Hi! I just found your website and am really excited to talk to women skiers instead of ski salesmen so I can get some real information. Yes, I am looking for new skis but before asking about brands in the gear forum, I would like to ask about the technique of skiing the newer shaped skis.
First, about me: I live in Colorado and ski Vail, Loveland, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park and Copper. I am an Advanced level skier who would like to move up to the Expert level. I prefer to ski single blacks and lots of trees. I am currently on some 10 year old GS skis which are holding me back. You are obviously asking why I haven't bought new skis in 10 years. Its not that I am resistant to change or think my old skis are the best thing in the world. The real reason is that I had a baby six and a half years ago. I skipped a season then only skied one or two times the next two years since my kid did not do well with all day babysitting. When my son was three, we started him skiing. Not knowing any better, we took him on the lifts a few times and went down the hill - no problem. We then put him in ski school for a day where they used the little magic carpet. He was so bored, he refused to go back. He wanted to go on the lifts and the ski schools did not take three year-olds on lifts. And even if they would, I am basically paranoid and did not want him on a lift without me or my husband. So my husband and I taught him to ski. As a result, I have been skiing greens and blues the last few years coaching my kid and really had no need for a better ski.
This year everything has changed. I now have a six year old boy that can ski black diamond tree runs, can turn on a dime, searches for jumps and has no fear of speed. I hate to say it but my kid is faster than I am through the trees. I still have much better technique but I just can't keep up on old 180 GS skis, so the search for new skis has begun. So after that introduction, on to the questions.
I demoed some skis last season and not thinking to take a lesson, had some problems changing technique for the new shaped skis with no instruction on how to do that. I got a lot of chatter and tip waving. I think it is because I am running them too flat, because when I set them on edge they turn too much. I want an all-mountain/mid-fat ski that turns quickly *when I want it to* for going around trees in powder or on moguls. So I do not want a "cruiser/groomer" style ski. But, when I do packed powder blues, I want to go full speed fall-line with as little turning as possible, just a few large radius arcs. How do I do this on an all-mountain/mid-fat ski that wobbles if you run it flat but turns too tight of a radius if set on edge?
I read a post that stated that a particular ski was not good for moguls because it had too much side-cut. I am confused, doesn't more side cut = tighter turns = better in moguls? I do not love moguls and cannot do fall-line on them in my GS skis. Unfortunately, there is no choice but to do miles of moguls when you are on Colorado black runs unless you have a fresh powder day. Could someone educate me on sidecuts and why more sidecut is bad on moguls?
I have read about skiing the new shape skis and that you no longer weight/un-weight to make your turns but rather just move your hips into the turn to get your skis on the new edge. On hard-pack days you have trees, steep and moguls all together so you often don't have any choice where you turn and can easily get going too fast. I am used to the old-style technique where you slow down by dropping energy when you punch the sides of the turn. On the shaped ski/new skiing style how do you slow down/drop speed when trying to ski the fall-line (not by traversing or holding the turn till it goes uphill)?
I found some of the skies I demoed like the Rosignol Bandit B2s terribly soft or damp, with no rebound. They loved to carve full tight turns that slowed me way down but I couldn't figure out how to go fast on them. I do not know if I just need a stiffer ski or if it is just my old-style skiing technique that is confusing me. They felt like too much work. I have been looking for skis with lots of rebound but now that I have been reading that you don't need to unweight, do I not need rebound? What does rebound do for you in the new technique and is it something you want or don't want a lot of?
I have read a lot about how to do basic carving on shape skis but would appreciate any any other advice on shape ski technique for powder, moguls or trees.
Thanks!
First, about me: I live in Colorado and ski Vail, Loveland, Breckenridge, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Winter Park and Copper. I am an Advanced level skier who would like to move up to the Expert level. I prefer to ski single blacks and lots of trees. I am currently on some 10 year old GS skis which are holding me back. You are obviously asking why I haven't bought new skis in 10 years. Its not that I am resistant to change or think my old skis are the best thing in the world. The real reason is that I had a baby six and a half years ago. I skipped a season then only skied one or two times the next two years since my kid did not do well with all day babysitting. When my son was three, we started him skiing. Not knowing any better, we took him on the lifts a few times and went down the hill - no problem. We then put him in ski school for a day where they used the little magic carpet. He was so bored, he refused to go back. He wanted to go on the lifts and the ski schools did not take three year-olds on lifts. And even if they would, I am basically paranoid and did not want him on a lift without me or my husband. So my husband and I taught him to ski. As a result, I have been skiing greens and blues the last few years coaching my kid and really had no need for a better ski.
This year everything has changed. I now have a six year old boy that can ski black diamond tree runs, can turn on a dime, searches for jumps and has no fear of speed. I hate to say it but my kid is faster than I am through the trees. I still have much better technique but I just can't keep up on old 180 GS skis, so the search for new skis has begun. So after that introduction, on to the questions.
I demoed some skis last season and not thinking to take a lesson, had some problems changing technique for the new shaped skis with no instruction on how to do that. I got a lot of chatter and tip waving. I think it is because I am running them too flat, because when I set them on edge they turn too much. I want an all-mountain/mid-fat ski that turns quickly *when I want it to* for going around trees in powder or on moguls. So I do not want a "cruiser/groomer" style ski. But, when I do packed powder blues, I want to go full speed fall-line with as little turning as possible, just a few large radius arcs. How do I do this on an all-mountain/mid-fat ski that wobbles if you run it flat but turns too tight of a radius if set on edge?
I read a post that stated that a particular ski was not good for moguls because it had too much side-cut. I am confused, doesn't more side cut = tighter turns = better in moguls? I do not love moguls and cannot do fall-line on them in my GS skis. Unfortunately, there is no choice but to do miles of moguls when you are on Colorado black runs unless you have a fresh powder day. Could someone educate me on sidecuts and why more sidecut is bad on moguls?
I have read about skiing the new shape skis and that you no longer weight/un-weight to make your turns but rather just move your hips into the turn to get your skis on the new edge. On hard-pack days you have trees, steep and moguls all together so you often don't have any choice where you turn and can easily get going too fast. I am used to the old-style technique where you slow down by dropping energy when you punch the sides of the turn. On the shaped ski/new skiing style how do you slow down/drop speed when trying to ski the fall-line (not by traversing or holding the turn till it goes uphill)?
I found some of the skies I demoed like the Rosignol Bandit B2s terribly soft or damp, with no rebound. They loved to carve full tight turns that slowed me way down but I couldn't figure out how to go fast on them. I do not know if I just need a stiffer ski or if it is just my old-style skiing technique that is confusing me. They felt like too much work. I have been looking for skis with lots of rebound but now that I have been reading that you don't need to unweight, do I not need rebound? What does rebound do for you in the new technique and is it something you want or don't want a lot of?
I have read a lot about how to do basic carving on shape skis but would appreciate any any other advice on shape ski technique for powder, moguls or trees.
Thanks!
Okay, I remember falling over sideways a lot, but everything else being pretty easy. And not having to worry about skiing with my feet together. Biggest shock, of course, was the length of ski decreasing. This last piece is particularly memorable because between 1993 and 2006, the only skis I owned were a pair of straight Rossi's in 175, and from 1999 until 2006, I rented. My skis kept getting shorter and shorter and shorter...
