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J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ise

Messages posted by : ise

Instructor Training
Started by User in Ski Chatter, 10 Replies
for Austria, I just found this :

http://www.peakleaders.com/austriaskiinstructorcourse.asp

That's interesting, you'd need German of course for that.
Instructor Training
Started by User in Ski Chatter, 10 Replies
Rossfra8 wrote:www.nonstopski.com

www.snowpro.com/csia/e/

Did a course with Nonstop, unlike BASI you can teach with CSIA level 1. (Unless things have changed with BASI?)


That's a bit misleading, CSIA level 1's can't really teach much outside of Canada so they're no more or less able to teach in across Europe than a BASI 1 would be.

You need a CSIA level 3, i.e. ISIA, to be an instructor in Europe in general terms without being too specific.

The training paths are a little different so it's hard to make comparisons until that ISIA level.
Instructor Training
Started by User in Ski Chatter, 10 Replies
Gooseh wrote:I was just wondering how good a skiier you have to be to undergo instructor training. Whilst I'd describe myself as an advanced skiier (being able to ski all pistes in almost all conditions, and skiing most off-piste in good conditions), I wouldn't say I was an expert skiier. I've been skiing for about 8 years, and am currently 19, but probably wouldn't be looking in to training until I was 22. Am I doomed having not been skiing since before I was walking? I think I'd like to either teach in Austria or Colorado.

Thanks for any advice!


To start training, that's not such a high standard. The problem for a lot of skiers is that they're locked into a mindset where they're not taking lessons and reinforcing some bad habits, it's harder to unlearn some bad habits than to learn good ones from the start.

As for working in Austria, that's harder than anywhere in North America but not impossible. It makes sense then to qualify under the BASI system to work across Europe, it's not that you can't work in Europe with an American or Canadian qualification it's just not the simplest route.

There's a lot of gap courses around, a couple of training providers are :

http://www.icesi.org/
http://www.skiacademyswitzerland.com/

Get a day or two next season with a BASI instructor and they'll give you some pointers about your skiing and how to achieve your goal.

Some more info' at the BASI site :

http://www.basi.org.uk/
Dave Mac wrote:
When Pavel mentioned off-season spring relaxation, I thought it was a reasonable idea. I don't think that it does any harm.


Providing you reset them then I can't see any harm at all, it's just I see no beneficial effect so it's as much of a ritual as anything, you might as well as smear the bindings with garlic :D

(it's going to turn out that garlic has some benefit I'm unaware of of course now)
caron-a wrote:
ise wrote: ah, a direct hit on one of my many pet peeves :D I'm seriously wound up by the people who have their bindings set too low, after twice narrowly missing being hit in the head by loose skis and having one of the owners explain to me how is was "safer" to have the bindings low :D


what about people that have their bindings set too high by the lovely chappy in the hire shop telling you "no you didn't put weight on over christmas" and then the skis didn't come off causing you ligament damage on both knees?

I curse the day I laughed at his "compliment".


That's obviously unfortunate and you're the victim of someone else's stupidity in that. There's a problem in a lot of ski shops and hire shops that the staff really don't have any special knowledge at all, it's a skiing oddity, we know the lad in Dixons or PC World isn't likely to be offering good advice necessarily but then we go next door to the local ski store and behave as though something's altered. That's not to say there's not a lot of fantastic specialist stores run by real enthusiasts who have a lot of knowledge of course, it's just in the end in many cases, you've got a guy who works in a shop.

It's not just that I've had a near miss with loose skis nearly hitting me that winds me up, it's the mentality of the people that do it that really makes me mad. Because it has no apparent downside for them then there's not a split second of thought about if it might be a problem for anyone else.
Dave Mac wrote:Fatigue life is affected by other factors such as temperature, surface finish and residual stresses.

But.... the mode of failure by fatigue is by crack evolution, and fracture.

How many bindings in the world have failed by spring fracture?

Anyone?


well put, I was going to ask the same question. Equally well put was the succinct definition of what fatigue is, better than I'd manage for sure :D The purpose of SN curves is help engineers select suitable materials for applications is it not? Which is why given it's well understood I struggle to understand why binding might contain the wrong springs.

In terms of fatigue, it struck me today driving down the hill, mind wandering, that corrosion would be another problem, I was particularly thinking of the effect of salt from the road if you're chucking the skis on the roof without any covering. Would that be right?

Trencher wrote:Great explanation Dave

If I understand the effects of creep correctly, it would make the bindings release at a fractionally lower din setting than designed ?


but hard to measure as Dave said, below the threshold that the binding test machine can manage from my limited field testing

Dave Mac wrote:
I used to set my bindings at DIN 5. My logic being that having a dodgy knee, I want to avoid a slow twisting throw-out with a higher setting. This changed when, on steep, heavy, wet off piste, the ski jammed into soft stuff, and I walked out of it. The loose ski then took off. The brake didn't work because the snow was soft, and I had a 300 metre hoof down on one ski. That night, I reset the Din to 7, where it has remained ever since.


ah, a direct hit on one of my many pet peeves :D I'm seriously wound up by the people who have their bindings set too low, after twice narrowly missing being hit in the head by loose skis and having one of the owners explain to me how is was "safer" to have the bindings low :D



pavelski wrote:Here is the issue in a nutshell! If a skier has a binding with a "lower" performance range ie DIN range of 4-8 ( since he/she got them on Ebay ) and the DIN is set at 7.5! Guess what is happening to spring even when static, open and released? It is under tension.

That is why skiers should never buy lower end bindings or "special deal" bindings with lower performance range!


I only just noticed that, that's totally untrue and quite easy to test, any store with the suitable equipment can verify the datum force is still able to open a binding at any given DIN setting. Those of us who have our bindings checked regularly know this, in fact I've computer printouts somewhere of the forces on my bindings over time which remain just the same even though I ski at the higher DIN settings.

Sorry, but the idea that springs degrade when used inside their normal operating ranges is just plain untrue, it's bad mechanics, machines all over the world would be failing all the time if that were true.

Urban myths die hard I'm afraid )
Mike from NS wrote:Take a look at this item and especially item #7 under the heading of Binding Maintenance.

http://www.skiseeker.biz/main.cfm?p=4000&l=en&SectionID=2&ContenuID=25


and they're wrong I'm afraid, just repeating an old story.

Mike from NS wrote:

Even an elastic band will loose it's strength over time if under continual tension.

For even more study on the subject look into the molecular metallurgy of the materials than make up springs. If there is a load on the spring the molecular metallurgy of the spring could change over time.

Another reason to drop the DIN is because we can pretend to be a cool ski technician with a screwdriver as a weapon! :lol:

Mike :wink:


The first point isn't relevant, elastic isn't metal. The second point is just wrong, forces below the static yield strength will not deform the the spring, that's the point in fact, if the forces exceed static yield strength or there's cyclic loading in which case the spring is unsuitable for the application.

And your third point is right on the money, that's exactly why people mess with their bindings :D