ski now work later
Angel Diva
For all of you intermediate skiers like me, and perhaps advanced skiers too, have you ever had one of those days that started poorly and you stuck with it and wound up having a fantastic day? That was me yesterday....
I skied Stowe in deep powder conditions mid-December, learned a LOT, but except for 1 day up there, haven't really had a chance to just move down longer groomed runs to work on my form, stance, and speed this season as I've primarily been at a smaller local resort with my kids, stopping frequently to wait for or watch them, and practicing skiing switch on green runs when I've had my twin tips. Anyway, yesterday DH and I went to Stratton for the day.
When we got on the lifts at 9 am, it was cloudy and CROWDED. DH was grumpy as he wasn't feeling well, and the upper half of the mountain was covered with thick fog, pea soup. We headed over to the Sun Bowl, usually my favorite area, and thank G-d we know the resort because visibility was awful. Black Bear, usually a great blue warm up run, was super crowded, skied off, with terrible visibility. Next we headed over to a black run on the upper mountain, North American. Snow was much better but still a little too busy for my taste (I'm spoiled as I primarly ski mid-week and weekends at a smaller, uncrowded hill) and still with very poor visibility. The combination of not being able to see and skiers and riders whizzing by made me pretty jittery. And then the equipment issues started to happen.
Last year I purchased Volkl Attiva AC3s, and concluded they were too long and traded them down to a 156. Finished the season with them and had some great days. This year, my skiing style is really changing as I'm finally moving toward a more advanced (translation: correct) form and carving more efficiently. I think last year I was primarily skidding my turns on the AC3s. This season, I've been skiing on Volkl Attiva AC2s, Solomon Mynx, and Solomon Scarlets, all softer, easier to flex skis. Yesterday I couldn't get those AC3s to flex or cooperate and my right ski would occasionally just start to move left-right-left-right in the middle of a turn! Also, my new boots are now broken in (yesterday was day 10) and felt loose on the right, so I buckled them tight and my foot was killing me!
After that black run, we ended up at the base lodge and I decided to switch skis for my AC2s, which I brought with me "just in case" (good planning as it turned out). This would have involved me getting my bag from bag check, changing boots, taking the shuttle to parking lot 1, and doing that all in reverse. DH was in a better mood by then (maybe feeling a bit guilty for being grumpy?) and offered to switch my skis for me (snowboard boots are easier to walk in). I gratefully accepted, went inside, and had a cup of tea, and took my time adjusting my boots so they were properly fit.
Fast forward. Next few runs was MUCH better, ok, maybe I should sell the AC3s as I seem to need a more flexible ski these days and I don't really need 2 sets of carvers. The AC2s held an edge very well on the icy areas and my speed was plenty fast on them on longer GS turns and flatter, long runs when I skied them correctly. The ability to ski them side by side (think "expensive demo") was the ultimate decision maker about which ski was right for me.
DH ended for the day after that run, as he was feeling tired from his cold, and we went inside for lunch. I then headed back out with the intention of doing a few runs, and had the best 2 hours of skiing so far this season! I went back to the Sun Bowl and skied the lower half (Sunriser Supertrail where they hold the US Open). It's a very long (for the lower mountain), wide blue trail with steeper spots, much more varied terrain than most Stratton trails, some bumps, not much ice or bramble, and lots of deep soft snow. I must have done that 7-8 times, skiing from top to bottom with maybe 1 brief stop and then right on the Sun Bowl Express Quad to do it again. It was great! I could feel my increased comfort level with the variety of terrain from the Stowe experience, and I really worked on moving forward, hands out front, carving clean turns, etc. Then the sun came out in full force, and I had fun skiing in sunny areas and glancing at my shadow to see if I was forward enough.
I ended the day by hopping on the Shooting Star Express Quad, and then skiing down some other trails on the Snow Bowl side, finding some bumps (and realizing that I could navigate them JUST FINE) and enjoying the sweet spot of my AC2s as I GS'd my way down to the main base area. As I skied up to the Gondola I lifted my poles in the air with a big GRIN on my face :D ! Came home and posted my AC3s for sale on this forum. They are a fabulous ski, but not for me at this phase in my skiing.
So happy that I stuck with it. Skiing is such a metaphor for life. Conditions change, equipment needs adjusting, and checking one's ego at the door is always useful. Sorry for the long post, but Sheena's posts about powder skiing inspired me!
I skied Stowe in deep powder conditions mid-December, learned a LOT, but except for 1 day up there, haven't really had a chance to just move down longer groomed runs to work on my form, stance, and speed this season as I've primarily been at a smaller local resort with my kids, stopping frequently to wait for or watch them, and practicing skiing switch on green runs when I've had my twin tips. Anyway, yesterday DH and I went to Stratton for the day.
When we got on the lifts at 9 am, it was cloudy and CROWDED. DH was grumpy as he wasn't feeling well, and the upper half of the mountain was covered with thick fog, pea soup. We headed over to the Sun Bowl, usually my favorite area, and thank G-d we know the resort because visibility was awful. Black Bear, usually a great blue warm up run, was super crowded, skied off, with terrible visibility. Next we headed over to a black run on the upper mountain, North American. Snow was much better but still a little too busy for my taste (I'm spoiled as I primarly ski mid-week and weekends at a smaller, uncrowded hill) and still with very poor visibility. The combination of not being able to see and skiers and riders whizzing by made me pretty jittery. And then the equipment issues started to happen.
Last year I purchased Volkl Attiva AC3s, and concluded they were too long and traded them down to a 156. Finished the season with them and had some great days. This year, my skiing style is really changing as I'm finally moving toward a more advanced (translation: correct) form and carving more efficiently. I think last year I was primarily skidding my turns on the AC3s. This season, I've been skiing on Volkl Attiva AC2s, Solomon Mynx, and Solomon Scarlets, all softer, easier to flex skis. Yesterday I couldn't get those AC3s to flex or cooperate and my right ski would occasionally just start to move left-right-left-right in the middle of a turn! Also, my new boots are now broken in (yesterday was day 10) and felt loose on the right, so I buckled them tight and my foot was killing me!
After that black run, we ended up at the base lodge and I decided to switch skis for my AC2s, which I brought with me "just in case" (good planning as it turned out). This would have involved me getting my bag from bag check, changing boots, taking the shuttle to parking lot 1, and doing that all in reverse. DH was in a better mood by then (maybe feeling a bit guilty for being grumpy?) and offered to switch my skis for me (snowboard boots are easier to walk in). I gratefully accepted, went inside, and had a cup of tea, and took my time adjusting my boots so they were properly fit.
Fast forward. Next few runs was MUCH better, ok, maybe I should sell the AC3s as I seem to need a more flexible ski these days and I don't really need 2 sets of carvers. The AC2s held an edge very well on the icy areas and my speed was plenty fast on them on longer GS turns and flatter, long runs when I skied them correctly. The ability to ski them side by side (think "expensive demo") was the ultimate decision maker about which ski was right for me.
DH ended for the day after that run, as he was feeling tired from his cold, and we went inside for lunch. I then headed back out with the intention of doing a few runs, and had the best 2 hours of skiing so far this season! I went back to the Sun Bowl and skied the lower half (Sunriser Supertrail where they hold the US Open). It's a very long (for the lower mountain), wide blue trail with steeper spots, much more varied terrain than most Stratton trails, some bumps, not much ice or bramble, and lots of deep soft snow. I must have done that 7-8 times, skiing from top to bottom with maybe 1 brief stop and then right on the Sun Bowl Express Quad to do it again. It was great! I could feel my increased comfort level with the variety of terrain from the Stowe experience, and I really worked on moving forward, hands out front, carving clean turns, etc. Then the sun came out in full force, and I had fun skiing in sunny areas and glancing at my shadow to see if I was forward enough.
I ended the day by hopping on the Shooting Star Express Quad, and then skiing down some other trails on the Snow Bowl side, finding some bumps (and realizing that I could navigate them JUST FINE) and enjoying the sweet spot of my AC2s as I GS'd my way down to the main base area. As I skied up to the Gondola I lifted my poles in the air with a big GRIN on my face :D ! Came home and posted my AC3s for sale on this forum. They are a fabulous ski, but not for me at this phase in my skiing.
So happy that I stuck with it. Skiing is such a metaphor for life. Conditions change, equipment needs adjusting, and checking one's ego at the door is always useful. Sorry for the long post, but Sheena's posts about powder skiing inspired me!
