Anyone have some advice......?

OldAndy wrote:
But .......
Having someone on hand who actually knows what this or that particular ski will actually mean when being skied on by a particular skier is going to be so important.
As the technology gets more advanced and new bits and bobs come in the shear choice is going to make things very confusing.

And that's the rub. Last year I talked to a few different ski company reps who had no clue. These are the guys that were traveling the country for various ski shows. When I mentioned it was strange that SL skis did not have tip/tail rocker, they all said (looking at me as if I were stupid)that it doesn't work for SL. As it happens, next season they will be explaining why everyone needs new SL skis with tip and tail rocker.

Now I have to say, I would be as clueless as everyone else, If I weren't a snowboarder. Most of this technology has been around a while in snowboards, and some manufacturers openly discuss details :shock:

I alsways thought that if a ski has at least a rocker in the tip, it's 'rockered' as opposed to 'banana' skis that are "fully rockered". I also understood that early rise, low rise are just variations of the design, as different companies patent it under different names by making slight alterations to the profile. I noticed how many manufacturers now add rocker to their skis including to their front side skis so there is definitely a trend and it can only be explained that it indeed makes skiing easier in general (just as they made powder more accessible to more skiers) easier to ski = more people start to ski = more skis sold or similar logic. It can well be that in a decade full-cambered skis will follow straight skis and will be only taken out on a "retro" days that resorts sometimes have (just like straight skis now).

Glad I have made you smile Discodee!! :D

) :lol:

verbier_ski_bum wrote:I alsways thought that if a ski has at least a rocker in the tip, it's 'rockered' as opposed to 'banana' skis that are "fully rockered". I also understood that early rise, low rise are just variations of the design, as different companies patent it under different names by making slight alterations to the profile. I noticed how many manufacturers now add rocker to their skis including to their front side skis so there is definitely a trend and it can only be explained that it indeed makes skiing easier in general (just as they made powder more accessible to more skiers) easier to ski = more people start to ski = more skis sold or similar logic. It can well be that in a decade full-cambered skis will follow straight skis and will be only taken out on a "retro" days that resorts sometimes have (just like straight skis now).

I think what we are seeing in ski design is part of the new way of thinking that came about with the internet. Conventional wisdom is a lost expression these days. Designers are thinking laterally, cross benching, and out of the box At the same time, some basic rules still exist. Camber serves a purpose.

I agree that camber serves a purpose, that's why fully-rockered skis will only occupy a fairly tight niche. But more and more skis adopt some sort of rocker and there is a clear trend. Let's see if it ever appears in race skis...

Hi, new to the forum. Thinking about going skiing for the first time at 47. I've been told Chamonix or Courchevel might be a good place to learn. What do you think?
Adrian.

I would not say they were the best resorts for learning to ski, it is said that Westendorf in Austria has taught more Brits to ski then anywhere else, it is a compact village, the ski slopes are in the village, and because this is all alien to you, you don't want to be hauling yourself and your skis around by bus. Chamonix is more for the advanced and other winter sport type activities, so I would look around the Ski Welt area of Austria - Soll, Westendorf or Saalbach-Hinterglemm also has good beginner slopes and enough to do off the slopes, if you don't like it. The Schnnewinkel area (Kirchdorf and the surrounding towns/villages) is also a possibility. You need to look at resort maps with green/blue runs. Having said that Arinsal in Andorra is also good for beginners. I am sure others will come up with resorts in France or Italy. My first ski trip in 1986 was to La Molina in Spain!