J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by ir12daveor

Or move to the Alps! :twisted:

In my opinion setting goals of not falling is counter productive when talking about confidence. By setting the goal of not falling you are actually thinking of falling, and probably quite a bit stiffer on the skis and more likely to fall.

If you go skiing you are going to fall. Its a fact, there is no way around it. If you are scared of falling then learning or improving is going to be very hard. The trick is to try to ensure that the environment where you try to push yourself a bit is safe enough that when you fall you don't do yourself or anyone else an injury.

In terms of getting confidence back, this is something I struggle with a lot when mountain biking. After a crash its difficult to get back on the horse that threw you, so I tend to go back to more flowing non technical stuff to build up my relationship with the bike again. I found myself having to do the same thing on skis at the start of this season, but once the confidence came back the learning curve started to go back upwards too. The key is don't put yourself under pressure, it becomes a vicious self destructive circle if you do. Go back to some easier slopes that you know you really enjoy, then just ride them for fun, no pressure, no thoughts about falling and no saying you need to learn something or improve, just build up your relationship with the skis again. Then take it slowly from there.

bandit wrote:

Agreed. He was an innovator, and his influences have reached the mainstream because the big money manufacturers picked up his ideas.

Remember that manufacturers were actually slow to pick up on his ideas. In my opinion its as much about the technique as the equipment. He innovated on both sides, and showed that you can shred no matter what you ride... Even if its an old set of waterskis! The big ski companies may not like this, but what I take out of it is its not the skis that make the skier. Granted wide skis make powder easier, but a good skier will ski the whole mountain on anything. His innovation in technique and equipment have made the whole mountain more accessible to everyone. (This is a whole other debate as to whether that is a good or a bad thing.)

bandit wrote:You can even buy skis influenced by his work in mainstream UK ski shops. I don't aspire to rip down big mountains at those sort of speeds, but I use mid fats, and I just sold some skis with a slight early rise tip. My skiing has changed a lot in the last 5 years.

http://homeboyski.com/2009/04/01/a-tribute-to-shane-mcconkey-the-story-of-rocker-skis/

Its clear that unless you get to ride steep and deep powder on a regular basis a reverse sidecut rockered skis are not necessarily the thing to get. But big mountains are tangible for most riders these days. I know 1500m verticle backcountry lines that are a stones throw from the top of lifts. Maybe us mere mortals are not going to ride them at hero speed, but there is something really special about being away from the crowds and getting out there and doing it (at mere mortal pace).

It is being able to ride the mountain like that which made me change from boarding to skiing. I can have the best of both world. The surfy, floaty turning feeling of snowboarding and the freedom to move around the mountain that you get from being on skis.

To be honest I think people may be able to relate to it more then they think. The guy revolutionised skiing in a way that made powder more accessible to everyone.

These days skiing powder is all about the McConkey turn. :mrgreen:

The dude made powder skiing what it is today.

As Bandit says, Recco is only of any real use to find your corpse!!!

If you are buried in an avalanche your chances of survival reduce exponentially after about 15 minutes. That means to have any real survival chance the people who are with you have to find you and dig you out. Preferably in less then 15 minutes!

Recco is a passive system and is brought in by the ski patrol or helicopter. There will be a delay before this equipment gets to the scene and this delay may cost you your life. An avalanche transceiver sends out a signal which can be picked up by the units from other members of the group. Your group can immediately search for you with a high degree of accuracy and hopefully get you out before its too late. If you go outside of the marked and controlled areas having a jacket with Recco is no substitute for an proper avalanche transciever, shovel and probe. (and knowing how to use them!)


This shows how the chances of survival if caught in an avalanche decrease with time. Source Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. (German Only)

The red line is the average time it takes for organised rescue (with Recco) to arrive, your survival chances have dropped to 40%, If your friends can find you using transceivers within 15mins your survival chances are effectively doubled!

Grumpy old man.

Quite a lot of Ski base in this movie... Unfortunately the skier wasn't so lucky. :-(

http://www.vimeo.com/7725826