The Official Skiing / Snowboarding / Playing in the Snow Thread

[otc]

So good. One of our chairs was re-engined over the summer and they still haven’t gotten it running…but I recently figured out a sneaky traverse along a summer bike trail that gets your to the top of it and some of the terrain can only be accessed from the top, so it basically doesn’t get skied right now. That photo was at 1pm and still untracked…


Also my wife gave me Carv 2.0 for Christmas.

Kind of a fun toy, will see if it makes me a better skier. The new design is a game changer because it doesn’t screw with your boot fit. Just clip it on and go. Metrics seem pretty good—it is picking up issues I know about, but I can see exactly where they are coming into play.

 

[otc]

New front side sticks. 185 Stockli Montero AR

Love em (which makes sense because I skied them in a shorter length in Switzerland last year). Finally found a set for a not outrageous price and they came Friday.

Amusingly it gave me an immediate 12 point boost in my Carv score after pushing some hard turns down an empty run. Will be fun to see how they do when I get a chance to really push them hard the “ski lesson zone” of the mountain.

I’m now the 2nd best ranked Carv user this season on the mountain, only behind the PSIA examiner woman in the videos that I think @imatlas linked here a while back. (But we’re not a premier mountain loaded with pros…)

 

[imatlas]

That’s a ski I’ve been looking at as well. Very cool to hear about your Carv results - if you’re right behind Deb Armstrong you’re in rarified company!

I’ve got a bunch of clinics lined up over the next few weeks. Unfortunately not including JMH, work just scheduled a kick off meeting in Chicago on the same date

Yesterday was “Teaching Beginning Monoski”; how to teach the first progression to a brand new sit skier. Pretty cool seeing how the same basic fundamentals translate to the different biomechanics of someone with reduced mobility.

 

[otc]

Nah, not Deb. That would be sick, but I'm not seeing her on Carv which suggests that they haven't decided to throw her sponsorship money (or she doesn't want to pitch their stuff as useful). The woman in these vids:

Thought y'all might enjoy these demos of the skiing skills that instructors are expect to master at each of the 3 levels of certification in the US. Every country has their own standards, with very limited reciprocity, and these are the Professional Ski Instructors of America certifications. There is at least one competing program here with different requirements but PSIA covers >90% of the ski schools here.

(Although it looks like some other dude just put up a good run so I'm back to #3 by two points)

Yesterday was “Teaching Beginning Monoski”; how to teach the first progression to a brand new sit skier. Pretty cool seeing how the same basic fundamentals translate to the different biomechanics of someone with reduced mobility.

Yeah, I bet that is pretty neat. One of the Party Beach people that I've skied with is now coaching the US Ski Team para skiiers despite coming from a total 2-skis-on-feet background.
Do they put you in the sitski to feel how it translates?

 

[Numbernine]

That’s a ski I’ve been looking at as well. Very cool to hear about your Carv results - if you’re right behind Deb Armstrong you’re in rarified company!

I’ve got a bunch of clinics lined up over the next few weeks. Unfortunately not including JMH, work just scheduled a kick off meeting in Chicago on the same date

Yesterday was “Teaching Beginning Monoski”; how to teach the first progression to a brand new sit skier. Pretty cool seeing how the same basic fundamentals translate to the different biomechanics of someone with reduced mobility.

Must be Alpine. Good the see thats still going. Kirkwood had a blind skier program for years. They also had had a basic cross-country program for the US Marine Corps recon school. Now those were some handicapped skiers.

 

[Jr Mouse]

 

[otc]

 

[Numbernine]

The gaper says what?

 

[imatlas]

Must be Alpine. Good the see thats still going.

Biggest program of its kind in the country. It’s got great leadership that have built a really strong board.

They don’t like us to use food cues anymore.

Today was cold and icy so I broke out the ice skates. I call them my Frankenskis because they were assembled out of spare parts by an old Austrian named Fritz. His parting words to me were “I hope you know how to bend zem.”

 

[imatlas]

Skiing at high speed on really firm snow got me thinking about concussions, so I’m doubling down on head protection. Just ordered a head covering from https://g8rtech.com/ and an FIS rated race helmet from Smith.

 

[Numbernine]

Skiing at high speed on really firm snow got me thinking about concussions, so I’m doubling down on head protection. Just ordered a head covering from https://g8rtech.com/ and an FIS rated race helmet from Smith.

Sonny Bono Memorial model.
Illustration from an NYT article on staying fit after 40. I figured you guys would appreciate the splendid form of the skier.

 

[Cause Moe]

Skiing at high speed on really firm snow got me thinking about concussions, so I’m doubling down on head protection. Just ordered a head covering from https://g8rtech.com/ and an FIS rated race helmet from Smith.

I was really glad to be helmeted when I had my ice-skating accident last winter. A concussion and a fractured vertebra, but I survived. Without the helmet, it could have been fatal.

 

[razl]

Also my wife gave me Carv 2.0 for Christmas.

Kind of a fun toy, will see if it makes me a better skier. The new design is a game changer because it doesn’t screw with your boot fit. Just clip it on and go. Metrics seem pretty good—it is picking up issues I know about, but I can see exactly where they are coming into play.

I'm a 5 season Carv1 user (my wife is a founding member, I got on the season after) and have come to love it so much, I wouldn't ski without it. It took some getting used to but once you knew the modes and how it worked, it became a constant companion.

I'm based out of Florida and only manage about 17-19 days on snow a season, so my progression is 1/10th that of someone who lives in proximity to skiing. I try to make every single day and run count to get better. Carv1 has been a gigantic component of that.

So, we both got Carv2 and are looking forward to using it on our first trip to Stowe next week (PC to follow 3 weeks later) but am apprehensive about it. Carv has changed the app's feature/functionality substantially with the arrival of v2, in many cases us Carv1 users don't think it's for the better. As far as hardware, yes, Carv2 doesn't require an insert but that also means they have to infer a some metrics, like pressure, from motion instead of the insert sensor. They make a strong case that they are doing that accurately but boy it's hard to truly believe. I've had my boots adjusted enough to accommodate the 3mm for the insert, so it hasn't been a problem for me - others may not have that flexibility.

Still, super excited to get back at it, and really hopeful that Carv2 + the app changes are just an evolutionary bump. Will update here in a few weeks!

 

[otc]

Curious to see your thoughts on V2

I do feel like the pressor sensors seem like they would be more useful? I do think Carv 2 is picking up *something* meaningful, but I'm not sure it is gathering what it needs to be most helpful. Some of it is that they simply changed which metrics they report...maybe the new metrics are equally good, but I feel like it would have been nice to see pressure info. That said...I didn't have room in my boots for an insert and I wouldn't have someone grind my boot board just to fit one, so Carv V1 was never really an option for me.

I am experimenting with trying to focus on/improve different metrics and see which ones I can actually influence/which ones seem to make a difference. A couple of the metrics I just don't really have a good feel for what they are aiming for and their tips aren't super helpful.

We're supposed to get some snow this weekend, so it will be my first time back on skis other than the Stocklis. So far I can manage a score in the 150s (usually on the low end) with a concerted effort on the Stocklis in good conditions. Can get in the 140s consistently with good skiing and easily sit in the 130s on a typical run in any terrain type and on any pair of skis.

 

[UnFacconable]

Got burned by not checking the weather. Came up to Tahoe thursday night (kids had random Friday off) and basically it sucks. By the time I left with the kids to head to the mountain it was mid afternoon and the rain was pretty heavy. Both kids' teams for today were cancelled by yesterday afternoon (which virtually never happens) and they cancelled tomorrow's teams early this morning.

Nevertheless, I persisted and took the kids to the hill today (but forgot to bring some of our gear including some gloves and buffs. It was raining on the lower mountain and there was only one chair running at the top (which was on and off mechanical hold today). We got up, took one run at the top, kids were miserable, so we downloaded the gondola, had hot chocolate in the locker room and came home. Of course, not before stopping at the candy store where I managed to forget that I had a pair of skis there.

Just a miserable day and hopefully not a sign of what is to come from global warming but man it's been a bad winter.

On the bright side, my older kid (who we convinced to do 1 year of race) had their first race last weekend and pretty much surprised everyone (except the coach). We're still leaving it up to them to decide what to do next year but they're leaning toward another year of race. It also makes me really happy I didn't shell out big money on gear - kid did great running beat up old tiny slalom skis (120s) with a regular jacket on a GS course where most of the kids were on 150's with speed suits lol.