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Help Needed: Getting back into it!

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Hey, Ladies! I'm new here. I'm getting back into skiing after several years of being out of it (about 20). Some background...I was an avid intermediate-advanced skier all through high school, skiing on 180s. Then through my twenties and babies, I only went a few times. My girls are 9 and 7 and my husband and I took them once last year... they're hooked and we live within minutes of our local ski resort in Western New York so we're all in as a family. I purchased K2 thrilluvit 85s over the Summer in 163 cm (online) and, when they arrived, I couldn't stop staring at how long and wide the tip looked. I've gotten used to looking at them now but I'm still just a little nervous that I'm in over my head. For reference, I'm 5'7 inches and 160 lbs. Will I be okay on these or do you think they're too long? I won't be purchasing another pair of skis for a long time. Will these all mountains serve me well? Thanks in advance for your help. Screenshot_20180921-183319_Instagram.jpg
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum, and welcome back to skiing! No, those skis are not too long for you at all, In fact, to me they sound just right.

If you haven't skied on shaped skis before, you might want to take a lesson. The technique is somewhat different than the technique we used for straight skis way back when. It really makes things a lot easier and really, really fun.

Best of luck to you!
 

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Thank you so much! This really sets my mind at ease! And thank you for suggesting a lesson. That's a great idea. I'm thankful to find such a great forum for Ladies only!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Hey, Ladies! I'm new here. I'm getting back into skiing after several years of being out of it (about 20). Some background...I was an avid intermediate-advanced skier all through high school, skiing on 180s. Then through my twenties and babies, I only went a few times. My girls are 9 and 7 and my husband and I took them once last year... they're hooked and we live within minutes of our local ski resort in Western New York so we're all in as a family. I purchased K2 thrilluvit 85s over the Summer in 163 cm (online) and, when they arrived, I couldn't stop staring at how long and wide the tip looked. I've gotten used to looking at them now but I'm still just a little nervous that I'm in over my head. For reference, I'm 5'7 inches and 160 lbs. Will I be okay on these or do you think they're too long? I won't be purchasing another pair of skis for a long time. Will these all mountains serve me well? Thanks in advance for your help. View attachment 9356
Welcome! Thanks for the background. Sounds like you were a much better skier than I was before the hiatus. I only skied for a couple years in the Adirondacks during middle school before 1970. Most of my skiing has been in the last 15 years since getting my daughter on skis at age 4 and she's in high school now. My husband of 25+ years turned out to be a non-skier but that has only meant I do ski trips without him. Do you ski at Holiday Valley?

A lesson is definitely the way to go. But I think you won't find the transition that tough. The first time I tried a pair of "shaped" skis was back in 2000 when there was a free demo tent at Heavenly. I was happy to find that I could make parallel turns without effort, given that I was only a stem-christie advanced beginner on straight skis. Let the ski school know as much as you can. Ask if they have an instructor who went through the transition, meaning on older instructor. Better to say you would an advanced skier as a young adult, as opposed to an intermediate. The way instructor levels are set up, an intermediate can end up with an instructor not really qualified to teach an advanced skier while a more experienced instructor is often a better instructor for a skier of any level. In particular, will be able to what's called Movement Analysis more effectively to decide which skill to focus on for a first lesson after a hiatus.

Note that I'm not an instructor. But have talked with quite a few, done a lot of reading, and have been taking lessons in the last five years from assorted very experienced (PSIA L3) instructors.
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Welcome to our world!! You are going to have so much fun. This is so much a family sport. And it doesn't matter what level of skiing ability you're at, it's fun. And it's something that you can do forever. I've skied with 85 yr olds, that woop my ass!!

I agree with a lesson or 2. Those skis sound right to me too. I'm 5'5, 155lbs and ski a tuned down race ski at 161. I'm also a certified ski instructor in Canada, but currently not teaching. Hence the tuned down race ski. Where are you skiing in NY, maybe someone here, knows an instructor there?

But, how about boots? Boots are the connection to your skis. Please don't try to save money here. Go see a boot fitter for boots. Check out the thread in the Gearpedia section about fitting boots.
 

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Welcome! Thanks for the background. Sounds like you were a much better skier than I was before the hiatus. I only skied for a couple years in the Adirondacks during middle school before 1970. Most of my skiing has been in the last 15 years since getting my daughter on skis at age 4 and she's in high school now. My husband of 25+ years turned out to be a non-skier but that has only meant I do ski trips without him. Do you ski at Holiday Valley?

A lesson is definitely the way to go. But I think you won't find the transition that tough. The first time I tried a pair of "shaped" skis was back in 2000 when there was a free demo tent at Heavenly. I was happy to find that I could make parallel turns without effort, given that I was only a stem-christie advanced beginner on straight skis. Let the ski school know as much as you can. Ask if they have an instructor who went through the transition, meaning on older instructor. Better to say you would an advanced skier as a young adult, as opposed to an intermediate. The way instructor levels are set up, an intermediate can end up with an instructor not really qualified to teach an advanced skier while a more experienced instructor is often a better instructor for a skier of any level. In particular, will be able to what's called Movement Analysis more effectively to decide which skill to focus on for a first lesson after a hiatus.

Note that I'm not an instructor. But have talked with quite a few, done a lot of reading, and have been taking lessons in the last five years from assorted very experienced (PSIA L3) instructors.
Thank you so much! Such great information to give an instructor that I wouldn't have thought of. I grew up in rural north central PA. The bulk of my skiing was at a small though pretty impressive ski area called Denton Hill, though I did ski Holiday Valley in high school also! My husband is also a non-skier, though he's slowly been learning. He can ski enough to get by. Though my profession is teaching I'm terrible at teaching someone to ski
 

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Welcome to our world!! You are going to have so much fun. This is so much a family sport. And it doesn't matter what level of skiing ability you're at, it's fun. And it's something that you can do forever. I've skied with 85 yr olds, that woop my ass!!

I agree with a lesson or 2. Those skis sound right to me too. I'm 5'5, 155lbs and ski a tuned down race ski at 161. I'm also a certified ski instructor in Canada, but currently not teaching. Hence the tuned down race ski. Where are you skiing in NY, maybe someone here, knows an instructor there?

But, how about boots? Boots are the connection to your skis. Please don't try to save money here. Go see a boot fitter for boots. Check out the thread in the Gearpedia section about fitting boots.
Hi! Thank you! I'll be doing much of my skiing at Kissing Bridge outside of Buffalo. I ordered the Lange sx 80 boots which feel great and are very adjustable. I'll be going to have them fitted when I have my bindings mounted which are the new marker squire 11d to be sure everything works well together. I'm going to check that thread!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Thank you so much! Such great information to give an instructor that I wouldn't have thought of. I grew up in rural north central PA. The bulk of my skiing was at a small though pretty impressive ski area called Denton Hill, though I did ski Holiday Valley in high school also! My husband is also a non-skier, though he's slowly been learning. He can ski enough to get by. Though my profession is teaching I'm terrible at teaching someone to ski
Ah, never "met" someone who skied at Denton. There was a discussion about it on DCSki a few years ago. I gather the short steep trail was the steepest trail in the Mid-Atlantic. There are efforts to re-open it some day soon.

I've seen my husband on skis twice. The second time was the week my 4yo daughter first enjoyed sliding on skis. She loved it from Day 1. As I did back in middle school. It was clear skiing isn't for him. We do other fun stuff with him instead. :smile:

It's generally advised to avoid trying to teach an SO to ski. Best to let an instructor do their job. Can ask the instructor at the end of a lesson for one point to for a gentle reminder when skiing together later. But not too often. That's what I would do with my daughter. The advantage of her doing ski school at a small ski hill (northern VA) was that it was easy to watch the kid's group lessons from the lift. Although I would also shadow her lessons from far enough away that she wouldn't notice. If she did, then I would go ahead and ski past the group. I used to volunteer in her classroom, so she was relatively used to ignoring my presence.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Ah, never "met" someone who skied at Denton. There was a discussion about it on DCSki a few years ago. I gather the short steep trail was the steepest trail in the Mid-Atlantic. There are efforts to re-open it some day soon.

I've seen my husband on skis twice. The second time was the week my 4yo daughter first enjoyed sliding on skis. She loved it from Day 1. As I did back in middle school. It was clear skiing isn't for him. We do other fun stuff with him instead. :smile:

It's generally advised to avoid trying to teach an SO to ski. Best to let an instructor do their job. Can ask the instructor at the end of a level for one point to for a gentle reminder when skiing together later. But not too often. That's what I would do with my daughter. The advantage of her doing ski school at a small ski hill (northern VA) was that it was easy to watch the kid's group lessons from the lift. Although I would also shadow her lessons from far enough away that she wouldn't notice. If she did, then I would go ahead and ski past the group. I used to volunteer in her classroom, so she was relatively used to ignoring my presence.
That's true! Avalanche! My husband and I drove by a few weeks back and it still amazes me I skied that run regularly! I do hope they eventually reopen it. My parents still live that way and I'd love for my girls to ski there. My oldest daughter is in 4th grade and they have a great program here in ny for 3rd and 4th graders with a learn to ski pass that includes lessons so we'll go that route again this year. Great idea to shadow the lessons! Thanks for the great suggestions!
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi & Welcome! The thrilluvit's will be fine, They are a fun ski and the length will perfect, betting you'll be amazed how much easier newer skis are and you'll 'hook' right back up.
I'll second the getting boots that fit properly, and as an instructor I agree taking lessons will tune you (all) up quickly. Here's to a fun snowy winter skiing as a family!
 

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Hi & Welcome! The thrilluvit's will be fine, They are a fun ski and the length will perfect, betting you'll be amazed how much easier newer skis are and you'll 'hook' right back up.
I'll second the getting boots that fit properly, and as an instructor I agree taking lessons will tune you (all) up quickly. Here's to a fun snowy winter skiing as a family!
Thank you! Great! Do you think they'll be okay as an East Coast mostly groomer ski? I did quite a bit of research before purchasing them but I guess you can't truly know a ski until you ski it.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thank you! Great! Do you think they'll be okay as an East Coast mostly groomer ski? I did quite a bit of research before purchasing them but I guess you can't truly know a ski until you ski it.

yes! 85 under foot will be nice and stable, fun, they will carve fine and in our rare Eastern Powder days will perform well. K2 makes a nice ski.

If there are demo days it's always fun to try other skis, I like to try as many as possible my home Mt (Royal Mt in Caroga Lake NY) Has a free demo day during Presidents week, 1 yr I tried 15 skis!! I take notes and then if I 'really" have to have a pair I wait til end of winter or following year when they are on sale usually via the Skis.com link on this site. Many skis companies just change the top sheet and not the ski..
 

diymom

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi, I also have the Thrilluvit in 163. I’m 5’4”, intermediate east coast skier. I bought them after a K2 demo day when they first came out in 2017. My daily driver is a smidge shorter and narrower (Head Absolut Joy 158 cm) but I found the Thrilluvit to be fun and easy to ski especially in spring slush or a few inches of fresh snow here in the east.
I think you’ll find the length to be just right for what you want right now. And don’t let somewhat surfy look of the tip throw you, it’s part of what makes it a fun ski.
Welcome to the forum, and happy snow days on your new skis!
 

Laynied03

Diva in Training
yes! 85 under foot will be nice and stable, fun, they will carve fine and in our rare Eastern Powder days will perform well. K2 makes a nice ski.

If there are demo days it's always fun to try other skis, I like to try as many as possible my home Mt (Royal Mt in Caroga Lake NY) Has a free demo day during Presidents week, 1 yr I tried 15 skis!! I take notes and then if I 'really" have to have a pair I wait til end of winter or following year when they are on sale usually via the Skis.com link on this site. Many skis companies just change the top sheet and not the ski..
Oh good! I'll definitely keep my ears open for a demo day too! Thank you!
 

Laynied03

Diva in Training
Hi, I also have the Thrilluvit in 163. I’m 5’4”, intermediate east coast skier. I bought them after a K2 demo day when they first came out in 2017. My daily driver is a smidge shorter and narrower (Head Absolut Joy 158 cm) but I found the Thrilluvit to be fun and easy to ski especially in spring slush or a few inches of fresh snow here in the east.
I think you’ll find the length to be just right for what you want right now. And don’t let somewhat surfy look of the tip throw you, it’s part of what makes it a fun ski.
Welcome to the forum, and happy snow days on your new skis!
This makes me feel so much better! It is the tip that's been throwing me off. My last set of skis were K2 so I kind of have a sweet spot for them. Of course my first set ever was a set of Heads so that company will always have a special place in my heart too! Thank you for your help!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
My last set of skis were K2 so I kind of have a sweet spot for them. Of course my first set ever was a set of Heads so that company will always have a special place in my heart too!
I know what you mean about Head. That was the only brand name I remembered from my middle school skiing experience on skis leased for the season. When the Head Joy line came out, that was one reason I wanted to try them all. Just so happens that I've liked every Joy model I've tried in the last few years. I bought the Absolut Joy as my narrower skis for Mid-Atlantic and northeast skiing because they are 78 underfoot instead of the next wider model. The Total Joy is 84 underfoot and I like those too. The bonus for Joy models is that they are very light to carry from the parking lot and come with bindings so no need to worry about what binding to buy.

I like K2 skis too. My first good skis were K2 back in 2008. I'm petite so my experience is not as useful to you as @nopoleskier and @diymom. They happen to be two of the Divas who I've had the pleasure of skiing with in recent years.
 

Keepur

Certified Ski Diva
Welcome to the forum and I'm so glad you are getting back into skiing! :smile:

Oh good! I'll definitely keep my ears open for a demo day too! Thank you!

Definitely see if your mountain has a demo day! If you feel like driving another 45 min or so, I know Holiday Valley has a demo day in mid-December. And I agree with everyone about taking a lesson, too.
 

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