Westward bound

[Ron]

OH GREAT POWDER PIG!  Welcome home, after skiing 2 weeks of pure untracked powder everyday, I bow to your powder-ness....

[jim-ratliff]

Jim...selling your mags you say.....so are chasing the POW MAN RON for his elusive dream of skiing powder everytime out? What is replacing the Mags...the 78's? I'm guessing you're not planning on to many hard snow days and know the 78's can cover a wide variety of snow conditions...still. ...having that hard snow and versatile 71 underfoot....is very nice.
Best,
G

Gary?? Hmmm, must be your aging eyes mis-reading something because I haven't even thought about selling my SS Mags.? I am wondering if I should have gotten Watea 94's instead of 84's and just adapted to lugging two pair of skis around, but am also very happy with the performance of the Watea 84's and that is especially true in the conditions that I "normally" run into out west.? I will admit to a certain amount of size envy, since Lynn will be skiing skis that are as wide as mine.? ?? Oh well.

Howvever, it does sounds like Svend is following in Master Ron/Gary's footsteps and brokering a deal for someone's SS Mags, but mine are safely stored away and out of anyone's reach.

But Gary, you avoid the question.? How many pair of skis have you bought for you and family this year.? Inquiring minds want to know.

I think Svend 'fesses up to buying 5 pair, I bought 3 if you include the SS Mags that I bought about this time last year?? What is the count for everyone else?

[Gary]

Yes Jim...my eyes failed me....twas Ron selling his Mags...my bad.

Hmmm 94's over the 84's..them there 84's will take you into the powder say boot/shin high with little to no work. I've just become a believer in the wider high performing skis like the Icelantic so it's hard for me to think about another ski. Keep in mind the 94 is much more pony underfoot and if you feel ya got the gitty up....could be a great ride and gap filler for those crud days up through knee high snow.

It might be more prudent to get to the point where you MAX OUT the performance capability of the 84 and then start looking for your next evolution in powder/crud skis. As far as size envy.....just don't look down....well....I mean ......at your feet......ski those 84's man...ride em hard and put em away wet......well dry them off and please wax them thank you.

As far as skis I purchased this ski season....hmmmm.... sold the Watea 84s bought the 94's sold them 15 minutes later and purchased the Pilgrims Icelantics after a 1/2 day demo, turned in my Head SS with a warrenty defect and purchased the Fischer P-8's. Awaiting a pair of Head Raptor LTD boots to fill the credit from Head. AND purchased 2 pairs of ski poles....and new helmet....and that's it. CORRECTION: WELL AS SVEND POINTED OUT....I DID BUY MY WIFE A PAIR OF KASTLE M78'S.....WHICH SHE DEMOED FOR 3 DAYS AT JACKSON HOLE THIS PAST JAN...EEK.....A LITTLE DEMO WILL DO YA! There all done now!

 We do our part to help move the economy forward.

Best,
Gary

[Ron]

sounding a bit gear-whorish.... a bit of trading, finnagelling and such........  atta boy!

[Svend]

Gary, you conveniently neglected to mention the skis you bought for Alice. Come on now, all in the family, eh? That counts too.....

[Gary]

I was so self absorbed I neglected my better half....I have made the appropriate correction. Thank you Svend for being so....well for having such a good memory.

Now Mr. Viking.....I seem to recollect you yourself made quite a few acquisitions this season as well and would have made a few more if your last pillaging trek was more successful at Holiday Valley.

Spill the golden beans buster............. .....

 

[Svend]

I've made my disclosure -- see reply no. 6 in this thread.  It's all there in plain view.  Nuthin to hide...not me.     Or were you wanting me to be more specific...make, model, year.....?

[Philpug]

OH GREAT POWDER PIG!? Welcome home, after skiing 2 weeks of pure untracked powder everyday, I bow to your powder-ness....

You must be talking to me.

[jbotti]

I was actually in MT at the same time as Phil, and I caught two of the best powder days of my life. I unfortunately had to leave and get back, but Phil hit it pretty huge. They were by far the biggest dumps that I have seen in my two seasons of skiing in the Big Sky area. It was Tahoe like in amount but still reasonably light snow. I am headed back this weekend and hoping for more. Phil must be doing some real clean living to have the powder Gods bestow him with such bountiful gifts!!

Now for some commentary that I know most will disagree with. I skied in 2 feet of fresh on Sunday and I skied the whole day on my Lhasa Pows. I was skiing with Harald Harb and Diana. They skied the whole time on IM 78's (78mm under foot vs. my Lhasa's at 112mm underfoot). I spent sunday working on deep flexion in every turn with large amounts of counter/counteracting movements. All of this made skiing powder over bumps in the steeps seem almost easy. The next day was the real shocker. Harald and Diana had me ski on thinner skis, and guarenteed that it woukd be easier than on me 112mm underfoot skis. I said sure, but I told then that they would be wrong. It is a good thing that I didn't bet any money. The Mojo 94's were easier and so were the Watea 84's. I also had a greater abillity to vary turn shapes and I could easily ski the skis at slower speeds which is not the forte of the Lhasa Pows.

Now before I get tarred and feathered the way I would with this post on TGR, let me say that Fat skis do help in Pow, but not as much as improving one's technique!!! I love skis, and I love buying them and many skis that I have bought have helped me become a better skier (slalom carvers definitely did that for me), But at the end of the day it is hard work on technique that has made the biggest difference. I still can't see mysel;f owning one or two pairs of skis, but at the end of the day skis do make much less difference than the quaility of the direction they get from the skier. It's like what a great cyclist said to me as I was buying a bike from his bike shop. I kept asking him about all these wheels and add ons to make the bike lighter, more areodynamic and faster and he paused and asked me "do you know what is the most important feature on any bike?" and I said no what is it? and he responded by saying "the Engine!!

Just my two cents after my excellent powder adventure.

[Ron]

that's great! How much do you want for the Lsasa's! I think you should sell them and go to a 78 for a one-quiver ski.?

But seriously, can you explain how deep flexon (I read as deep bending of the knees) is easier than skiing more upright and not having to work the skis so hard? On steeps or technical lines that require tight turns, I understand but for normal black terrain in powder, not sure I understand.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlcpics/3352333234/?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlcpics/3407057248/

here's a vid of skiing a black 1-3' of fresh piled up over bumps with 112 underfoot. Not really using too much effort. What could I do differently? the second is shot on a blue run along the sides with 3' drops at the top.

[Gary]

Hey JB....great post and thanks for your experience and honesty.

I do understand and can relate to what you're saying. Although my twin tip powder skis are 92 underfoot, they have a 17 meter turning radius and are very quick underfoot. THe skis actually can be carved using counter and tipping whether I'm on hard surface or powder. They come up on high edge angle very nicely. The other thing for me that I love is actually getting down into the snow and feeling the snow all around me.? Does skiing narrower skis require more focus on ski technique, I believe so. I've skied 75 underfoot in shin high snow and 77 in knee high, both more traditional skis and they were a blast to ski. Heck, I've even skied 99mm IN LENGTH Harts in Okemo powder.....where I did as much vertical doing somersaults as I did skiing.

Another thing I think of is that Harold probably weighs 145lbs and Diana is maybe 125lbs....so their "float to weight ratio" is quite different then heavier folks might be. My wife at 106lbs skiing her Kastle MX78's is good to go for neck high snow...yup....snork le time!


For me, I've found my current powder ski Icelantic Pilgrims at my weight the perfect ski to blast powder and crud using many of the ski skills in my tool bag and enjoying every minute of it. I can also say that skiing a heavy wet powder is much easier on the body on a wider board? at least based on what I've experienced. Light fluffy snow....deep fluffy snow...just put anything on my feet and get out of my way...

I also think a little more float in glades is helpful in avoiding any lurking snow snakes ready to rap themselves around a sinking ski.

Is there a breakpoint in width underfoot where you loose that light feeling with your skis I think it's very arbitrary. I do know for me feeling myself sinking and rising in the deep snow, tipping and carving in the deep snow are sensations I can't get enough of.

Another 2 cents if you please...
G

[Ron]

another couple cents thrown in...

not knocking anything here but lets keep in mind the ratio of skier weight and height when looking at ski performance. Ski performance is not solely dictated by width; especially in the case of reverse camber rocker skis and other so called powder boards and all mountain skis for that matter. Flex, stiffness, weight and other factors will really play an important role. The Pilgrim for instance is a perfect ski for Gary. It has a nice soft tip flex but is torsionally stiff and fairly stiff underfoot flex-wise, as Gary pointed out, it also has a 17m tr making it very turny and fun. Technique is key and most important for sure but I can't really agree that the sole determining factor is width underfoot for all skiers.

Gary's point about snow snakes is dead-on: if you are skiing trees and off-piste, you need to always be conscience of rocks, logs, underbrush. Tip dive is the culprit. Here's where a rockered tip is so advantageous, with the frontend up it is much less likely to tip-hook.

[Gary]

Ron is trying to teach me how to use Flickr....

Here are some fun videos and photos from our last Steamboat experience not too long ago..

yes...I was having one heck of a time...

 http://www.flickr.com/


Thanks,
G
I am jumping in here to help my Flickr Friend

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37158839@N04/3421556718/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37158839@N04/3420756769/

[Philpug]

JB,

Sorry we couldn't get together. Looking at YS from BS, it looked like fun. as far as the skinny/fat pole..err ski conflct... I was on my PBR's and we did have some in my group that were on some skinny Vists, Robin Barnes was teaching on some Nordica Concorers, with the snow as light as it was...anything was skiing good. All thinks being equal, gimme the right tool for the right snow.

[jbotti]

I just saw all these comments. I am jammed for time this afternoon, but I will come back tonight with some responses.