How'd you find TheSkiDiva.com?

[EdithP]

Welcome to us, @EdithP! I confess that I once ended up in Poland accidentally when we didn't realized that we wouldn't have to show our passports to do so and went to see where the island highway in Germany ended until suddenly all the signs were in Polish!!!!! It was a fun adventure and we had lunch and shopped while we were there!

Yes, that happens to unprepared people ! NB, what a wonderful world in which you can roam without passport controls. I remember a summer in 1970s when , by a special stroke of luck, I landed a summer job in Andorra, as a student. All around me people were doing daily shopping in France or Spain control free, ad tried to talk me into it too, saying that nobody checks anything anyway, but I would not risk it. In the end though, tempted by the vicinity of those fantastic destinations, I applied for a Spanish visa by post and got it. Then I had a ball travelling to Madrid, Toledo, Valentia , Barcelona on an interrail ticket, when it finally hit me that I won't be able to return to France without another visa. Took plenty of red tape and botheration (what was I doing there as a Polish citizen anyway? those were still the days of Cold War and General Franco) and when I finally landed a French visa, they charged me so much for it that my holiday job money was almost spent. Those were the days and I hope they will never return!

 

[EdithP]

Some of the other FBs groups I'm apart of can be toxic (albeit funny at times)

So true.

 

[La Louve]

I'm going skiing on April 19th at Mt. Bachelor (Bend, OR), was searching out some different skis that have been recommended to me to demo and by googling I found a discussion thread here comparing two of the skis. Thank you for admitting me to the forum!

I haven't skied since 1996 due to a knee injury and financial reasons. I was a green/ easier blue run skier back then at Mt. Hood Meadows. My plan for the 19th is to take a 3 hour private lesson so I can remember what it's like and learn about handling these newer downhill skis!

The thread I read here convinced me the recommended skis would be too much for me and would be counterproductive to a good (re)learning progression.

I first "learned" to ski back in high school and college (late 60s/early 70s) in Northern California but never got the hang of it and always had numb feet. Never had proper lessons or decent equipment. I tried again when I lived in Seattle in the mid 80s and took lessons but still didn't get the hang of it.

When I decided to try again in 1991 after moving to Portland, I bought good boots (Langes) and beginner-intermediate skis (Atomics) and took a bunch of lessons on an indoor ski ramp in Portland. My first day up at Meadows was so fun and all day long I was singing out "I love my new booooooooots!" Took more lessons and gradually progressed to some of the easier blue runs.

Fast forward to the last couple weeks. I found a highly recommended bootfitter via a reddit thread by googling. Greg Coulter at Boots And More. He has a mobile service so I was able to go to his home outside Portland. On my first appointment he measured my feet, noted all the idiosyncracies in them and listened to my past experience and injuries as well as my current goals. He recommended four boots to try. Three were at Evo in Portland and I tried on the fourth at Evo in Seattle last Saturday. I wanted to love the Langes but I ended up buying Salomon S Pro Alpha 90s at the Portland Evo store. Both the Seattle and Portland fitters agreed they were the best fit right out of the box. Greg custom fitted them for me earlier this week.

I also had to replace my 2006 helmet and goggles and luckily was able to use my REI discount code for those!

After reading the initial thread that led me here plus a few more, I've decided I'm going to rent skis at the mountain so I don't have to schlep them too far (lol) and more importantly so I can learn on something more appropriate for my skill level. I previously got a recommendation for an instructor, requested her when I booked my lesson and the ski school confirmed she will be my instructor!

I'm so excited to be here and I'm so excited to be going skiing in two weeks!

 

[snowski/swimmouse]

Welcome to us Edith P! It sounds like you've planned this return well! I hope it all works out for you and you move forward in leaps and bounds!

 

[aloha.hau]

I was looking for somewhere - anywhere without the typical toxicity and turbo-testosterone usually seen on ski forums. I searched for "women" and "skiing" and found this great place. Thank-you for being here!