I want to get some equipment for the kids because they are closer to intermediate then beginner now and I want to go more often. There is a older family resort that you can get mid week lift tickets pretty reasonable and it isnt that far away.
I also want to replace my stuff. It is pretty old and the bindings grenaded on my a couple years ago and the toe and heel caps on the boots shattered. I had the bindings replaced and I fabbed toe and heel pads so everything works. My skis are pretty good ones (Swallow Duraluminum), but they are old, like 31 years. The boots were real good at the time also. I have a lot of miles on my gear and there was a time where I could ski the whole mountain, (WA, OR, CA, PA, VT and once in BC) and did on that gear. The boots are going to give at some point, and now that the kids can be left on their own, I can push a little I dont want the skis to have a catastrophic failure.
My problem is I dont understand the parabolics. There are now, all mountain, carving, powder, turning, tuning, play, trick, and sitting in the lodge skis. I am trying to learn about these new skis. They are now rocker, camber, half rocker, mild camber, and I feel I am off my rocker. I dont even know what I am looking at anymore. When I bought mine, there was floppy, stiff, and ridgid, and the same in skis. Looks like I need to be looking at rocker/camber for what I do.
Gimme a hint if you know. I dont plan on doing double black diamond runs anymore, but the occasional set of moguls might be in the cards. I felt real good hitting the hotter intermediates and getting back over my skis, and the knee didnt blow.
I ski eastern, I doubt I will go west again, so groomed ice pellet skiing will probably be it. I used to be a “terminal intermediate” which meant I could ski the hard stuff near the end of the season, but didnt go enough to stay on the expert slopes.
I saw K2 Apache leftovers 177cm. Thought they might be OK for me. The daughter was using 153cm(5’7" 140) Head rentals and the son, who was more of a begginer, was on the same. He is larger, (6’2" 220) and he needs to go with a bigger ski next time because I got him parrelling pretty well.
rent
The choices are confusing… I will say I love my parabolics but the action of just pointing feet is different. I am used to unweighting.
I do know you don’t need powder skis but something lighter and more responsive.
There are a lot of places that allow you to rent toward ownership.
X’s 2
go to some skiing forum
Guy
All Mountain
I don’t know a ton about skiis, but I think a well sized pair of all mountain skiis would get you started for a few years. The difference in shaped skiis is pretty ridiculous, almost like cheating compared to the old school straight skiis. I got back into skiing a few years ago after taking a long break, learned on straight skiis, didn’t take more than a few days on the shaped skiis before I was tearing around like I hadn’t been away. I still can’t ski bumps, don’t think that has anything to do with the skiis.
Shaped skis
I worked in a ski shop for years, so know a bit about what’s up with the shaped skis. If you’re primarily skiing in the East as I do, look for a model designed for “on piste” or groomed trails. You’ll most likely encounter hardpack, so no need for wide powder skis or a lot of rocker. It would help to know where in the East you’ll be skiing.
As an intermediate, look for skis that come to your nose or thereabouts. You can go shorter if you weigh less than average, longer if you’re heavier or more aggressive.
K2 Apache, but what model? Recon? Crossfire? Xplorer? There are different models of the Apache, and unless you’re pretty darn tall, I’d be willing to bet that 177 is a bit long.
If you’re looking to buy skis that were once used as rentals, they’re probably entry level skis, which you may rapidly find to be unsatisfactory.
Getting yourself boots that fit well is actually more important than what skis you choose. I can’t emphasize that enough. No need for expensive or fancy, just make sure they fit properly. They shouldn’t feel like slippers; they should be snug but not uncomfortably tight.
Good luck with your search. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me so the grumpies on this board don’t get more upset.
Another choice - skiboards
Unless you are aiming for some super off-piste big maintain conditions, I think you should try the modern skiboards. I switched from ski to skiboards a couple of years ago and it is so much more fun! Not to mention much easier to progress, and safer on your knees.
For the shorter ones (under about 110cm) you can go with non-release bindings, so they feel (and are) much lighter than skis.
Check skiboardsonline.com for their Revel8 line and Spruce Mountain for more info - these are the better choices, though the Summit products are not bad (except they mount with ski bindings directly to the board rather than use a center mount with a riser, which kills the flexibility of the board, which is not good for a short board).
For East Coast riding they are a great choice. Plus, they fit in the trunk, so no need for a roof rack.
http://skiboardsonline.com/#&panel1-1
http://www.skiboardsonline.com/forums/forum.php
http://www.skiboardsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=248
And some videos (one of them is mine, hint: I’m not in Italy):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEOGd2v3NVI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f175Zju1sf0
When I see no
posts about backpacking, food, sleeping bags, cars, E.G., I will take your request under advisement.
most folks here do other things than paddle, and in case you didnt notice, half the US is pretty well covered in frozen water.
Besides, you could have skipped the post because it was clearly labeled.
If it was out of line, get a Mod to remove it.
gnat,
they will get over it.
Eastern skiing, currently, Pittsburgh area. I found Blue Knob weekdays is awesome for the kids. It isnt huge, but the price is right and the trip isnt bad, and it is well maintained.
As to ability. I was a pretty good high intermediate, and I skied a lot of WA state (Baker, Snoqualmie, Stevens) OR, (Hood and Bachelor), CA (Tahoe), Killington, Pico, farther north, Big Boulder, Jack Frost,as a kid, I lived 15 min from Shawnee 15 years ago, and Elk mountain was under a hour away when I was in college. I could run the moguls on Baker but it wasnt always pretty so I was a PA expert, and a far VT and WA intermediate.
I have been out of the game for a while, but I was able to break from the kids and hit some more challenging stuff and it felt REAL good when I got back over my skis and hard into the boots, so getting back to a high intermediate isnt going to be a problem.
6’ - 5cm is 177cm, and I am not a little guy. Figure 250lb. My current straights are 190’s, so heavier and a bit aggressive style.
I agree with boots first. I have Nordicas and it looks like that is the way I am going to go. They still are the high arch and larger calf in general.
I am kind of getting the hang of the lingo now. It looks like I should be on full camber or maybe try rocker/camber. I need to go to a decent shop, but I need to know what I am talking about so I dont get what the shop wants to sell.
Spend the $$$ on alignment and boot
issues. Everyone should get an alignment/footbed assessment and if issues exist..get them addressed. Ski season is going to last this winter, so get them balanced and possibly check out better boots and their skiing will take off, as your skiing will. Relatively new boots are not that difficult to sell when it comes time for a change. BTW...I DO think Paddling.net could use somekind of Off-Season Activity Forum...(fwiw)
Steve
3rd the rent or get help suggestion
If you're only going to ski a few times a year, why not rent?
If you're going to ski more, get some help from a live person and tell them what kind of skiing you want to do. The thing about shape skis is they changed the kind of skiing I THOUGHT I wanted to do, so it still might be good to rent a few seasons. If you live near a ski resort you can watch them for demo days sales. .
If you haven't skied on new equipment since parabolics came out, it'll blow your mind. The skis mean your knees don't have to hurt, you just let the edges do the work. And new boots mean your feet don't have to hurt.
Then there's all the new gear.
go to a ski shop and get boots first
getting your own boots. Demo/rent different skis with a pair of boots that fit well.
a well fit pair of boots make any ski ski well. The nicest ski in a pair of blown out rental boots will ski like crap.
There are no bad skis, but there are skis not suited to your local terrain. find what the local skiers like.
surfskis???
It is a shame that Jack L…
Removed his post above.
This belongs on Paddlers Place Discussion forum . Not here
Guy
Off season ???
Not here. Pacific is pumping.
Old dog, new tricks
I had given up on downhill skiing in favor of cross-country skiing after my kids left home. When I retired a friend asked if I would go downhill skiing with him. I agreed and drug out my 25 year old gear and went several times. Another friend, seeing me on old, straight skis took pity and offered me a pair of shaped (side cut) skis that were not being used. The new skis and I never did hit it off. I was impressed with how easy they were to turn, you really only had to think about turning and off they went. I learned to keep them turning because when running straight they would wander (wobble). But I caught edges and crashed more often than I liked, about once every outing or two. Eventually the crashes scared me to the point that I returned to the old straight skis. I’m still on them and manage about a half dozen outings between crashes. I think my old habits were too ingrained to learn the new technique required of the shaped skis. This old dog did not stay the course required to learn that new trick for fear of injury.
Peter
fischer wateas
for you. 175 ish. Rockered. 88 under the boot. Im assuming this is for Eastern resortr skiing. You can thank me later. You can get deals on-line. EVO.
I’d go bonkers
If all I did was kayak and all I talked about was kayaking.
Lol…
Hey you kids get off my lawn!
right?
Headed to the slopes this weekend!
Went last week 
and hooked up with some good blue square runs. The feel is definitly coming back. Buddy brought a gopro and it looked like I knew what I was doing still. I dont think it will take all that long to get back to a hard blue/one black level.
Found a bootfitter within a reasonable distance so that is the plan here at the end of the month to hopefully catch a sale or leftover. Even when I bought my straights years ago, I bought boots first. As a big guy, there is no such thing as a GOOD bargain basement boot.
The reason I dont want to rent is that rental skis are made for the avg person, meaning 220lb or less, intermediate non agressive skier. I weigh more than that and although currently I am all blue, I am pretty sure next season will take me back into the black. I got 3 trips in this year with a late start and no plan. I got a plan now
As for types of skis, I have been reading a lot and it looks like a full camber thin waist with titainiun laminate at about 177-180 ± a couple would fit most of the terrain and my style.
For those who helped, thanks.