Ski the East...or not?

VTKilarney said:

Did Highway Star hack DHS’s account?

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Lol

I'm just saying that the true technicians of the sport, people have mastered all conditions and terrain types, right size their gear. I'm talking people like Puck It, waloaf, Savemeasammy, Xwhaler. You'd never see any of them on something wider than about 100 as a daily driver in the East and they sure as hell wouldn't be skiing a 122 as a daily driver in the West. Maybe after an 18" dump a skier of their caliber would bring out something that big. Maybe

What I'm saying isn't all that controversial. Pretty much all manufacturers and retailers say the same thing. A lot of skiers, tend to choose skis that are too wide for the conditions they ski 80-90% of the time. They buy these super fat skis where they will only realize their benefits 10% of the time.

If you don't understand these realities of ski design, it's probably because you lacj the skills to appreciate the difference. You get people like Dlague making horrible gear recommendations. I remember him suggesting his Chams in a thread asking for advise about good carving skis. Um what??? I bit my tongue then. Maybe I should've last night and today as he's clearly offended.



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deadheadskier said:

Lol

I'm just saying that the true technicians of the sport, people have mastered all conditions and terrain types, right size their gear. I'm talking people like Puck It, waloaf, Savemeasammy, Xwhaler. You'd never see any of them on something wider than about 100 as a daily driver in the East and they sure as hell wouldn't be skiing a 122 as a daily driver in the West. Maybe after an 18" dump a skier of their caliber would bring out something that big. Maybe

What I'm saying isn't all that controversial. Pretty much all manufacturers and retailers say the same thing. A lot of skiers, tend to choose skis that are too wide for the conditions they ski 80-90% of the time. They buy these super fat skis where they will only realize their benefits 10% of the time.

If you don't understand these realities of ski design, it's probably because you lacj the skills to appreciate the difference. You get people like Dlague making horrible gear recommendations. I remember him suggesting his Chams in a thread asking for advise about good carving skis. Um what??? I bit my tongue then. Maybe I should've last night and today as he's clearly offended.



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I have to agree with DHS here. My midseason everyday ski is the Pinnacle 95 currently and they carve pretty darn good when the groomers are soft like they have been most of this week/weekend. I am lighter than most, so they float enough for Eastern Powder and even Western for me. I rarely go wider as I like the precision I get when needed. But if we go boiler east hard pack (or its spring and I'm skiing mostly soft bumps all day long), then the Chargers come out and those are 74 under foot. Sorry, but there is a huge difference when trying to carve on ice/hard pack between underfoot widths. I can swing tthe Pinnacles and look pretty good on the hard pack, but the reality is I'm skidding most turns or a least smearing it. On the Chargers, I am still carving the turn and if it gets even more slick and the edge starts to slip, so much easier and quicker to feel/correct on the narrow than the wide boards.

To each their own though.

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I also agree with DHS. My daily ski is 78mm underfoot.

It was the delivery that could have been more refined.

I can rip anything on my 105mm Rossignol soul 7’s. They are better for carving than my 90mm line Profit flights I had before. They have the same turn radius as some Slalom skies.

benski said:

I can rip anything on my 105mm Rossignol soul 7’s. They are better for carving than my 90mm line Profit flights I had before. They have the same turn radius as some Slalom skies.

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LOL...90 under foot Line Prophet Flight not exactly known as a carving ski and neither is the Soul 7

Soul 7 is a short turner for what it is, but yeah, it’s no carver.

I ski on my 78 Head Supreme Instincts a lot these days. Even in a good snow year, it’s often a better tool than my wider skis.


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I'm not sure there's really a good one ski quiver for the east. You encounter so many different snow conditions here, I'm often thinking a different ski than what I'm on would make the day more fun. If you're on the wrong ski for the conditions, then it usually means you're working harder than necessary, or sometimes means you can't go to all the terrain you want to ski (e.g. you're on a narrow ski and there's deep powder in the woods).

I'm probably heading towards a four ski quiver: a wide powder ski (106), a narrow hardpack ski (77), a mid-fat (TBD, but I'm eyeing the Kore 93 as others have mentioned), and possibly a bump ski (if I can ever learn to ski the zip line).

deadheadskier said:

A lot of skiers, tend to choose skis that are too wide for the conditions they ski 80-90% of the time. They buy these super fat skis where they will only realize their benefits 10% of the time.

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I've said this many times before, but cant resist a perfect opportunity once more:

Skiing skis that are too wide is the new, skiing skis that are too long.

If there's no new snow in the last 48 hours or so then Im skiing 95's. New snow Im skiing 110. More than two feet I probably am reaching for the 115's....but more often than not 110 is more than enough.

deadheadskier said:

Lol

I'm just saying that the true technicians of the sport, people have mastered all conditions and terrain types, right size their gear. I'm talking people like Puck It, waloaf, Savemeasammy, Xwhaler. You'd never see any of them on something wider than about 100 as a daily driver in the East and they sure as hell wouldn't be skiing a 122 as a daily driver in the West. Maybe after an 18" dump a skier of their caliber would bring out something that big. Maybe

What I'm saying isn't all that controversial. Pretty much all manufacturers and retailers say the same thing. A lot of skiers, tend to choose skis that are too wide for the conditions they ski 80-90% of the time. They buy these super fat skis where they will only realize their benefits 10% of the time.

If you don't understand these realities of ski design, it's probably because you lacj the skills to appreciate the difference. You get people like Dlague making horrible gear recommendations. I remember him suggesting his Chams in a thread asking for advise about good carving skis. Um what??? I bit my tongue then. Maybe I should've last night and today as he's clearly offended.



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If someone gets offended by what someone wrote on the internet then they have bigger issues than wearing powder skis on hardpack and thinking they are the right ski for the job.

BenedictGomez said:

I've said this many times before, but cant resist a perfect opportunity once more:

Skiing skis that are too wide is the new, skiing skis that are too long.

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This. THIS.

I was going to say the same.

My Daily’s are currently Rossi HP Pursuits Ti, 81 underfoot at 177, great for groomers, good in the bumps, crud and trees but I would like something with a 95-100 waist for the powder up north VT and eventually out west

speden said:

I'm not sure there's really a good one ski quiver for the east. You encounter so many different snow conditions here, I'm often thinking a different ski than what I'm on would make the day more fun. If you're on the wrong ski for the conditions, then it usually means you're working harder than necessary, or sometimes means you can't go to all the terrain you want to ski (e.g. you're on a narrow ski and there's deep powder in the woods).

I'm probably heading towards a four ski quiver: a wide powder ski (106), a narrow hardpack ski (77), a mid-fat (TBD, but I'm eyeing the Kore 93 as others have mentioned), and possibly a bump ski (if I can ever learn to ski the zip line).

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Same.... just need to convince my non skiing wife the virtues of having a dedicated bump ski!

I have the other three in basically the exact same sizes as you list. The iRallys were bought this year to replace a set of Fischer Motive 84. Those were a carving biased mid-fat, but they just didn't offer the precision and hard snow grip I was looking for. The Rally's rip on the shiny stuff.

My powder skis will probably last me 15 years I use them so infrequently. They come out anytime there's more than 8" of fresh, but it's fairly common that I size down to the 90 midday as things get tracked out and bump up. The 90s are just so much quicker laterally in the bumps. I've yet to ski any conditions on the 107 where I wished for more float.

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I've actually been using my powder skis a lot this season. We've just had so many good storms up north and I've been hitting almost every one of them. I'm finding that the latest technology in the wide skis has really expanded their versatility. The light weight and asymmetric design of the Ripsticks I picked up this year is surprisingly effective. The inside edge has more camber to give better carving performance on harder surfaces and the outside edges are more rockered for smooth turns in 3d snow. So I've been having fun on them in even 4" of fresh (and usually it will be deeper than that in the trees at places like BW since the glades there don't get tracked out for a few days).

BenedictGomez said:

I've said this many times before, but cant resist a perfect opportunity once more:

Skiing skis that are too wide is the new, skiing skis that are too long.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but what if you just prefer wider/longer skis?

kingslug said:

So many people I know just wont ski the East any more. I go on 3 trips out west a season and when i ask the crowd im with..who live here ,where they ski, most say out west only now. They have given up with our variable conditions and long drives. Sad..I cant imagine not skiing here..i think it makes you better. And some wonder why they have a tough time out there when the champagne powder turns to
Crud...and in order to stay in shape for places like JH..you better ski a lot before and after you go. This last trip wiped out so many people..quickly.
Hmmm...wonder why...

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Simply put: Quality of quantity... plus it's more affordable for many in the East to ski out West.

I live in NYC. Jumping on a plane is easy. I take an early morning flight and I'm in Salt Lake City by 9/10am, on the slopes by 10/11. add an hour or two for Reno.

In SLC and Reno, hotels and rental cars are half the price of what you pay in the East. That easily covers the cost of the flight. The food is significantly lower priced as well. So long as you stay more than a few days, it's cheaper.

I buy my tickets on Southwest, so if for some reason conditions aren/t optimal, I can reschedule or book to a different location without paying any penalty fees.

Most importantly, out West, the conditions are much more reliable and optimal. I've gotten burned way too many times out East. For example, last time I was at Stratton, they conveniently didn't update their website conditions report til 2pm. So all morning their website claimed 100% trails and lifts open, when in fact there was only one mid-mountain lift and 2 or 3 trails open. Unforgivable.

They do it intentionally to get people to the mountain knowing that after a long drive many will just give up and accept whatever paltry skiing they can get, or spend money at the restaurants in the resort... It's unacceptable, especially insulting considering how much money we put towards patronizing their resorts. There is no excuse for it either.

So yeah, I ski out West because by any objective standard and measurable metric, it's significantly better, and there is only so much time one has to ski.

dezzyq said:

Yeah, but what if you just prefer wider/longer skis?

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First, Benedict's quote is so accurate. I will add, I think it has more to do with your ability to use the ski that your choose. I have seen people that ski both too long and too fat and you can tell they struggle. Now if you are a top athlete or a gifted skier, then you might have the strength and ability to power those skis correctly and be in control. If that is the case then you are probably in the top 5% of skiers. Most people that ski are not and will struggle to some extent. It is my opinion that is you ski the east, ski bumps, eastern woods, tight chutes and the varied snow conditions that we get. Then anything more than about 100 - 105 under foot is way to much. UNLESS it snows a bunch. I mean why would you ski bumps, hard snow or tight woods with skies fatter than that. You are just wasting energy.

Look I had no intention of using my current skis as a daily driver. I have skis that are 95 underfoot that I had used back east and out here as well. I bought wider skis for powder days but since conditions vary so much in bowls, trees and then soft groomers, the Salomon skis just ski better IMO. Are there other skis I would like, absolutely. I like the Icelantics Nomad 105 for example. I just can not afford lots of gear. I research gear all the time and every couple of years I try to pick something up. I actually am looking at a narrower ski as my next target for those groomer only days. For now, I like how my skis work and enjoy them. I have skied with most of the people you mention mostly at Cannon or Killington and I was not skiing a wide ski. I guess I should be honored that I got to ski with such skiing technicians. I never thought anything about it other than skiing with friends.

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This weekend in the east..78 razor sharp would be the weapon of choice...out west 120..plus!
yes its a bit depressing

Well, we're headed out to SLC Saturday and just like the first time we went to Utah back in 2003, looks like we might get visited by the R word out there again next week. I really should just go to Big Sky every time out west, been there 3 times and it's the only place I have been and not gotten Wet out west. Meanwhile, Sunday is a bit iffy for now back here but the remainder of the week has good chances right now. Typical.

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