tiny concern about my new elan skis..

[slow]

I have just been bought my first ever pair of skis as a gift - Elan Wave Magic 152 length - and although I'm hugely appreciative to my lovely friends for such an extravagant gift i'm a little bit nervous that they will be too fast/advanced for me!

Basically i'm probably not allowed to class myself as a beginner anymore as I have been on about five one-week skiing holidays over the last 8 years or so, but I am just one of those people that likes to go slow, take in the scenery, stay in control, and stick to the pretty blue runs, rather than push myself on steeper terrain. I find when I do fall on to a red rum by mistake I generally end up going much slower than I do on the blues, doing massive strained snowploughs and eventually trying to walk down the slope Bridget Jones style! So I wouldn't really class myself as 'intermediate' yet (and most definitely not 'advanced'!) and am worried that these skis are really for people who know what they are doing!

I am not the fittest of ladies and am overweight (about 75-80kg/12 and a half stone and am 5ft 5ins) and I find it quite difficult to keep control (even on steeper bits of the blue runs and getting off icy chairlift areas!) using the bog-standard rental skis so I am worried that this beautiful set of Elan skis are going to set me back even further rather than help me improve.

I haven't used the skis yet and they were bought in a ski shop locally so I guess if I act quickly I could risk slightly offending my friends and exchange them for something more suited to my rubbish skiing ability!

However I don't know the first thing about ski equipment and have simply googled the wave magic's to find out if they are right for me and read a few reviews and postings on here.

If anyone who knows about this kind of stuff can shed any light I would be massively appreciative!

Only thing is I am going skiing for a week in France this Sunday so need to hear from you asap!!!

Many thanks

ps. apologies - i think i've posted this message twice as i think i started off putting it in the wrong place...

 

[Jilly]

We'll get elangirl in on this, but I demo'd this ski in January. I think it still is a good skis for you. The Magic series like to be on edge, so you will need to adjust your skiing style to keep them there. Not saying that you can't ski them flat, but the performance is better when on edge. PS - most of the Diva's are American - use imperial weight - lbs etc. 75kg - 165 lbs.

 

[smpayne]

I don't know anything about that specific ski, but my first instinct is to say don't be afraid of an upper end ski. Those of us that are heavier, we actually need a stiffer ski, the size seems ok for your ability. I think you will be amazed at how much better you can ski with a more advanced ski, even if you feel like you are a beginner now. You will probably find you are having to work less than when you were on the rentals. You have very nice friends.:D

 

[smpayne]

Just looked these skis up. KEEP THEM!
I think your friends may have a better opinion of your ability and potential than you do at the moment. Take them to the shop and have them tuned up real nice.

 

[Elangirl]

I agree with keep them!! For two reasons, one--this is such an incredible gift that I think you should just ski and enjoy them and second, because this is really an intermediate ski and you will love them. They are easy to ski and, I think, they will help you ski better.

So often, it is hard to just accept generosity and enjoy it---we worry that the giver spent too much money or that the gift might not be what we would have purchased ourselves. Yet, just the fact that your friends bought these skis for you is an asset to them, they will be a symbol of love and affection---when you put them on your feet they will be a link to your friends and the fun of skiing. Use them, you will love them and they are really right for your ski level--so follow the dancing ladies and have some fun!!

 

[slow]

Wow you guys are all so helpful, thank you so much!

I was secretly hoping that the feedback I got was to keep them because aside from my reservations about them being too advanced for me, they are SO CUTE! I have never seen such beautiful skis and it sounds completely ridiculous but they even match my ski clothes! I got a lovely Bonfire jacket last year - it was the first time I had even realised that I could get ski/snowboard gear in womens shapes and sizes! All my other ski trips had involved hiring scary looking generic stuff or borrowing jackets from male friends with massive shoulders and no hips! Anyway my lovely jacket is grey and white with a red trim, just like those wave skis! Also Elangirl you are right that they will be a constant reminder of my fab friends and their kindness. Surely it will take much more falls and ski hiccups for me to rip them off and stomp down the piste in a huff by foot when they have such an emotional connection to me!!! They will be my soul-skis!

Anyway, on to less trivial chatter, I have digested everyone's helpful information and it does sound like the skis will work OK for me. All the replies except for one private message said to keep them and my actual skiing is a weird hybrid of parallel carving and snowplough (!) and the most natural progression for me I am hoping will be to skip out the skiing on flat bit (which they tried to teach me in a lesson once and I just couldn't bear it - it made me feel so out of control - and I love the feeling of the ski carving into the snow!) and eventually just be able to transform the half-snowplough turn into a parallel one. Maybe these are the skis to do this on!

I probably am a bit better than I think I am because although I am useless when the piste gets too steep for me, on a (practically flat) blue run I am fairly fast and I am quite able to ski all day without my legs completely giving up on me (and I remember the first couple of ski holidays I went on I could only do one run and then my pathetic leg muscles would be screaming in agony!)

So I am going to keep the skis, and make every effort to progress to their standard! (And in the meantime if nothing else i'm going to look wicked sipping hot chocolate outside those mountain cafes with my fancy gear at my side!)

Oh, and I know some of you have already mentioned about the issue of Boots and importance of them, and I've read some other posts about it on here, so you have already done enough to stop me going with my first instinct which was to pick up some cheap second hand boots of Ebay!!! (I know, that's probably like swearing/cursing(?) on this site!) The thing is I so don't have the money to get boots that are worthy of the skis they will be sitting on, so I think I will just hire boots for this holiday, and then wait until I have the cash to get the perfect boots - whatever they may be!

Anyway thanks again Divas for all your advice (and sorry about this novel!)

I'll let you know how much 'dancing' I manage!

x

 

[slow]

I just wrote that massive novel above and still forgot the other thing I wanted to ask...

Do I have to wax the skis?

I've only ever used rentals and the only people I know that have their own are a couple of male borders that are the usual crazy kamikazis who want to go at 100 miles per hour miles off piste and all that. They always talk about waxing their boards.

Is it just something to make the skis go faster or is it for protection?

Do I need to wax them before I use them the first time?

Thanks again!

 

[Jilly]

If the skis are brand new, never used, then NO. They are good to go from the shop. But before your next trip and when you buy your boots, the skis will need to be tuned and adjusted for the boots. The shop should be able to do that overnight for you.