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Ulmerhutte

Getting on the lift
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Apr 25, 2017
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202
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Australia and St Anton
I consistently (ie on every ski I have ever owned) grind away my ski tips while skiing and I have no idea why. I asked several ski instructors and they just shrugged their shoulders. There is obviously something peculiar with my technique and I am hoping somebody here had a similar problem and discovered the answer.

This what one of my pairs of skis looks like:

48532838936_f1d347469f_z.jpg


BTW: does anybody know from where I could source some tip protectors? Google has not been much help. I have worn away the protective metal strip to the point where (on the underside), it is almost to the base material.
 

T-Square

Terry
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Wow, interesting. We would probably need video of you ski where we can see your skis clearly to determine what is happening.

On first thought you might be skiing with a very tight stance. This would cause your tips to rub on each other. I’ve seen this on a high level skier using new equipment with older (very close together skis) techniques.
 

geepers

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Willing to bet it's from skiing with your feet locked together so that the edge of the lead ski wears down the tip of the other. A photo of my aging Bushwackers would show something similar although the CSIA crew have been progressively beating it out of my skiing. My more recent skis don't show nearly as much tip wear.

Learning to ski with the feet slightly wider apart can be difficult. My habit was entrenched from decades of skiing feet locked together. Also lots of mogul skiing, where a narrower stance is beneficial.

It remains a constant battle to keep one foot from lazily resting against the other. The two things that have worked for me:

1. Be aware of the inside leg.
2. Ski behind a buddy (who is using a narrow stance), keeping one skis either side of the tracks in front. Do a few medium speed groomer runs of that. It will feel like doing the splits at 1st but the exaggerated width helps when returning to normal skiing. Repeat as needed.
 

noncrazycanuck

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I used to have the same problem, too many years of locked boots and knees.
even on a mid fat shaped, if your skiing locked in, in every mogul trough either the tip or tail really has no where else to go but on top of the other.
ski sloppier your skis will appreciate it.

for what its worth i also initially glued tip protectors onto some skis, did help, but simply not skiing so close together should solve the problem.
 

fatbob

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Guess you don't designate a left and right ski then? I do and will always have more wear and tear on the inside tips. Don't regard it as a big deal. Wider skis and rocker will always have a bit of tip deflection and when you are in circumstances requiring a tighter stance like bumps you'll inevitably get some rattle off the other ski occasionally.

Unless I'm wrong and people are rigidly able to keep ski separation in all terrain at all speeds.
 

Philpug

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It looks like you are swapping left and right skis because the wear is even. Look at opening your stance, and in the meantime go to a boot fitter and getting your alignment checked, a bad alignment could be pulling your feet together.
 

graham418

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" Ride the Buffalo" was the mantra that my course conductor gave me a long time ago to break me of the narrow stance. I still repeat it to myself
 

Wilhelmson

Making fresh tracks
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It's hard to tell how you could cross the tips that much without running into big trouble. I think they look cool. Nothing some nail polish or magic marker can't cover up.

Actually, how about covering the ground area with nail polish and either taking video or having an instructor watch you ski. Then you can take the video/instructor feedback and correlate that with the the specific damage?
 

James

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I consistently (ie on every ski I have ever owned) grind away my ski tips while skiing and I have no idea why. I asked several ski instructors and they just shrugged their shoulders. There is obviously something peculiar with my technique and I am hoping somebody here had a similar problem and discovered the answer.

This what one of my pairs of skis looks like:

48532838936_f1d347469f_z.jpg


BTW: does anybody know from where I could source some tip protectors? Google has not been much help. I have worn away the protective metal strip to the point where (on the underside), it is almost to the base material.
Impressive!
Lazy inside foot perhaps with your very narrow stance. Start concentrating on the inside foot instead of the outside.

Your other option is to switch to the Liberty V series skis which have a very low tip. Very. That could help nestle it on top. I know someone who likes that ski for that very reason. Old school 70's style, very narrow, once a hot dogger.

As to tip protectors, I just removed a Blizzard/Nordica slalom ski set. It might work, though screws might hit the window. You could glue it. Problem is, that's an Fx95? Tip would be much wider. But, ask at a shop that sells thise race skis. They're frequently getting broken by gates.
 

fatbob

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Hmm clearly I'm a knock knee'ed freak from the state of my tips this on my widest pow skis which don't have the heaviest rotation






20190814_164849.jpg

Is this really not normal?
 

dbostedo

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Because they are evenly worn on both sides.

I think you misunderstand. I'm not asking how @fatbob knew @Ulmerhutte didn't designate a right and left ski... I'm asking why fatbob DOES designate a right and left ski. I don't see the point. (Barring them being Amphibio's.)
 

cantunamunch

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I think you misunderstand. I'm not asking how @fatbob knew @Ulmerhutte didn't designate a right and left ski... I'm asking why fatbob DOES designate a right and left ski. I don't see the point. (Barring them being Amphibio's.)

If I squint *really* hard I could see an argument for less risk of delam - there is one side at least that stays fully bonded, including all the epoxy fillets around the terminal ends of the ski edge(s).
 

James

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If I squint *really* hard I could see an argument for less risk of delam - there is one side at least that stays fully bonded, including all the epoxy fillets around the terminal ends of the ski edge(s).
Stop squinting, you’re getting a frown.

The OP’s tip wear is significant. Fat Bob’s is not. At some point Bob will end up with slalom tips, because of the lack of switching, but at this rate the ski will be retired.
 

dbostedo

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Stop squinting, you’re getting a frown.

The OP’s tip wear is significant. Fat Bob’s is not. At some point Bob will end up with slalom tips, because of the lack of switching, but at this rate the ski will be retired.

Still doesn't explain why Fatbob cares which ski is on which foot.
 

James

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Still doesn't explain why Fatbob cares which ski is on which foot.
I certainly wouldn’t attempt to explain fatbob.

Btw, that’s the fatbob with the lowercase ‘f’, like the American “hart”, not the Japanese “Hart”.
 

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