I want to ski better damn it! How can I?

deadheadskier said:

You can spend $300 to ski with Dan Egan for a day or get a season pass to a mid-sized area for $400. The latter is the better investment IMO.

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If you don't live near the mountain (which the OP doesn't), the investment for a season pass is a whole lot more than the $400. Gas alone would be way over that!

$300 with Dan Egan is $300 and Dan Egan. Who here had taken a lesson with Dan Egan so they can say it's less than life changing? (I haven't)

I recognize that there is gas involved. Where the OP lives is within 2 hours of several ski areas. Sunapee, Ragged, Gunstock, Crotched, Pats, Wachusett. Wachusett is only about 40 minutes from Acton actually.

There are several members of this forum who ski Wachusett regularly, some who absolutely rip, such as Waloaf. If I were the OP and wanted to improve my skills quickly, I'd get a pass to Wachusett and try and hook up with some good skiers there and get to the mountain as much as possible next season.

deadheadskier said:

Wachusett is only about 40 minutes from Acton actually.

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Nashoba is the next town over from Acton too.

And when you hit a plateau, just buy better equipment. That's guaranteed to improve your skiing.

These just came in yesterday.

/hat tip to PuckIt

St. Bear said:

And when you hit a plateau, just buy better equipment. That's guaranteed to improve your skiing.

These just came in yesterday.

/hat tip to PuckIt

Click to expand...

OK so what is the mix between the driver and the equipment? Somehow I'm thinking it's at least 75% driver and 25% equipment, likely higher...

Although the new skis do look nice...what are they?

hammer said:

OK so what is the mix between the driver and the equipment? Somehow I'm thinking it's at least 75% driver and 25% equipment, likely higher...

Although the new skis do look nice...what are they?

Click to expand...

I'd say it's 90 driver/10 equipment. If one can adjust balance/stance on the fly, they can ski anything IMO. Certainly love doing bumps in one type of ski, but can still do them with all types, just may take more effort. Got my first pair of midfats recently..think I've finally figured them out..first weekend I was overusing my hip to turn (I think)..but seemed to have corrected that and can still rip the bumps and groomers, just have to work equipment a little different than with my SL skis. But floating in pow...oh yeah...midfats blow my SLs out of the water lol.

hammer said:

OK so what is the mix between the driver and the equipment? Somehow I'm thinking it's at least 75% driver and 25% equipment, likely higher...

Although the new skis do look nice...what are they?

Click to expand...

Palmer P01 Titanal.

And my comment was very tongue-in-cheek. The right tool can make life easier, but if you know what you're doing, you can kill it on anything.

Rory McIlroy could probably go out and shoot under par with a wood, a wedge, and a putter. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be easier if he used his entire bag.

St. Bear said:

And when you hit a plateau, just buy better equipment. That's guaranteed to improve your skiing.

These just came in yesterday.

/hat tip to PuckIt

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What size did you get? 179cm's? You sking them this weekend? Remember throttle them back.

Puck it said:

What size did you get? 179cm's? You sking them this weekend? Remember throttle them back.

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Yup, 179. I'm going to try to ski them this weekend at Whiteface, I need to make sure the local shop can give me a one day turnaround. Shouldn't be a problem as I'm sure they're slow this time of year.

SkiFanE said:

I'd say it's 90 driver/10 equipment. If one can adjust balance/stance on the fly, they can ski anything IMO. Certainly love doing bumps in one type of ski, but can still do them with all types, just may take more effort. Got my first pair of midfats recently..think I've finally figured them out..first weekend I was overusing my hip to turn (I think)..but seemed to have corrected that and can still rip the bumps and groomers, just have to work equipment a little different than with my SL skis. But floating in pow...oh yeah...midfats blow my SLs out of the water lol.

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Totally agree! Technique trumps technology for sure!

You can take an "average" skier and put them on the latest, greatest skis, and they'll still be an "average" skier.

You can take a GREAT skier and put them on a beat up old pair of entry level rental skis and they'll still be a GREAT skier

Some new gear might SLIGHTLY mask some technique faults, but in the end those faults are still going to hinder that skier. And in some certain cases, that same "masking" of those faults might have been achieved via a fresh sharpen and wax of the skiers old gear :idea:

hammer said:

OK so what is the mix between the driver and the equipment? Somehow I'm thinking it's at least 75% driver and 25% equipment, likely higher...

Although the new skis do look nice...what are they?

Click to expand...

Depends on the skier. At beginner level, it's 100% skier. Start changing things around on them, they won't really notice. Take a WC level skier and put them on fat boards in the bumps or slalom, and they'll still be able to crush an expert skier, but they'd get crushed in competition with their peers. I know for me, trying to throw check turns in between widely spaced bumps isn't a big deal on my bump skis, difficult on the mid fats, and damn near impossible on my Watea 94s.

drjeff said:

Totally agree! Technique trumps technology for sure!

You can take an "average" skier and put them on the latest, greatest skis, and they'll still be an "average" skier.

You can take a GREAT skier and put them on a beat up old pair of entry level rental skis and they'll still be a GREAT skier

Some new gear might SLIGHTLY mask some technique faults, but in the end those faults are still going to hinder that skier. And in some certain cases, that same "masking" of those faults might have been achieved via a fresh sharpen and wax of the skiers old gear :idea:

Click to expand...

Shhhhhhhh....don't tell the ski industry marketers this...all this new fangled stuff WILL make you ski better . I actually loved my old SL straight skis, still don't get why shaped skis were a supposed improvement...but I bought them anyway once I felt like a fool in my old ones lol.

SkiFanE said:

I actually loved my old SL straight skis, still don't get why shaped skis were a supposed improvement...but I bought them anyway once I felt like a fool in my old ones lol.

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That's because you were already a proficient skier. As someone who grew up skiing straight skis, and came back to the sport with shaped skis, it's night and day.

St. Bear said:

As someone who grew up skiing straight skis, and came back to the sport with shaped skis, it's night and day.

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+1

SkiFanE said:

I'd say it's 90 driver/10 equipment. If one can adjust balance/stance on the fly, they can ski anything IMO. Certainly love doing bumps in one type of ski, but can still do them with all types, just may take more effort. Got my first pair of midfats recently..think I've finally figured them out..first weekend I was overusing my hip to turn (I think)..but seemed to have corrected that and can still rip the bumps and groomers, just have to work equipment a little different than with my SL skis. But floating in pow...oh yeah...midfats blow my SLs out of the water lol.

Click to expand...

drjeff said:

Totally agree! Technique trumps technology for sure!

You can take an "average" skier and put them on the latest, greatest skis, and they'll still be an "average" skier.

You can take a GREAT skier and put them on a beat up old pair of entry level rental skis and they'll still be a GREAT skier

Some new gear might SLIGHTLY mask some technique faults, but in the end those faults are still going to hinder that skier. And in some certain cases, that same "masking" of those faults might have been achieved via a fresh sharpen and wax of the skiers old gear :idea:

Click to expand...

mondeo said:

Depends on the skier. At beginner level, it's 100% skier. Start changing things around on them, they won't really notice. Take a WC level skier and put them on fat boards in the bumps or slalom, and they'll still be able to crush an expert skier, but they'd get crushed in competition with their peers. I know for me, trying to throw check turns in between widely spaced bumps isn't a big deal on my bump skis, difficult on the mid fats, and damn near impossible on my Watea 94s.

Click to expand...

My own experience as an intermediate is that I can tell the difference a bit, but it's more in how forgiving the skis are. I've rented skis that were less forgiving and have been taken for a ride when my stance/balance wasn't right...but while my intermediate level all mountain skis (Elan Magfire 10s) are more forgiving of my inconsistent technique, they aren't as happy/stable at speed as I would like. With the conditions we've had this season I've actually been quite pleased with the Progressors I bought in October. I'm still working on finding the right pressure point but if I'm on my game they respond well.

drjeff said:

You can take a GREAT skier and put them on a beat up old pair of entry level rental skis and they'll still be a GREAT skier

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Until they try to ski above what that equipment was designed for and the skis start flying off unexpectedly.

Equipment quality does make a big difference when transitioning from intermediate to expert.

I have always tried to make due with the equipment I have and make it do what I want it to do. However, that only works to a certain point.

I started out on a cheap pair of Dynastars, with cheap (basic) Salomon bindings, and cheap boots. This setup was okay for my first year when I was learning to ski. However, as I started to ski more agressively and on harder terrain (bumps, trees, etc), the skis and binding were failing to keep up and I was experiencing pre-release problems and the skis were too soft and the boots didn't really fit correctly (foot sloshing around in a boot is not good for control). I feel my second year on these skis kind of held my back as I felt I had to ski somewhat tentatively. On the other hand, I was also forced to ski "light on my feet" which is a helpful skill.

After several pre-releases (a couple when I was killing it on lift lines :wink: ) I decided I needed new skis. For my third year I bought a pair of K2 Enemies (prior to the Public Enemies). Unfortunately, I didn't buy new boots :roll: The new skis were night and day over my old ones. The next year I got new boots. Again, night and day.

I'm not saying that you need the latest/greatest equipment. But a solid good performing set up can be very helpful as you progress in ability.
If you aren't like me and you are starting out on good equipment, well then you need to follow the other points of advice mentioned in this thread and ski more and push yourself. Everyone (even experts) have flaws in their style. I've been told I have a very unique style. That come from never having taken a lesson, and because I have deep rooted body and foot positioning that carried over from hockey that has never totally been removed from my skiing technique.

Lots of great advice here. I'd say the highlights are:

Deadheadskier saying buy a pass at Wachusett. Then use it. I don't care if it isn't Taos, if you want to get better, get out there. And get out there often. Everything else comes after that. A mountain 40 minutes away where you can flash a pass and ski for 2 hours after dinner twice a week will do more for your skiing than a week anywhere.

Not that there isn't more you need to do.

Those that said get the basics right - have it right. The better your foundation, the better you will be. I bet half the skiers on this board can't make two perfect wedge linked turns. If you could, your upper level skiing would improve. Bet on it. Ah, but who cares about wedge turns, I can hear you saying. Good lessons work on the basics, give you drills to practice, add tools, and challenge you to take the next step, go bigger.

Conditioning. Nothing can replace this either. Take the best bump skiers on this board next to the terminal intermediates. Ask them to jump up explosively from a squat. See who is the fastest. It won't be the terminal intemediate. Next, see who can do a knee bend on one leg. It won't be the terminal intermediate. Sorry, but the truth hurts. The better skiers are almost always in better shape. (From skiing more)

Balance. Stand on one foot with your boots on, arms out. How long can you stay on each foot, motionless? Now try swinging the airborne foot back, and stay balanced... for how long? Better skiers will be able to balance for a while, great skiers can do it forever. Where does this kind of balance come from? Some might be ingrained, but a lot comes from mileage. (Skiing more) If you cannot balance on either foot statically, how on earth are you ever going to do it in the mogul field? Or trees? Or deep powder?

Muscle awareness. This is the opposite of "just do it" The better you can feel & dissect and control each aspect of what you are doing, the better you will be. This is why tapping the thumbs up front works so well. It positions you, and gets you to feel the results. So does "carrying the dinner tray" "Imagining a glass ceiling", and a hundred other awareness techniques.

Taking all your bad habits out onto more challenging terrain will work... eventually. Darwin ensures that. But getting some coaching and practicing on terrain well suited for that practice will get you there sooner. The best part of the go bigger type advice is to not stay in your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is where you learn very little. But baby steps out of your comfort zone is where the best learning occurs, not by terrorizing yourself. Baby steps built on sucessful baby steps gets you there. And if you have an "Aha" moment and can take a bigger step, by all means, take it.

Combine all the good advice on this thread, and all of it boils down to time on the hill, and learning through instructors, friends, watching others, books, and videos.

I see a lot better turns out there these days. The new equipment makes it way easier to learn faster, and to carve sooner. Fatter skis have made the powder skiing learning curve shorter. But in the bumps, I am struck by how shaped skis and fat skis still don't save you. Bumps are still about mastering the same skills it has always taken, and so far there are no short cuts.

from_the_NEK said:

Until they try to ski above what that equipment was designed for and the skis start flying off unexpectedly.

Equipment quality does make a big difference when transitioning from intermediate to expert.

I have always tried to make due with the equipment I have and make it do what I want it to do. However, that only works to a certain point.

I started out on a cheap pair of Dynastars, with cheap (basic) Salomon bindings, and cheap boots. This setup was okay for my first year when I was learning to ski. However, as I started to ski more agressively and on harder terrain (bumps, trees, etc), the skis and binding were failing to keep up and I was experiencing pre-release problems and the skis were too soft and the boots didn't really fit correctly (foot sloshing around in a boot is not good for control). I feel my second year on these skis kind of held my back as I felt I had to ski somewhat tentatively. On the other hand, I was also forced to ski "light on my feet" which is a helpful skill.

After several pre-releases (a couple when I was killing it on lift lines :wink: ) I decided I needed new skis. For my third year I bought a pair of K2 Enemies (prior to the Public Enemies). Unfortunately, I didn't buy new boots :roll: The new skis were night and day over my old ones. The next year I got new boots. Again, night and day.

I'm not saying that you need the latest/greatest equipment. But a solid good performing set up can be very helpful as you progress in ability.
If you aren't like me and you are starting out on good equipment, well then you need to follow the other points of advice mentioned in this thread and ski more and push yourself. Everyone (even experts) have flaws in their style. I've been told I have a very unique style. That come from never having taken a lesson, and because I have deep rooted body and foot positioning that carried over from hockey that has never totally been removed from my skiing technique.

Click to expand...

Boots - totally agree. Hands down IMHO the most important piece of equipment one uses.

Bindings. I'll make the case that as long as the binding can be set to the appropriate chart determined DIN setting, that if you have proper technique that keeps you centered over the ski, that entry level binding that can be set to 7 will funtion just as well as that high end race binding that can be set to 7, for 99% of the skiing public (Highwaystar obviously being that other 1% :lol: ). If you have a tecnhique that has one "in the backseat" or doing a bunch of body rotation in an effort to steer the ski, etc., motions that WILL cause any binding to start functioning towards it's release point, while you are still "in control", then having a binding capable of being set above one's recommended DIN will be looked at favorably. Once again, technique trumps technology

from_the_NEK said:

Until they try to ski above what that equipment was designed for and the skis start flying off unexpectedly.

Equipment quality does make a big difference when transitioning from intermediate to expert.

I have always tried to make due with the equipment I have and make it do what I want it to do. However, that only works to a certain point.

I started out on a cheap pair of Dynastars, with cheap (basic) Salomon bindings, and cheap boots. This setup was okay for my first year when I was learning to ski. However, as I started to ski more agressively and on harder terrain (bumps, trees, etc), the skis and binding were failing to keep up and I was experiencing pre-release problems and the skis were too soft and the boots didn't really fit correctly (foot sloshing around in a boot is not good for control). I feel my second year on these skis kind of held my back as I felt I had to ski somewhat tentatively. On the other hand, I was also forced to ski "light on my feet" which is a helpful skill.

After several pre-releases (a couple when I was killing it on lift lines :wink: ) I decided I needed new skis. For my third year I bought a pair of K2 Enemies (prior to the Public Enemies). Unfortunately, I didn't buy new boots :roll: The new skis were night and day over my old ones. The next year I got new boots. Again, night and day.

I'm not saying that you need the latest/greatest equipment. But a solid good performing set up can be very helpful as you progress in ability.
If you aren't like me and you are starting out on good equipment, well then you need to follow the other points of advice mentioned in this thread and ski more and push yourself. Everyone (even experts) have flaws in their style. I've been told I have a very unique style. That come from never having taken a lesson, and because I have deep rooted body and foot positioning that carried over from hockey that has never totally been removed from my skiing technique.

Click to expand...

Good points. My folks weren't big skiers and bought me some intermed jr skis in middle school..tucking as fast as I could at about 13yo my skis just flew apart lol. I guess I've never had anything but expert/tough skis since then...still haven't put my boot in a women's specific ski yet, sorta feel I'll break them since I'm alot bulkier than most women. Also..growing up on the young side of a big family meant ancient outdated hand-me-downs that I had no choice but to use and have fun in - nothing is stopping a 12yo from keeping up with buddies no matter how shitty the equipment lol.

mister moose said:

Lots of great advice here. I'd say the highlights are:

Conditioning. Nothing can replace this either. Take the best bump skiers on this board next to the terminal intermediates. Ask them to jump up explosively from a squat. See who is the fastest. It won't be the terminal intemediate. Next, see who can do a knee bend on one leg. It won't be the terminal intermediate. Sorry, but the truth hurts. The better skiers are almost always in better shape. (From skiing more)

Balance. Stand on one foot with your boots on, arms out. How long can you stay on each foot, motionless? Now try swinging the airborne foot back, and stay balanced... for how long? Better skiers will be able to balance for a while, great skiers can do it forever. Where does this kind of balance come from? Some might be ingrained, but a lot comes from mileage. (Skiing more) If you cannot balance on either foot statically, how on earth are you ever going to do it in the mogul field? Or trees? Or deep powder?
I see a lot better turns out there these days. The new equipment makes it way easier to learn faster, and to carve sooner. Fatter skis have made the powder skiing learning curve shorter. But in the bumps, I am struck by how shaped skis and fat skis still don't save you. Bumps are still about mastering the same skills it has always taken, and so far there are no short cuts.

Click to expand...

Conditioning and balance are also key to recovery in bumps...I have saved myself from yardsales many times this year only b/c I had the strength and balance to stay on my feet using every last bit of effort/energy I can muster.