times have you skied on them?

You may want a more narrow ski if you (1) really want to be carving, (2) have some difficulty putting the 88s on edge or (3) have older knees. (Notice I didn't refer to your age, just the age of your knees!) Wider skis are harder to put on edge than narrower ones, and can be harder on aging knees. That said, many women here would not describe 88s as "wide."

I ski the Blizzard Black Pearl 82s. I also have an older pair of Dynastar Glorys that have a 69 waist (they are teaching me how to carve, although the 82s are also good for carving). There are plenty of skis around in the 70s and low 80s; you might consider demoing with an eye toward buying (perhaps even buying the demo ski). Do you usually ski at Windham? Tell us a little more about you, and the suggestions will come rolling in. (Age, height, weight, rough location, preferred type of skiing.)

 

[coldthrill]

Thank you, @newboots! I'm sure I just need to get used to the new skis just as I need to get used to skiing again. The shape of the skis as well as the width are simply different from what I've ever skied on before. I'm 5'5" 123 (gained and then lost around 7 pandemic pounds after rejoining the gym and doing PT) and definitely old, as are my knees, by association. I'm pretty active and strong, and love carving and going fast. Mostly frontside, yes, but would love to revisit off-piste skiing as well, given the opportunity. I know the Santa Ana's would be great for that. Still, I grew up skiing NH's steep, icy slopes as a kid and kind of miss the supergrip of straight and narrow skis. (I grew up in two Boston suburbs.) My last skis were Olin Mark VIs, if memory serves, bought in Japan, where I did more skiing than anywhere else on a wonderfully wild mountain in northeast Hokkaido very close to where I was living. I've skied just two days at Windham and am dying to go back asap. Windham is just 2.5 hours from where I live, so totally doable for day trips. I'll likely buy a 22/23 season pass, which I can start using for the remainder of this season, which is pretty cool. I'd love to go back to Sugarloaf and Killington, both of which I love, and also ski Stowe, Stratton and Mt. Snow one day. I think Windham will be great as an initial home base.

 

[marzNC]

I've skied just two days at Windham and am dying to go back asap. Windham is just 2.5 hours from where I live, so totally doable for day trips. I'll likely buy a 22/23 season pass, which I can start using for the remainder of this season, which is pretty cool. I'd love to go back to Sugarloaf and Killington, both of which I love, and also ski Stowe, Stratton and Mt. Snow one day. I think Windham will be great as an initial home base.

Welcome back to the slopes! I stopped by Windham in late February on the way to Plattekill. Since it's on Ikon, made it easy to check it out for the first time. I liked the vibe of the place. Definitely felt more comfortable than at Hunter.

Depending on how often you expect to make it to Windham, you might consider the Ikon multi-resort pass. It comes in three versions, with either 5 or 7 days at Windham. Killington, Stratton, and Sugarloaf are on Ikon. Stowe is now owned by Vail Resorts and on the Epic pass.

The first multi-regional, multi-resort, pass came out around 2013. At this point, there are three that can work out well for folks in the northeast: Ikon, Epic, Indy.

Multi-resort passes for 2022-23: Ikon, Epic, Indy etc.

From StormSkiingJournal.com: Ikon Pass Adds Snowbasin, Sun Valley, Chamonix for 2022-23 Season, Drops Crystal from Unlimited Tier on Full Ikon Pass, Alta and Deer Valley Leave Base Pass for Base Plus Snowbasin and Sun Valley Exit Epic Pass, will also join Mountain Collective Stuart Winchester 9...

www.theskidiva.com

 

[newboots]

If you buy the Windham pass with the Ikon pass upgrade, you can ski for "free" at Stratton, Sugarloaf, and Killington. (Limited days at Killington). Also Sugarbush!

Do demo some skinnier skis, now or next season. It will give you an idea of what your choices are like. Much more choice than the old days.

 

[coldthrill]

Welcome back to the slopes! I stopped by Windham in late February on the way to Plattekill. Since it's on Ikon, made it easy to check it out for the first time. I liked the vibe of the place. Definitely felt more comfortable than at Hunter.

Depending on how often you expect to make it to Windham, you might consider the Ikon multi-resort pass. It comes in three versions, with either 5 or 7 days at Windham. Killington, Stratton, and Sugarloaf are on Ikon. Stowe is now owned by Vail Resorts and on the Epic pass.

The first multi-regional, multi-resort, pass came out around 2013. At this point, there are three that can work out well for folks in the northeast: Ikon, Epic, Indy.

Multi-resort passes for 2022-23: Ikon, Epic, Indy etc.

From StormSkiingJournal.com: Ikon Pass Adds Snowbasin, Sun Valley, Chamonix for 2022-23 Season, Drops Crystal from Unlimited Tier on Full Ikon Pass, Alta and Deer Valley Leave Base Pass for Base Plus Snowbasin and Sun Valley Exit Epic Pass, will also join Mountain Collective Stuart Winchester 9...

www.theskidiva.com

Thank you!

 

[coldthrill]

If you buy the Windham pass with the Ikon pass upgrade, you can ski for "free" at Stratton, Sugarloaf, and Killington. (Limited days at Killington). Also Sugarbush!

Do demo some skinnier skis, now or next season. It will give you an idea of what your choices are like. Much more choice than the old days.

Thanks so much! I'll probably stick to Windham for the next year, regaining some serious skills while visiting a few other spots, then look at multi-resort passes for 2023/24. Would still welcome skinny-ski recs!

 

[Jilly]

I know that feeling...knees vs wants vs pain. I have osteoarthritis. So anything over 82mm just plain hurts. I do own the Santa Anna's 88 for eastern pow days and to take out west. But my daily driver here in the east is much narrower...

Demo something narrower and don't be afraid of really narrow. My daily driver is 68mm under foot.

 

[marzNC]

No specific ski recommendations because I haven't demo'd skis narrower than 80cm for a while. I have mid-70s skis for skiing in the southeast and mid-Atlantic. Also about 10cm shorter than the all-mountain skis that I take out west that are mid-80s underfoot.

I started taking lessons as an older adventurous intermediate or low advanced skier after some knee rehab. Took a few seasons, but has made quite a difference in the long run. I ski more efficiently with less effort on all sorts of terrain at this point.

 

[coldthrill]

I know that feeling...knees vs wants vs pain. I have osteoarthritis. So anything over 82mm just plain hurts. I do own the Santa Anna's 88 for eastern pow days and to take out west. But my daily driver here in the east is much narrower...

Demo something narrower and don't be afraid of really narrow. My daily driver is 68mm under foot.

I never knew there was a correlation between ski waist and knee pain. My left knee bothered me a bit toward the end of both days, as sometimes happens on bike rides. It would be interesting to see if that lessened on a narrower ski.

 

[coldthrill]

No specific ski recommendations because I haven't demo'd skis narrower than 80cm for a while. I have mid-70s skis for skiing in the southeast and mid-Atlantic. Also about 10cm shorter than the all-mountain skis that I take out west that are mid-80s underfoot.

I started taking lessons as an older adventurous intermediate or low advanced skier after some knee rehab. Took a few seasons, but has made quite a difference in the long run. I ski more efficiently with less effort on all sorts of terrain at this point.

Thanks for sharing. Am definitely going to research some narrower options

 

[marzNC]

@coldthrill : Deb Armstrong has been talking about the reasons for recreational skiers to go with narrower skis for a while. These videos have been posted in other TSD threads in the last year.

 

[coldthrill]

@coldthrill : Deb Armstrong has been talking about the reasons for recreational skiers to go with narrower skis for a while. These videos have been posted in other TSD threads in the last year.

Great, great stuff. Thank you! It's funny that I not only experienced what she was talking about while on the slopes but also attributed that experience to the width of my new skis. I am definitely going to seek out some narrower skis.

 

[marzNC]

Great, great stuff. Thank you! It's funny that I not only experienced what she was talking about while on the slopes but also attributed that experience to the width of my new skis. I am definitely going to seek out some narrower skis.

Deb Armstrong is doing quite a lot of really useful videos these days.

When I stopped in the Demo shop at Wyndham, they had a pretty good selection of skis appropriate for the snow conditions in the Catskills. It sounded like they sell off the demo skis all season. The price of demo'ing for a day was pretty steep but could work out if they have skis of interest that you were seriously interested in buying. It's nice that the demo skis are right out near the slopes, instead of being in the main lodge somewhere.

 

[newboots]

Since you've asked for specific ski recommendations and haven't gotten much about that, I'll chime in. My experience is quite limited, though, so I wouldn't characterize my thoughts as comprehensive - at all.

I ski the Blizzard Black Pearls in 82. They are fairly wide in the shovel and can theoretically provide some float if there were ever such a thing as a powder day. (Ski the East! ) They are pretty easy to put on edge and I love the way they carry me through crud and chop. Frozen chop, not as well, but hey.

I also ski a pretty old pair of Dynastar Glorys with a 69 waist. While my BPs were summering in Vermont, I was skiing at Big Snow in NJ (indoors). I took these skis when I was trying to teach myself to carve. Now I describe it as the skis teaching me how to carve! Super easy to edge. These are also very stiff skis (my ex, Mr. Blizzard, told me there are two layers of steel inside. He is given to hyperbole so I'm not certain about this, but they are heavy. It must have been in the pre-titanal times?)

All of the major brands make good skis. It comes down to individual preferences. For example, the Black Pearl (88) has been the most popular ski (regardless of gender) for a number of years. People seem to either love it or hate it!

Carving skis that I have read about and admired include the Atomic Cloud series, Salomon Force Fever, Blizzard Phoenix 14 Pro, and the Stockli Nela. But I've never skied these. I'm an intermediate skier, new to carving, and I'm not really qualified to offer opinions (so I try not to).

 

[coldthrill]

Since you've asked for specific ski recommendations and haven't gotten much about that, I'll chime in. My experience is quite limited, though, so I wouldn't characterize my thoughts as comprehensive - at all.

I ski the Blizzard Black Pearls in 82. They are fairly wide in the shovel and can theoretically provide some float if there were ever such a thing as a powder day. (Ski the East! ) They are pretty easy to put on edge and I love the way they carry me through crud and chop. Frozen chop, not as well, but hey.

I also ski a pretty old pair of Dynastar Glorys with a 69 waist. While my BPs were summering in Vermont, I was skiing at Big Snow in NJ (indoors). I took these skis when I was trying to teach myself to carve. Now I describe it as the skis teaching me how to carve! Super easy to edge. These are also very stiff skis (my ex, Mr. Blizzard, told me there are two layers of steel inside. He is given to hyperbole so I'm not certain about this, but they are heavy. It must have been in the pre-titanal times?)

All of the major brands make good skis. It comes down to individual preferences. For example, the Black Pearl (88) has been the most popular ski (regardless of gender) for a number of years. People seem to either love it or hate it!

Carving skis that I have read about and admired include the Atomic Cloud series, Salomon Force Fever, Blizzard Phoenix 14 Pro, and the Stockli Nela. But I've never skied these. I'm an intermediate skier, new to carving, and I'm not really qualified to offer opinions (so I try not to).

Thank you so much! This is really helpful. I think I'll aim for something in the 70s (if not the Nela 80s), and will definitely check these out.

 

[coldthrill]

I know that feeling...knees vs wants vs pain. I have osteoarthritis. So anything over 82mm just plain hurts. I do own the Santa Anna's 88 for eastern pow days and to take out west. But my daily driver here in the east is much narrower...

Demo something narrower and don't be afraid of really narrow. My daily driver is 68mm under foot.

Really appreciate your advice. It's enlightening