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what's you gap?

gladerider

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how wide is the gap between your skis? when you ski?

i switched over to snowboarding about 7-8 years ago. this past weekend i wanted to get back on the skis again so i skied for 3 days, which i have not done since my switch over. a friend of mine skiing with me saw my skiing style and said 'dude that's so 80's!'

i always try to put my skis as close to each other as possible since that is the most comfortable for me to handle any type of terrain i need to deal with. but, i guess this is kinda old? i know my friend is mainly a carver. so, while on the lift up the summit, i looked at the skiers in general and i did notice that a lot of the young skiers with twin tips did have about 6-10" apart. i can kinda see that it would help with stable entry for jumping. hmmmmmm.

so i am curious, what's your gap?
 

Savemeasammy

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My skis rub together, so it must not be much ;) . My skis are further apart if I am going fast and making gs or bigger turns. Probably 4-6 inches. Bumps, glades, powder, and short radius turns my skis are tight.


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MadMadWorld

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I think a lot depends on the width of your skis as well. But as SMS said, it depends on terrain, conditions, and skiing style. I honestly have no idea how much of a gap there usually is between my skis. Never thought to look.
 

gmcunni

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in a lesson i took long ago when getting back into skiing after the change in shaped skis.. instructor said without skis on jump up and don't move when you land. that's how far apart your feet should be.
 

gladerider

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I think a lot depends on the width of your skis as well. But as SMS said, it depends on terrain, conditions, and skiing style. I honestly have no idea how much of a gap there usually is between my skis. Never thought to look.

neither did i until now.
 

crank

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Your friend is so wrong. It was in the 80's, before shaped skis, that "proper" technique involved not having your skis/legs glued together. Granted it took a while for the casual skier to catch on, but that's what those who teach were teaching. You are so 70's would be more accurate.

Probably about 8 - 10" or a bit more for me.
 

MadMadWorld

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in a lesson i took long ago when getting back into skiing after the change in shaped skis.. instructor said without skis on jump up and don't move when you land. that's how far apart your feet should be.

Yea they preached that bs to me all through instructor training. It's a good gage to find your own balance point. But where the test fails is someone's point of balance is completely different based on things I mentioned like terrain, condition, and even the equipment your using. It's not a one size fits all test.
 

gladerider

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Your friend is so wrong. It was in the 80's, before shaped skis, that "proper" technique involved not having your skis/legs glued together. Granted it took a while for the casual skier to catch on, but that's what those who teach were teaching. You are so 70's would be more accurate.

Probably about 8 - 10" or a bit more for me.

:eek::eek::eek:so are you telling me i'm still stuck in the 70's? :lol:
 

MadMadWorld

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Your friend is so wrong. It was in the 80's, before shaped skis, that "proper" technique involved not having your skis/legs glued together. Granted it took a while for the casual skier to catch on, but that's what those who teach were teaching. You are so 70's would be more accurate.

Probably about 8 - 10" or a bit more for me.

Nah. Let's be fair most people skied like that in the 80s. Unless you were racing you probably ski that way. If you watch videos of Plake and Schmidt you will see the same thing. It wasn't until those hip and cool Parabolics came out that people started really skiing different.

Woops I realized that he said "glued together as possible".....Yea that's very 70s.
 

Cornhead

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Not enough apparently, the top sheets of my Mantras are a mess, the inside edges of the top sheets, metal, are bent, cracked, pieces missing. I definitely don't ski with my skis together old school style. I'm not aware of when exactly this is happening. Makes for a "handle with care" ski. The first time I went to wipe the snow off them after skiing I felt a burr catch the middle of my hand. Luckily my lightning fast reflexes allowed me to stop before slicing my hand completely open.;) I call them my Ginsu Knives. I'm considering a traditionally topped ski as a replacement. I'm curious to see if I chip the hell out of their top sheets.

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gmcunni

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Yea they preached that bs to me all through instructor training. It's a good gage to find your own balance point. But where the test fails is someone's point of balance is completely different based on things I mentioned like terrain, condition, and even the equipment your using. It's not a one size fits all test.
it is a starting point, that's all.

like where should your weight be? forward? but in powder you want it a little back.
 

drjeff

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Shoulder width the vast majority of the time!

The wider stance is more stable and easy to roll onto the inside edge and generate some nice edge angles on most snow surfaces. Even on my full rocker powder skis shoulder width is easy to pivot/swivel for me and far more stable (hence easier to recover from if an inside edge slips out) than the old style tips + knees locked together

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crank

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I can tell when (most) skiers learned to ski by their technique and the legs glued together screams 70's. guess it could have bled into the 80's too.
 

skiNEwhere

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I'm a big gaper!

Wait, what?

I've never looked down but I'll guess 8 inches. In the bumps I try to narrow it a little to avoid catching an edge and to turn easier.

If I'm going tuna speed, I'll be a good 14-16 inches for stability, in a stance similar to how the world record holders for speed skiing do it.
 

dlague

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For me it depends! Some times I hold skis tight together when cruising a groomer and carving. Not real tight since the tip are 131 wide but close enough. Other times I have them wider apart during speed. Other time 6-10 inches when skiing variable terrain.
 

Edd

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3 ft skiing groomers. 3.5 skiing bumps. At least 4 ft slaying the pow. I get some looks but I assume it's out of admiration.
 

Abubob

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Groomers - varies but generally 6 inches. Tuna speed - about two feet apart. Powder - 2 to 4 inches for float (need fatter skis or skinnier me.) Trees - all over.
 

wa-loaf

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Varies of course, tight in the bumps and trees. Much wider on the groomers depending on the speed.
 
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