J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Ranchero_1979

Yep soft shells as you main jacket and a hard shell (can go cheap on this is my thought) for the odd wet day is way to go. Infinitely more breathable than any hard shell/gortex jacket. Reality is very small % of anyone's skiing time is done with heavy snow and rain (skiing in Norway or Whistler is exception).

90% days soft shell.

9 % days soft shell with hard shell over it.

1% soft shell + a duvet as freezing cold.

Hi Nelly, how is recovery coming along? For me I would like to say am there but unfortunately is a moving goal post. Fully functional but still does not feel quite right. Managed 2 weeks climbing including some steep ice and a North face which really hurt the calf muscles but seemed to help overall knee functionality at end of week. Some breakable crust was pretty scary so definitely some work to do on fixing the mind. Am working pretty hard now on getting ski fit with 20min leg blast every morning (3 x round of squats, lunges, side lunges, step ups, ployometrics), heavy weight session every 4 days (squats, lunges, step ups, deadlifts) and one long run a week 1hr. 100% sure can ski but would not like to risk it offpiste for the moment which is a bit depressing. 16 months and counting since the 2nd surgery. Definitely the damage I did to rear of knee is the complicating factor dragging out the recovery but still slow process. Interestingly I did a few downhill runs 7 months ago and felt ok so I guess a lot of relativity at play.

As per Ian, for first week I would book full group lessons and plan on seeing your mate in evenings. Other than that get working hard on fitness. Any improvements in this will greatly add to your pleasure and safety.

:-)

As a practical guide my current status with logic (which might be flawed) is:

1 x pair dynastar 4 x 4 destined for bin (2008ish and a bit middle ground, decent enough onpiste, but stiff enough to face plant you offpiste if gets deep)
1 x pair new Head Magnum 71mm underfoot, super excited to get on piste with these this year. Should be lightening edge to edge, perfect for carving but still soft enough for moguls. Expect to do 40% of my skiing on these.
1 x pair salomon shogun with touring binding. 100mm and to be honest pretty good all rounder, carve really well, pretty soft (ok on bumps) and lively (good in trees) but almost no rocker so still pretty heavy work in the deep. Would highly recommend to anyone as a touring ski. Expect >50% time on these.
TBD 1 x pair for offpiste probably DPS 112 RP. There is still a part of you that always wishes for something really fat for those big days off the Midi. Despite claims that they are okay on piste would expect them to be pretty flappy and hence will probably never find out. Ski <7 days per season but should be like a classic car, well worth the money (large assumption as have never owned the skis or any sort of car ?).

Have always bought the cheapest one possible and packed thermals etc around skis and padded the ends. As long as the zip looks decent then anything should work.

I think we need to prey for it to melt so the ground temp can cool and we get stable pack. Came at end of warm period and very early. Warm wet base at beginning of what is supposedly another good winter would not be good.

On a more +ve note just completed a weeks climbing. Glaciers in northern alps are in amazing condition. Last years big season, no real hot spell in summer and the recent snow means looking amazing. Stable spell with mild conditions over last few days has nicely stabilised everything. Long term forecast, thick skinned onions and abundant berries all indicating another good season.

Proper winter feel to the mornings, all the talk has shifted to skiing and new stock is in. Definitely time to get shuffling through your gear.