The Skiers & Snowboarders Thread

[Seat0B]

I think it depends on your level of skiing. I am more at the beginner end and in short found it annoying and unhelpful so didn't renew. I felt I was focusing too much on all the beeps and instructions and not enjoying the skiing. If you are quite experienced, you might find it more helpful.

Thanks for giving your experience @LadyC. I am more experienced and wanting to improve more, but not sure how it works exactly despite reading their blurb. I kind of liked the “individualised data based correction of technique” aspects. Do you have to wear head phones/ear buds or how does it convey the instructions?

 

[LadyC]

Thanks for giving your experience @LadyC. I am more experienced and wanting to improve more, but not sure how it works exactly despite reading their blurb. I kind of liked the “individualised data based correction of technique” aspects. Do you have to wear head phones/ear buds or how does it convey the instructions?

You need to put special soles in your ski boots and that monitors your skiing and gives you a rating, called your Ski:IQ. Based on this, you can then do 'lessons' for different areas of improvement- you will need headphones for this aspect as it will give you instant feedback. It's been a few years since I used it but if I recall correctly, I was trying to improve my turns. Carv would then signal each turn whether I was getting enough edge to be effective, via the headphones, with a noise.
From the feedback I have read, it's more beneficial for high intermediate to advanced skiers as your posture, position should be all correct and it's monitoring your foot pressure which is something a ski instructor can't see but would only be able to guess at.

 

[Stealthflyer]

You need to put special soles in your ski boots and that monitors your skiing and gives you a rating, called your Ski:IQ. Based on this, you can then do 'lessons' for different areas of improvement- you will need headphones for this aspect as it will give you instant feedback. It's been a few years since I used it but if I recall correctly, I was trying to improve my turns. Carv would then signal each turn whether I was getting enough edge to be effective, via the headphones, with a noise.
From the feedback I have read, it's more beneficial for high intermediate to advanced skiers as your posture, position should be all correct and it's monitoring your foot pressure which is something a ski instructor can't see but would only be able to guess at.

I’d prefer a sensor that alerted me to nearby recommended rifugios for snacks or lunch

 

[Stealthflyer]

Ah-MAZE-ing. We're a group of 3 so will definitely attempt to make some reservations. We tend to be 'buy a bento box at combini' types for dinner but will make a concerted effort to get out!

Onsen etiquette we are all over. Actually our third guest has tattoos so we will have to make discrete inquiries about that.

No, Madarao is new too! Hubby has been to Shiga Kogan but otherwise we've only been around Tokyo / Osaka / Kyoto tourist triangle.

Do you have any tips on Onsens to visit if you have tattoos? Mine are too big to cover.

 

[k_sheep]

Afraid not - I don't have tattoos so not something I've ever considered! Will see how it goes with our third.

Getting excited - lots of snow dumping, only 13 days to go and then Nozawa and Madarao time!!

 

[Stealthflyer]

Afraid not - I don't have tattoos so not something I've ever considered! Will see how it goes with our third.

Getting excited - lots of snow dumping, only 13 days to go and then Nozawa and Madarao time!!

I’m heading there next Friday!

 

[Quickstatus]

Do you have any tips on Onsens to visit if you have tattoos? Mine are too big to cove

Maybe this

 

[Stealthflyer]

Our accommodation provider in Nozawa Onsen has suggested we purchase lift tickets ahead of time in case they run out, but that sounds like an unlikely scenario. I’ve had a look online and I can’t figure out how you’d buy a week long pass online as a foreigner.

Can anyone advise on the best strategy for lift purchases? I’m used to Dolomitisuperski, which is very simple once you have a card.

 

[Quickstatus]

Anyone with an opinion on Carv?

I think these things with feedback sensors in the boots are really not worth it and might make it worse
They don't address the primary issue which is body position, not what you do with your feet.
You need to get body position right first which includes the all important ankle flexion- this is the main thing holding intermediates back.

Have a look at your skiing photos - is the angle between the ski and the shin less than 90deg because it should if the stance is correct

They say Bend the knees but they should actually say bend the ankles.

 

[Seat0B]

I think these things with feedback sensors in the boots are really not worth it and might make it worse
They don't address the primary issue which is body position, not what you do with your feet.
You need to get body position right first which includes the all important ankle flexion- this is the main thing holding intermediates back.

Have a look at your skiing photos - is the angle between the ski and the shin less than 90deg?

They say Bend the knees but they should actually say bend the ankles.

Funnily enough I have become aware of the need for better ankle flexion over the past few years and I got a BOSU for Christmas to do ankle stability, strengthening and flexion drills as suggested by my physio (from when I did a serious set of tears to an ankle about 10 years back falling down a gutter - and before anyone asks, yes, fully sober, at work, and wearing ballet flats not heels) and my personal trainer.

It's so much fun that I've been doing a few every time I walk past the damn thing ....and now this lack of moderation has given me an ankle tendon overuse injury (luckily mild). So I have had to take the past couple of weeks very quietly before we leave for Furano on Saturday with rest, ice, closed shoes and Voltaren gel doing the trick. It's very hard to remember that I'm not as young as I used to be!

 

[Quickstatus]

It's very hard to remember that I'm not as young as I used to be!

Us blokes will never have that insight

2/
Another way to know if you have good ankle flexion is being able to feel the tongue of the boot against your shin. If you are unable, there is no ankle flexion.
Good ankle flexion allows your body to be more over the front of the ski. This gives more edge control
In order to turn just stand up over the ski to flatten it against the slope this releasing the edge from the snow and the ski will turn itself - but because you are over the ski you are ahead of the ski and in control. In order to edge again just flex the ankle. It is near impossible to turn otherwise.

Over the ski means your shoulders are over the toe part of the boot facing down the hill.

Also, if you re feeling that you are pushing into the boot with your tippy toes, you are likely not flexing your ankle and also in a backseat stance.
I sometimes remind myself to lift my toes up to put my weight into the tongue of the boot - its almost a feeling of slumping into the front of the boot.. This helps with ankle flexion.

 

[lovestotravel]

After the last few years heading to French mega resorts of Val-d'Isère and Val Thorens, and about to head over to Val Thorens in March, it's time for a change.

Italy or Austria

Just so hard to pick a resort and base and then find good accommodation. We like apartments with a pool/spa and that's very easy in the USA/Canada, just OK in France but very hard to find in Italy or Austria. We like having a kitchen for a few nights in, as we stay for 2-3 weeks and restaurants get boring after a while.

As for apartments, unless paying $2000 a night which is a hard pass it's so annoying

 

[Seat0B]

Us blokes will never have that insight

2/
Another way to know if you have good ankle flexion is being able to feel the tongue of the boot against your shin. If you are unable, there is no ankle flexion.
Good ankle flexion allows your body to be more over the front of the ski. This gives more edge control
In order to turn just stand up over the ski to flatten it against the slope this releasing the edge from the snow and the ski will turn itself - but because you are over the ski you are ahead of the ski and in control. In order to edge again just flex the ankle. It is near impossible to turn otherwise.

Over the ski means your shoulders are over the toe part of the boot facing down the hill.

Also, if you re feeling that you are pushing into the boot with your tippy toes, you are likely not flexing your ankle and also in a backseat stance.
I sometimes remind myself to lift my toes up to put my weight into the tongue of the boot - its almost a feeling of slumping into the front of the boot.. This helps with ankle flexion.

I can definitely feel the front of the boot on my shins - sometimes even have a bruise to prove it. But looking for better flexion for better edging (ice) and for deeper carves. I've worked hard in the past few years to get out of the back seat and get over the front of the ski more and it is paying great dividends.

Thanks for your comments and input.

 

[Quickstatus]

But looking for better flexion for better edging

I assume you have your own boots.
What length ski do you use?. Not in cm but what is the height of the ski relative to your face when standing in ski boots. Shorter skis easier to turn
Carving is a dark art unfortunately. Combination of ski/boot setup/technique.

Sometimes it is easier not to edge on ice and just let the skis slide to better snow.

For me the fun is not in carving or edging but being able to go through the ungroomed stuff. Here it is the ability to edge and un-edge quickly
I tried a moguls lesson once. Geez it was so hard. I put down my inability to being too Unco