J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by verbier_ski_bum

Maya is a very good ski, I had it for a season and really enjoyed it. It helped me in transition to fatter skis that I use all the time now.

I second what was already said. If you ski a week per year buying skis is not the best investment. I own a few pairs but I ski 50 days a year and have an option of keeping my skis where I ski for the season. If I had to fly to ski I would have never thought about buying a pair. Even taking them up on a short train ride the first weekend of the season is a hassle. Own boots - yes. But for this you need to see a good bootfitter and go along with his recommendations. And taking a lesson is also a good piece of advice. It will transform your skiing and runs where you feel challenged now will become routine.

It's very difficult to suggest an alternative without knowing what kind of terrain your wife prefers. It's a quite stiff all-mountain carver so if she needs something mainly for groomers and likes to go fast it will make a good ski. If she likes to spend more time off-piste there can be other options.

cstodd wrote:Excellent, thanks a lot! One last question: you mean making bigger turns slows you down, going all the way across the piste? Or can you slow down with smaller turns too?

But I'll definitely get some lessons.

No, bigger turns won't slow you down. The more turns you are making the slower you go and you can fit fewer wide turns on any given slope.

You need to control your speed through the turns, not braking with your heels. The steeper the slope more you have to turn. Turning uphill doesn't make the next turn more difficult. You release edges and the gravity does the job. You can also slow down if you finish your turns with a sideslip. Sometimes you don't have the luxury of being able to pick a slow line, and have to ski more defensively, but pushing on the heels is not the way to do it. But if you want to make the most of Chaminix skiing take a lesson or two with instructor there. Couple years ago I took couple private lessons there with ESF and was very satisfied with the results.

you can find all information at www.verbinet.com.
if you buy daily passes you can swap those. Half day passes also available, or passes that start from 10.30, they are cheaper. If ylu buy multiple day passes then starting from certain number of days they require photo and they are not transferable. I saw a woman being stopped because she had her husband's pass that she claimed was swapped by mistake. I don't know how it ended but if her husband didn't have her pass his pass would have been forfeited.

bandit wrote:Pet Hate...

Restaurants or anywhere that has Pay Toilets for women, and men don't pay. France used to be the European ski resort leader in this practice, not sure if they are now.

ha ha! If thet make men pay for toilets men would rather go behind the corner, and women would rather pay:) French just used their common sense:)

I use the bindings for clearing the snow/ice. I totally agree with Bandit. It's quick and efficient and doesn't compromise the bindings performance.