J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Gaz C

Tony_H wrote:I've changed my mind gaz. You need lessons :wink:

I'm not averse to a few more lessons :) . I've spent too many years hanging on to the back of faster and better skiers so my bad habits (over-rotation of the shoulders and lifting the up-hill ski when initiating a turn to name but two), are going to take a bit of 'un-learning'. I'm getting there but,with hindsight, it would have been better to keep up with the lessons.

A young guy at work has caught the bug and looks at me with a mixture of mirth, contempt and bewilderment when I suggest that he budget for lessons before beer and apres. And so it goes. -)

Yes, I'll do that. :idea: I do recall reading somewhere that tights/ thermals/long-johns should be Capri style/ three quarter length.

My personal nightmare was at Pisa airport, summer 2011, family of four booked on Ryanair return flight to Liverpool. The entire Italian public sector went out on strike in protest against the government austerity cuts: result, total chaos.After much to-ing and fro-ing we managed to sort flights from Bergamo leaving late next day. Kept the hire car for an extra day and found ourselves an hotel in Brescia. To cut a long story short, we got an extra day's holiday and the kids were doubly made up as they got a day off school. Kept all receipts (fuel, food, hotel etc.) and Ryanair reimbursed us when we got home. Happy days again:-).

Well, I promised to report on how I got on with my 'little problem' and now , with my first trip under my belt, I am able to do so. Some really useful advice there, folks. I invested in some of SwingBeep's Eliminator Tongues, and I reckon that in tandem with shaving the area around my lower shin bones, I have virtually solved the problem :) . As suggested, I removed the liners and measured the space between the shell of the boot and my foot. I was surprised to find that there was about 20mm of a gap in there, much more than I thought there would be. I was mighty relieved that they didn't fall into the 'plant pot category' and, being a tight northern git, decided that at £30 a pair from Ellis Brigham, the eliminator tongues were worth a punt. I fitted them in two minutes then wished the rest of my life away until the day of the Tignes trip.

The conditions in Tignes could not have been any more different to the bluebird skies and perfectly groomed pistes of my last trip to the Dolomites. Apart from one (almost) bluebird day, the visibility for the rest of the week varied between poor and non-existant and early in the week, despite the best efforts of the pisteurs, the piste could be constantly changing from packed to powder to ice to moguls. As you can imagine, my shins were getting a bit of a battering. The eliminator tongues really came to the rescue though, keeping my shins constantly snug in my boots, and eliminating the 'on-off, on-off' feeling that until then had been par for the course when skiing in such conditions. I was even able to crank them up a notch for some off-piste lessons and to play about under the lifts towards the end of the week. Brilliant :lol:

The penalty for this was some (ever so slight) tenderness to the skin over the callus on my right shin. The left shin was completely unaffected. I reckon I could live with that. I think I may cut a small hole in the eliminator tongue in the right boot; this would hopefully have the effect of the doughnut-shaped pad that SwingBeep also suggested. I just need to be sure to cut it in the right place. I also took a bit more care dressing in the morning, making sure that my socks and compression tights weren't crumpled and creased. I also followed CEM's instructions (not sure if they are on this site or somewhere else on the internet) on how to put on and buckle up ski boots pretty much to the letter. In the past, I have had a tendency to be a bit slapdash. Most likely 'coz I'm in too much of a hurry to get out there :D .

So, it's looking like I don't have to spend money on new boots :) . What can I spend it on instead? A pair of Movement Buzz skis is looking favourite -) .

Stuff that sightseeing b0110X!!! :lol: Just got back last weekend. The skiing is IMHO as good as it gets anywhere, and the snow conditions at the moment are absolutely epic! Just ski it! :D Ally G's group are gonna have a beano! :thumbup:

^+1. :thumbup:

Glad you got sorted. :thumbup: I saw both sides of Swiss last week. The cabin crew and the airport staff at Zurich couldn't have been sweeter. Some of the surly harpies on the check-in gates at Geneva left plenty to be desired though. 'Welcome to Switzerland' (not!)

Never been to Seefeld, but only ever heard good stuff about it from beginner skiers who have.