I took the heel lifts out and did 3 runs this morning (7000 vertical.) Groomers were as nice as I've ever seen, so it was a great day to get a feel for what I felt. I made notes.
*Turn initiation WAS easier. A LOT easier.
*"Belly" of turns felt less stable, but the heels of the boots WERE looser, as I feared they might be, so that might have contributed?
*Tails washed out less but transition felt more challenging (again, because heels were looser??)
*The boots felt softer. I wanted to tighten the upper buckles more than ever. It was quite warm (right at freezing) but it was almost exactly the same yesterday, so I don't think it had anything to do with the temps.
What this tells me and my not-so-educated brain is that I probably need gas pedals because the heel lifts align me in the boots themselves better, but they mess up my turn initiation.
I WISH I were going to visit Bud tomorrow, but it's Brent Amsbury in Park City, whom Bud recommended. I'm pretty excited to see what he does. I feel like I'm armed with a decent amount of feedback to give to him, which is one of the many benefits of being able to ski just about every day. I can experiment a lot. I owe a lot of the feedback "gathering" to the ideas and points you have all raised here for me in both of my threads. So, thank you!