J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by dustyfog

lowest I would be willing to wager is the indoor air-conditioned resort or ski slope in Dubai!
highest was in bolivia, and regardless of the deniers/and bad press global warming took care of the highest, it was in Bolivia:
That was then:
http://www.hottnez.com/chacaltaya-the-worlds-highest-ski-resort/
This is now:
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2139

So I would venture a guess, Gulmarg in Kashmir is the highest ski resort but this needs to be verified.

Dynastar Sultan Legend 85's are solidly used by pros at Alta and Snowbird. They are all-mountain mid-fats (85mm width at the waist), stiff and can blast through crud and all those things which knock around intermediates like a battering ram, increases skier confidence, and they have been doing great the last two days i am skiing my new pair (After demoing at Alta) in NEast US hard pack. The old Elans are history (and they did chatter and main reason, my skiing had finally gone beyond their tolerance levels for the pressure I was exerting as I improved). Just another two cents as I do a flyby on your outstanding Euro-centric (its true but I like it-gives different info and perspective) forum

Go Ski is quite different from Klaus' SofaSkiSchool video. Just a different approach but note, basic mechanics of sound skiing are the same:
1. face the danger (a KM phrase), i.e. face downhill
2. to turn, move body forward, i.e. hips over balls of feet, unweight or relax downhill leg, and weight uphill foot, be patient
3. to carve, tip your skis on edge, easiest way to get there is (a) start tipping as transition to new downhill ski occurs (b) keep upper body pretty much facing direction of travel (i.e. downhill) and do not let it follow your skis (c) the one step missing in a lot of guidance is that you also have to get your hips across your skis in a diagonally forward/lateral move - i.e. across the skis is lateral, the diagonal part means you are moving forward, BUT upper body should be over your downhill ski - I have found when i do not f**k this up, its because my downhill shoulder is clearly over my downhill skis. This is not a minor issue, often when laying down a wide-radius carve, at speed, i find myself being pushed back as the ride progresses towards the end of the turn, this is real tough on the knees, just a personal observation have to stay over the downhill ski (protects the knee and more relaxing)
4. to carve a tighter turn - bend your knees inside the turn more
5. listen to Trencher or read his writings on this forum
6. sofaskischool video is a worthwhile purchase, almost the only ski instruction video which is lively and interesting and full of incredible demos of world-class skill and precise methods on how to get there. GoSki is pretty good too, the little book they have I think is better than their video and some of Warren Smith's little video clips on his website are terrific.

I am now an low-intermediate skier(classified as Level 7 in America, if you are at all interested in fine details! not that it matters a whit), and have skied with Klaus (he is based in Zurs) - class act. then again, others in the US also have provided invaluable insight.

Note - carving is great to do but totally useless really beyond groomed hard-pack snow, once you hit crud, powder and the steeps, its all about smearing the turn to reduce speed etc. You try to carve crud or powder, a "banana bail" (a Bode Miller expression) or face-plant or face spear is a likely outcome. Carving is great for racing etc but the other basic skills are essential - carving is not.

One thing Klaus emphasizes a lot is the "up and forward move", in the US they call it the Inside Leg Extension for Lateral movement downhill, anyway, point is that up and forward move where you transition to pushing off your uphill foot as you unweight your old downhill foot is absolutely critical core move to skiing steep terrain. You will read and hear from a lot of folks who claim to carve the steeps, well, lets put it this way, steepness is dependent on the skier's ability but for all skiers, once you are beyond the 25-30 deg threshold, its steep, and depending on conditions, a certain "scarve"is demonstrated by the best, but a true carve, edge-to-edge is generally an invitation for a meeting with ski patrol medic or sled evac or heli-medevac!

Have fun, with the SofaSkiSchool video.

Just my humble two cents while I continue to learn and its a long road - just cannot catch up with my 6 year old, he is now a racer!

This forum was very helpful in 09 with counsel on Lech-Zurs, we went there. This January, my boy went to Alta, Utah. Here is a film chronicling his experience. Its quite a place, has something for everyone, and for kids, they can literally create their own trails. The quality of the snow is the best I have seen, and we were'nt there when their was heavy powder, that is later in the spring, we were told. Plus this is a low snow year for Little Cottonwood Canyon or most of that part of Utah, but their low snow conditions are better than most places on the planet.

Here is the movie: (note its 9 mins long)


Its 9mins long. Alta is a storied place, rustic, but the folks at the Alta Lodge were great with my boy, and lots of kids there. Dad is an intermediate skiier, son is way ahead of him

Not that well-traveled but did take my 6 year old to Lech-Zurs this past spring, its in Austria. It has the reputation of being one of the world's greatest ski resorts, especially with St Anton and St Christoph also 25mins away. Frankly Lech-Zurs is beautiful - big long broad runs with enough steeps for most. Staying in Oberlech is unusually comfortable and classy, we stayed at the Montana, the food was better than anything I've tasted anywhere. It's probably smaller than some of the French mega-resorts but not by much. Its quite a nice place. Overall, I have trouble imagining a place with the ski-in/ski-out class of Oberlech.
Here is thread with TR:
http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/6071.page

and here is link to video story of our trip if interested:
http://vimeo.com/4335854

We have also been to Sunshine Village in Banff National Park, beautiful, and stayed on-mountain, great spot but Lech-Zurs will be a hard act for any place to beat including Whistler, though have never been to Whistler and recognize its an amazing place.

Taking son to Alta in 10 days, lets see how that goes.

Can't comment on any other places but daresay Lech-Zurs hard to beat, our TR here. For a couple for sure...
http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/6071.page
Note folks here are quite knowledgeable and I read about Mayrhofen all the time, though other places suggest Lech-Zurs is hard to beat. If you want a more night-life sort of place, St Anton is next door - 20 min drive.

Tony H : folks on this forum were rather helpful in helping settle on location. And counsel was pretty accurate

Folks here advised well and we went to Lech-Zurs in Spring 09; With a kid, Oberlech as a place to stay is probably hard to beat anywhere. Regardless, here is a TR thread - others here can advise you too, Brits seem to like Mayrhofen
http://www.j2ski.com/ski-chat-forum/posts/list/6071.page