J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by EmmaEvs

Ian Wickham wrote:3.7 days left, Skis and boots packed just the tags to put on, better get some washing done today

Stupid clock :P I looked on google and loads of the downloads have viruses. :roll:

Bandit that's disgusting. I would have been absolutely seething in your position. Sounds like vultures over a piece of meat. I don't blame you for trying to hold out on them. I'd like to use several words which aren't suitable for general public consumption :evil:

Luckily I've never had to use a health service outside the UK, but I am thinking of a lady on our recent hol (not part of our party). She was hospitalised due to flu which was aggravated by asthma. She was treated so well she didn't actually want to come back to her family at the hotel, and although they did state that they would not discharge her until the bill had been paid I don't have an issue with that. It's totally different from your experience.

Smokey Barr wrote:Has anyone seen Frozen?

Slightly budget, but worth a watch if nothing else is on...

Hi Smokey, I think you may be looking for this thread :wink:

http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/9508.page

Mmmmmm I have 4 free tickets to a well known cinema chain. I now plan to politely reject the suggestion my sis in law came up with and go see this instead! :thumbup:

Dmiff wrote:I wonder if someone can help me.
Last year I went on my first ever ski holiday (age 33) and now I have the bug.

I've completed a weeks ski school in Switzerland and I suppose I'd say I'm a very early intermediate, I can control my speed on basic slopes, do snow plough turns and very basic parallel turns.

I have four night so three days skiing booked this month in Sestriere and I'm not sure how best to use that time. A bit of ski school/Half days Private instructor/Full days private instructor, every day or just some of the days, Practice with more experienced friends etc.

My girlfriend who I'm going with is embarrassing good and has offered to spend time helping me on the slopes.

I'd like to learn as much as I can in these three days.

Any advice appreciated.


So have a private lesson each morning and then spend the afternoons practising what I've been taught?

You've already completed a week of group ski school. I'd never recommend a first timer get private lessons - they're just too expensive for such a short space of time, and you need to know you're safe for the remainder while you're unsupervised.

If you have the cash, the idea of private morning lessons and practising in the p.m. sounds ideal to me. You get the more intense tuition, tailored to your needs within the short space of time you have available. In a group ski school over three days you may not see much of a difference.

Practise with friends is fine, but bear in mind that they will have become desensitised to steeper slopes etc, and personally I question others judgement in deciding what I am capable of (and not). Being taken to slopes I was not ready for completely trashed my confidence at one point, and is a bad idea for many other reasons too. On the other hand, if you have done a run with an instructor in the morning you will already know you are safe on it. At the end of the lesson, mine would also say if he thought I shouldn't go down specific ones on my own later and why e.g. because the snow was changing, or simply because he had taken me down an specific route and didn't want me to find myself out of my depth on my own. He'd suggest runs to practise on for the afternoon and what skills to practise.

To give a balance view of group lessons though, they do put you in the group most suited to your skills, and don't hold you stagnant doing the same stuff all the time. My instructor's group did loads of different stuff throughout the week - from balance practise by skiing on one ski to going off piste for their last afternoon.

Thanks guys, before this thread I was starting to think that maybe by now I should be able to start picking what I like/don't like about different sets of skis. On other threads I've read people seem to able to discuss the finer points and I've read them thinking 'how do you know this stuff'. I guess the short answer for me at the moment is that yes I do need to continue improving my skills, and when I've got more experience then I'll probably be able to start comparing better.

Some say stand them up to your chin, eyes or forehead. Longer skis generally run faster and shorter skis generally are easier to turn as the sidecut of them engages quicker.

Of the stuff I've read, they seem to add length according to your level. This makes sense then if the longer skis run faster, as you'd need a better skill level to ride them safely. Vice versa on the shorter skis which would be easier to get out of trouble on. Plus for me I want to practise short turns more, so until I master them I need the skis to make life easier for me.

...82mm underfoot and they handle brilliantly on piste, but someone at your level might find them difficult as you have to work them harder because of the wider profile.

This is the last thing I want. Got dodgy knees and one in particular plays up like a demon when skiing. Stick to the thin waist then.

consider trying something like Salomon or Volkl rather than Atomic for you if they are quivering as this may suggest they are too light for you.

This is partly why I've started the thread. I'd love to be able to go into a ski hire shop and contribute something to the decision on which skis to get. Trouble is, cos I know too little, if they came back and questioned or challenged what I'd said I'd feel like a prat and back down straight away.

I prefer longer more sweeping turns. For me a short radius ski is just too "busy".

Cool. So would it be fair to say then that it's is purely personal preference? I wondered whether maybe longer skis had some kind of benefit on steeper pistes e.g. longer edge creates better friction for controlling speed. I know it's an extreme example but I was looking at stuff on the Harakiri and noticed short skis are banned (I guess this means blades). Was trying to understand the logic.

What Bandit's saying is learn to ski properly

Define 'properly' - I might just agree with you!

On regular camber (most on piste skis)skis, It takes some skill to alter the turn shape with pressure. The turn shape is most altered, when the pressure is applied to the tips of the skis.

I'm so not at this stage yet. If I am altering the turn shape at all it's more luck than judgement.

I mention regular camber, because some newer skis (and many more in the future) have a bit of rocker at the tip and the tail. These skis will need less forward pressure to change turn shape. For example, the Rossi Avenger 74

Mmmm interesting. I'd like to try a pair of these. They sound very clever for a pair of skis!

...stick with skis with 11/12M radius...look for a narrow waist...focus should be fun, and developing good technique

Makes a lot of sense. This is exactly where I feel like I am at the moment - concentrating on having fun and working on technique.

What I do is go to a good hire shop and explain my needs and leave it up to them.

This is exactly what I do. I'm just a bit awkward and don't like letting other people think for me if I can help it! :D

Unless you go ski-ing several times a year, I don't think it's worth buying your own skis.

Future finances allowing, we do intend going on 2 - 3 full hols a year. We're both 'late' starters and want to cram in as much as possible. Plus I do like the idea of preparing my own skis and knowing that the bases and edges are spot on because I've done it myself.

Oh. My. God. How long is this post :oops: Thanks though everyone. Even just understanding more about where I am now and what I need has helped a lot. :thumbup:

Ok Mr W I give in. Where did you get this countdown thing? I want one :-)

bandit wrote:

Avoid face planting whilst yelling in surprise :mrgreen:

Bandit you have a foul mind.

Ha geddit?! :lol: