J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by verbier_ski_bum

Andermatt looks the closest. Pretty much any resort is suitable for beginners as long as it has couple blue runs and a bunny hill. So most choices will be good enough choices. Problems usually start for mixed ability groups, who want at least to be able to have lunch together on a mountain... But a group of beginners will be staying on the same terrain and won't have to worry about these things.

The length depends on a skier's height obviously and a type of ski. Things like stiffness have to be considered too. 165 cm is a length of a slalom ski for a man who is 180 cm tall, and for all-around ski it's about 10 cm too short. But if you feel more comfortable on this length, then why not? The past trend was from long straight skis to short carving skis, but now technology has changed so much that you see all sorts. It's also important to learn to finish your turns first. Once you are finishing them properly going longer will be easy, the same is with off-piste. The better you ski on piste the easier it will be to take these skills off it. The key for off-piste is to keep both skis on the snow at all time, piste is forgiving, but even minimal lift will expose you quickly off piste. Longer skis are more stable at speed, but at 7 weeks I don't think speed should be a priority because it helps to mask many faults while not making any improvements to actual skiing.

I have a padded ski bag on wheels, which fits either two pairs of skis and some ski clothing or one pair of skis, ski clothing and boots. Never used it for air travel though. I think padding is must for this to avoid damage to skis.

I bought a pair myself just yesterday. Now waiting for delivery and musing which bindings to slap on them. My Auras have definitely seen better days so I passed them to a friend and went for something little bit narrower and softer as replacement, also less overlap with my other skis. Glad you liked them, reviews are rave and on paper they sound like exactly what I need after my injury last year.

Bushwackers? I remember you were thinking of gettting them. But really, check online sources for gear reviews and figure out what might suit you best.

Of course they are not the same although there are models that go from year to year unchanged apart from the top sheets. But across different models from different makers in a given year there will be differences, even for skis with similar sidecut and ultimately they will be affecting performance of a given ski for a particular skier.

Ian Wickham wrote:

verbier_ski_bum wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:Here is my tuppence worth doubt push him too hard ..... Rebellion might come along sometime in the future

If the boy took to skiing, enjoys it and progressing I don't think there is a big danger of rebellion. With schools they always learn new things and do it different way too. I watched a group ESS lesson and kids were skiing all day on one ski. And after that there is a park or race coaching. Depending how parents ski there might be a rebellion that in a few years time he won't want to ski with parents. But when parents have to take a gondola down because something is a bit too steep they will feel better about their children skiing down when they know that their kids can do it all and will be OK.

Verbs it is very easy to push your own passion on to your children ...... By not being a pushy parent the kids develop their own passion for skiing, even if some times you have to bite your lip. Let them develop at their own pace and hopefully their will pass the passion for skiing on to their children :thumbup:
Trust me it works !!!

maybe you are right. It really depends on whether the boy likes it or not. But if he does, "pushing" a bit will only do him good. I see parents on slopes skiing with their 3 y.o. on leashes. Then I see 9 y.o. smoking me in really steep moguls without even looking where it's better to turn and I know where they come from. Everyone enjoys more things that they can do better. And this is mainly where the passion comes from later. Plus as I mentioned before it's a safety aspect. So if the boy likes skiing he should be given every opportunity to become proficient.

I think it's a bit like riding a bike or swimming, and you skills should be there come next season. You can watch some videos and read a book on skiing off season to understand better what you are doing and basically keep yourself fit. Maybe be for a just over one week skier you shouldn't start on a black straight away, but I don't think greens/nursery slopes will be ever needed again. If yo are in UK you have indoor slopes so I suppose that's another opportunity to practice your turns. It's all about technique. There is little difference in basic technique whether you ski blues or blacks. Nothing is really lost between seasons. Just don't stop lessons yet:)