Messages posted by : SwingBeep
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Dorsaz Sport next to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise lift station http://www.dorsaz-sport.ch/english/summer/index.htm rents skis, poles, boots, gloves, goggles, jacket and trousers for CHF 65 a day.
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If you look closely snow sprays up from just behind the shovel and in some shots his skis are bent into an arc, if he was in the back seat the snow would spay up from further back and the skis wouldn't bend. He isn't planting the poles he's just touching the snow with the tips and by using long poles he doesn't need to cock his wrist, he just has to bring the arm forward and touch the snow to initiate a turn. The technique is effective when carving on smooth slopes, but I don't think its suitable for all mountain skiing.
Blossom is a small company (12 employees) their skis are highly regarded, they have a much better flex pattern than lots of skis from the big brands and still have good edge grip, but they are expensive. They also make skis for other brands including Core, Duel, Hart, and Vist. |
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The only ski I can think of that would come anywhere close is the Head GTO 200 http://www.head.com/ski/products/skis/real-men/?region=eu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuBCZU6fqYk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgnowx9RsTE http://www.snowinn.com/ski-store/ski-man-head/1000/88/x Ranchero_1979, the Head Magnum will be updated next season, it gets a bit of early rise, a multi radius side cut and a new paint job http://www.skidepot.com.au/head-i-supershape-magnum-2014-ski/ so there are lots of deals at the moment. Just Google with 'Head Magnum site:de', prices start at 400 Euro inc. bindings, for some reason the latest Head Free Flex bindings have a large delta (7mm) which might push you into the back seat if you're on the short side. The similar dimensioned Blossom skis are much better, this guy is skiing on their 77mm all mountain skis! At this time of year Bottero Ski in Limone sells off their own branded Blossom skis at silly prices. http://www.botteroski.com/Negozio/Scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=163&idParentCategory=1&fltMarca=BOTTERO%20SKI Compare the dimensions with those given on the Blossom web site. Very few companies make skis that match their quality and performance. |
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This has been going on for years. Neither Alex Casey nor his employer Simon Butler appear to have the qualifications (BASI Level 4 ISTD plus European speed test) required to allow them to work as ski instructors outside a recognised ski school in France. Simon Butler has been prosecuted 3 times, in the latest case he received a 3 month suspended prison sentence, it looks like Alex is facing the same http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22029309
If Alex was a stagiaire in a French ski school I think he would have 4 years to complete his training after that he would have had to either pack it in or start again from the beginning. All the alpine countries have quite strict laws governing ski instruction e.g. if someone is caught working illegally in Italy they are prosecuted under the law that is used for people caught practicing medicine without a license. There is an outline of the rules and regulations governing the employment of ski instructors in various countries on the BASI website http://www.basi.org.uk/content/countries-rules--regulations-for-employment.aspx |
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Vreni Schneider was the only really successful racer to use Raichle boots. Strangely she is not mentioned on the Full Tilt website, perhaps because her boots were very heavily modified so that they functioned like a 4 clip overlap boot. They were popular amongst freestyle skiers mogul skiers because they didn't 'bang' their shins like the overlap designs from that era did.
The 3 piece design does have a few short comings when compared to a 2 piece boot. Some of them have too much flex (ski boots shouldn't flex more than 7 degrees), don't ski as precisely, don't fit as closely, don't accommodate as many foot shapes and aren't available in as many widths as 2 piece boots, but they are much easier to put on. I don't think there's much point in going to Saas Fee to look for a pair of rear entry boots, the shop from which I think you bought your wife's Nordicas has changed hands. At some point you will have to replace the boots you have at the moment, the soles must be worn well below what the boot / binding manufacturers consider to be the minimum thickness for the safe operation of the bindings. 
These might be just what you need http://www.dahusports.com/ |
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Stephen, apart from carrying out a visual check to see if anything has broken or come lose it's not possible for a skier to check the "integrity" and "safety" of the ski boot / binding system.
In the case of bindings this can only be done using a ski binding testing device, either a manual device such as the Vermont Ski Safety binding release calibrator or an automatic device like the Montana Jetbond The information required to ascertain if a ski boot sole is in compliance with ISO 5355 (if a ski boot sole is out of specification the binding might not function properly) is not available to the general skiing public. The manufactures recommend that these tests are carried out by qualified technicians before the start of each season. The tests are seldom carried out. In 2009/10 the Austrian Ski Federation carried out a study in which they found that: • 35% of the ski bindings tested did not meet the safety requirements. i.e. the settings were outside the tolerance range of + / - 15%. • 5% of the bindings tested were no longer functional. • Almost one fifth (18%) of the surveyed skiers reported that their bindings opened unexpectedly from time to time. • Only 1/3 of the surveyed skiers had their equipment tested annually. As Daved mentioned the basic design of ski bindings hasn't changed since the 1970s they were designed to prevent broken legs. Since then the design of skis has changed dramatically and now the most common skiing injuries are knee injuries, overall they make up 40% of all skiing injuries and women are twice as likely to suffer one. None of the bindings produced by the major manufactures were designed to deal with the backwards twisting falls that cause most knee injuries. 
The basic design of ski boots hasn't changed since the 1960s http://www.zipfit.com/blog/2010/02/15/plus-que-sa-change-plus-que-sa-reste-la-meme/ Other designs have been tried notably the rear entry boot, but none of these were as successful (either commercially or functionally) as the classic overlap design. |
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Whoever told you that about Cervinia was pulling your leg. It can get very windy high up especially in the early part of the season, but in general the weather is as good if not better than most other places and the snow conditions are usually excellent.
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Glad you liked the area, I've had lots of good times there.
It is prone to high winds and they sometimes have to close the lifts especially the ones up to the Passo Salati, yesterday the wind speed there reached 99 Km/h and the strength of the wind on 28th December forced them to shut the most of main area down and refund money. I have only ever known that to happen in Scotland. Hope you enjoyed the salami and dried meat, it might have been donkey, a local delicacy. :D La Tana del Lupo means "The Wolf's Lair" and you will get fleeced there, the owner is a nutcase. I don't think anyone needs to be in a rush to go there before it gets too busy, accommodation is pretty limited and the locals want to keep it that way. The lift companies (I think there are 5 of them in total) are all owned by local and the regional government agencies so they are not looking for a great return on their investment. Unfortunately they are losing money hand over fist at the moment, skier days declined by 4% last year. I think the only way they will be able to increase numbers is by building the proposed link to Cervinia and Zermatt, but there is no money available for that at the moment and in any case there will be a lot of opposition from environmentalists. If anyone fancies a trip before the end of this season, ski passes are free between the 24th March and 14th April, http://www.vacanze-monterosa.it/inverno/index.php/en/item/sciare-gratis.htmlif if you stay at one of the participating places. |
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