J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Innsbrucker

Another news story today on avalanches. Austrian medical scientists want to bury pigs in snow to see how the body reacts, and research how, and how slowly they die. Tests have been started, but now suspended after animal rights criticism, but the scientists still think that if the tests continue they will improve medical treatment of victims.

More detail (in English) here http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,672102,00.html

I remember a discussion about having good and bad days, on a forum about violin playing. One high-level teacher claimed that a dedicated adult learner could perform on good days at professional level, but a true professional who had received quality training from the age of 4 would get it right every time, regardless of mood, health issues, etc., owing to deeply ingrained habits.

In case anyone is interested in cheap Austrian packages, maybe worth researching the following.

Just saw a business programme ('Eco') on Austrian TV about East Europeans buying up or building hotels in Austria, who now undercut locally owned businesses on package-deal prices by about 30%. They rely on high occupancy to make a profit ('quantity not quality'). But they market mainly to people from their own country, for example Hungarians in Ötscher fill the hotel with other Hungarians, Russians in Kitzbühl, etc. Finding the deals might be tough to research unless you know the language.

Still, who wants to be in Austrian hotel as the only guest who speaks no Hungarian...

Good idea! Thanks.

I have worked out that snow plough/wedge stopping is not great at speed. Learning a parallel stop (rather than my first season's 'arret Briancon' as Wikipedia calls deliberately throwing oneself to the ground in order to stop), was one of my most satisfying steps, but I should practice it at higher speeds.

Fear of speed for me is a problem. Yesterday I was out on blue, some icy and steepish bits, with the aim of improving technique, keeping parallel through turns. But fear of speed holds me back, and the fear is not totally irrational.

A word about the skis as one question I have is how much the issue is to do with this: I have rather flexible, but comfortable new boots, as for the skis, I have written elsewhere on the board about using old skis, in fact they are not straight, they are Elan first generation carvers, with gentle side cut, 180cm, & I suspect in their day they were pretty good.

So, transfer weight and the skis will turn. I can keep the inside ski parallel most of the time, and make a nice S down the slope. My aim is to make a much tighter S.

Question 1. to turn tighter must I have skis with smaller radius? Or can I use my large radius, very old carvers, with a mix of skidding and carving? Is it possible to use these skis for pure old-fashioned tight zig-zag? I accept I would progress faster on newer skis, and I am looking out for some at a bargain price, and will try some, but it is useful to understand a bit more about the equpiment. After all these skis were made to carve, they are called Pro Carve...

On these skis, transferring weight does get the skis turning, alebeit rather a wide radius, and keeping the skis parallel does work for me (though my pole plants, when they happen, are hit and miss). But if the slope is at all steep I find myself going too fast. By making a straighter or uphill traverse, as way of taking off speed without skidding at, some point (epsceciallly as there some iciness around here) I find myself skidding anyway, which does at least slow me down, but is what I am trying to get away from.

Question 2. Is it possible to do neat, parallel turns down a steep slope without going too fast? Or must I just keep practising on gentle slopes until I have the balance and reflexes to deal with speed safely?

In case anyone asks what is too fast, I am far slower than some good skiers (and one does see a few excellent skiers here in Tirol), and there is an element of risk-averseness, nervousness, age etc. But I also believe rationally that I do not have the reflexes or balance or confidence to stop, or turn, or deal with a mistake when one of the tails catches, at some of the speeds I am reaching. On the contrary, as I get faster the risk of losing posture and balance increases. Nothing bad happened, but at one moment, going down the blue at the lowest speed I could before skidding sets in, I found myself hurtling towards towards a steep piste edge without being able to turn, and not sure if I could stop.

Question 3. I know two kinds of parallel sking, one with a nice S-shaped track and only a little if any skidding, with inside ski controlled thgouhout to stay parallel, and a second kind where I force a turn, quickly and slightly lift and reposition the inside foot on the turn (if done neatly the skis pretty much stay prarallel) and then a traverse with varying amounts of skid depending on steepness and icyness. Is there a difference between the first kind of parallel sking, and carving in its true sense? Or is 'carving' just a fancy word for all good prarallel sking?

Question 4. Any other thoughts or advice please. :)

Thanks for attention, anyone who read this through. Yesterday was a practice day. At the end of my 4 hours practice a German guy on his own, like me, and a near beginner like me, saw me in the car park and said 'anstrengend' (=it's a strain!). I know what he meant, and sometimes I wonder whether having to push through the fear factor of dangerous or seemingly dangerous speeds in order to get the to an elegant paralllel technique is really an enjoyable game for a sensible, over-50s driver.

I am looking out for more modern skis. Though I enjoy my old skis' stability, they are hard to turn, there are times I've been a bit despairing about progress. They are called ProCarve but I have not yet got them to carve.

Last night there was a documentary about ski teachers, one guy for the show was demonstrating old wooden skis & retro clothing. Somehow I feel if you call yourself a skier you should know you *could* manage on them if you had to...

OTH hand newer (5 year old or less) skis on ebay seem expensive, considering you have to factor in some risk about condition.

Can anyone tell me, do ebay ski prices fall much in summer?

Going under a hundred pounds the skis ssem to be 10 years old. It is hard to know how to upgrade, and how much to spend (considering a top flight new outfit will go obsolete fast enough and could be stolen at a resort).

Icy snow is scary for me. But I think snow like porridge worse in way as there is more of a risk of the ski getting caught and twisting the leg or body dangerously if it does lead to a fall. Whereas on ice you are more likely to skid over the surface in a straight line.

On ice I tend to fall feet first. On 'porridge' I fall head or upper body first. Not great.

Resorts vary a lot in altitude and hence temperature. So maybe it makes sense to go to a lower resort in early winter to avoid too much ice, and a higher resort in spring to avoid the slush. But that is not relevant to the question about cannons.

I only know about Tirol. In one way I would second the vote for Seefeld, as I have done most of my skiing there. It has a nice town, lovely scenery, and well run ski facilities, catering well for beginners (though there is a steepish bit at the bottom I found challenging as a beginner, & I fell there often, especially as the snow gets softer in March).

On the other hand, here in Tirol it seems to me the less known resorts, which are not near any town, are in some ways better, as they are quieter, whereas Seefeld can be very busy, and has high percentage of people who are not very experienced, which may increase the danger. There one German guy went straight into the back of me and knocked me down while I was skiing slowly down a gentle slope in a straight line.