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tromano

Goin' the way they're pointed...
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Dec 28, 2015
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Layton, UT
Standing on my feet and keeping the skis in the fall line more.

That and getting the wife in a solid lesson program and the kids keep getting better and better.
 

firebanex

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Posts
1,097
Location
Fairbanks, Alaska
Many things have worked out for my season so far..

-Wife is loving her skis and skiing this year, last year was a bit of a struggle but she started doing yoga and that has helped a ton with strength and balance on her skis.
-I got both my S/Lab MTN boots and my Lange XT130 lines heat molded and custom foot beds over the summer. Massive success, both boots fit even better and I have have no problems with my feet this year.
-Fischer Ranger 102FR, everything my Enforcer 100s were but funner and lighter feeling! Love love love these skis.
-got a Patagonia Nano-air jacket, perfect insulated layer for me.
-Working on trying a bit more jumping off natural objects into my regular skiing, small jumps, shifties in the air, in general trying to play around more on skis beyond turning.
 

Captain Furious

A ticking time bomb of fury
Skier
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Posts
277
Skiing on my Stockily Laser ARs has been awesome. Working on carving, which has been fun yet a chore. Kind of like golf (which I hate). I shank more balls than I hit straight but when it all comes together... WOW! It's been coming together more and more for me. Just figured out how to shorten up my lead by closing up my hip on the downhill leg. That's helped.

My biggest difference maker is waking up on January 1st and saying, "I'm tired of feeling fat and out of control. I'm done eating carbs and sugar." I haven't had a gram of sugar (outside of fruit) or a carbohydrate that's not a veggie since 1/1/2019. And I've lost 11 pounds! I don't count calories and I don't worry about portion control. As long as I'm eating veggies, which I really enjoy now, everything else seems to take care of itself.

Bill
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
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Well snow gets in the boot for one. I found that out. I did ski that exact type of snow. Cut up wind packed mounded powder.
What you talk about is something that's always bugged me about boots for me. Too much space in the upper cuff. Then tighten and it's too locked. Or, the cuff wants to pull my shin out of the position that it works well in (current boot).
I sort of stumbled on this work around btw. Part of it stems from another boot where I skied the Vallée Blanche with the top buckle undone because I just couldn't take feeling like I couldn't get over the front of the boot. Not enough for lean for me.

This may be an area where a lace up liner has advantages because it holds together as a unit. But if you have a snug liner, the bottoms are buckled, and a booster it may not be that much different really.

I don't consider this a great solution btw, but it's better than a locked up leg. Essentially I'm experimenting. It may actually be safer than overly restricted. The Fischer has a wire clip that holds the bale in the groove which is nice. Never thought I'd care about that.

I found to ski that snow you really have to tell the skis what to do, be very intentional with lower leg movements. Knees going into the hill/inside the turn. Generally I only think knee movements like that in soft snow. For years knee movement was "bad" and I've had 2 acl's and a meniscus. So I've not thought knee movement. But, that's probably overblown.
Anyway, active functional tension in the legs. Shopping for turns is going to kill the whole thing.
Telling the ski what to do means you're throwing it on edge, lower legs/knees go in. (Angulation) The ski is now banked. Because the snow is softish, it's going to create a platform, bend and go in an arc. While it's doing this you are looking where the next turn path is and moving into the next turn. It's very active, not la di da,

A wide ski may be more difficult in some ways because there's more force back to move your boot. You might try narrower skis first.
The connundrum is steeper terrain and certain snow conditions put more force back. So cuff looseness can lead to a floppy ski. Which isn't good. But try to minimize the bad and increase the good. Getting early angles the ski now has a direction and purpose. Essentially you're doing a lot of work to ride the ski for a brief second and on to the next.

It also helps your feet warm up and acclimate to the boot to do a first run with loose boots.
EXACTLY what I feel. I am a terminal "turn shopper" which is one reason the short radius turns I think are proving to be invaluable for me. Stop thinking and TURN. They also keep me in a strong, dynamic position with functional tension, as you say.

And I start every day with my boots loose-ish.

I'll keep it all up!
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,980
EXACTLY what I feel. I am a terminal "turn shopper" which is one reason the short radius turns I think are proving to be invaluable for me. Stop thinking and TURN. They also keep me in a strong, dynamic position with functional tension, as you say.

And I start every day with my boots loose-ish.

I'll keep it all up!
Yes, with shopping in that terrain turns get more and more expensive till it's all you can afford and you have to buy. It kills the flow and I think increases fear. Essentially we trade immediate fear for a future of supposedly lesser concern.
I think the body becomes somewhat disengaged because activity is not continuos, but how that works is beyond me.
Implement shopping on the run in comfortable terrain. After you've started the turn look for the next path. Like skiing trees. Once you've started a turn around a tree, the path ahead is what matters, not the current tree.
 

Jim McDonald

愛スキー
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Joined
Nov 15, 2015
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2,101
Location
Tokyo
Moving the mount point about 1cm forward on my Monster 88s (177) and SR107s (183) has me more forward on the ski and gets me onto the new edge faster in the turn; I'm in better control and balance (not good, necessarily, but much better than before). That, working with the alignment correction built into my Daleboots, is making a huge difference in my skiing. Now if only I could find a pair of gloves that would keep my hands warm...
 

Jim McDonald

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Tokyo
I am leaning that way, Ron. Thinking maybe to pick up the Hestra heated liners and use them in my Free the Pow lobsters.
 
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Ron

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
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I needed to hear this. Thanks, guys. I've been thinking a lot more about my feet while skiing lately, and trying to feel what they are doing vs. my legs/shins, etc.
My boots are pretty darned tight, with Boot Doc liners.

to me, that's fine as long as your feet are comfortable. I think the boot (shell, liner and bed) should hold your foot in correct position and provide stability, the buckles are there to hold it in place but not to provide what the boot is supposed to. So, all my buckles are One-finger tension, meaning I can easily open and close them with one-finger. I Keep the Booster strap tighter then snug but not synched down as tight as it can go. that's what works for me, I would experiment some.
 
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Ron

Ron

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I am leaning that way, Ron. Thinking maybe to pick up the Hestra heated liners and use them in my Free the Pow lobsters.

exactly what I was thinking as well. I have a friend who bought them for her Hestras and has been extremely happy with them.
 

jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
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Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,496
Location
Colorado
- Never worrying or making too much crazy effort to ski pow inbounds. If it happens, cool.
- Hawx XTD boots. A fit wonder for me, never had such great heel and shin fit while still letting toes have plenty of room.
- A new favorite low angle touring spot.

94BBA7D7-C7DB-4EB3-96C5-82A6829B04BE.jpeg
 

James

Out There
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Dec 2, 2015
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Toes need room. One of these days when the Cro-Magnons start dying off, even racers will realize crushing the toes in is a bad idea. Too much history there though. All it takes is the next Hirscher/Mikaela to do it and win a lot.

Holding the top of the foot down is important. Not crushing it, but eliminating vertcal movement.

I am leaning that way, Ron. Thinking maybe to pick up the Hestra heated liners and use them in my Free the Pow lobsters.
Hestra makes heated liner gloves?
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
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to me, that's fine as long as your feet are comfortable. I think the boot (shell, liner and bed) should hold your foot in correct position and provide stability, the buckles are there to hold it in place but not to provide what the boot is supposed to. So, all my buckles are One-finger tension, meaning I can easily open and close them with one-finger. I Keep the Booster strap tighter then snug but not synched down as hight as it can go. that's what works for me, I would experiment some.

Boots are VERY comfortable. :D
 
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Ron

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bbinder

Making fresh tracks
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Massachusetts
I'm trying to pay more attention to what my feet are doing inside the boot (articulation, position of toes, flexing/extending) during each phase of the turn and especially when I think that the turn feels good. At the same time, concentrating on keeping my inside tipped to the little toe edge with a slight shift of weight to that edge before edge change. Also getting a feel for that Infinity Move on groomed terrain and hoping that I can carry that feeling over to 3-D terrain.
 

Pdub

best day ever
Skier
Joined
Oct 24, 2017
Posts
261
Location
New England
Steel files.
When edges get dull, you gotta take some metal off. Much quicker to start with files this year rather than trying to push hard on the diamond stones. If you start with a file, the stones will get edges crazy sharp with much less work.
 

tch

What do I know; I'm just some guy on the internet.
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Nov 13, 2015
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New England
New boots. I haven't got the fit dialed exactly just yet (is there such a thing as TOO comfortable?), but I'm shocked at how much more precise and efficient they are than my 8 year-old Head Vectors. I can move more freely and quickly (lighter weight?) and they seem to be directly connected to my ski edges. Jumped a whole step up in ability.
 

DoryBreaux

Not the Pixar Character
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Sleeping in a mop closet
Two things have been really working for me this year:
-With very few exceptions, not getting into any discussions about movement patterns. In the real world or online. This has saved me an incredible amount of anger and I have yet to bang my head into a wall in frustration in this regard.
-New socks. Holy crap. I found socks that changed everything. Or maybe it's just because I'm not using the same four pairs of socks that have been working for me for the last four seasons :rolleyes:.
 
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