Snowsports (Skiing, Snowboarding, etc.)

[zoraster]

Anyone else ski or snowboard?

It's about the time of year that snow reports start to matter, and about the time I start tailoring my gym workouts for the brief time I can ski. Right now I have about 10 days of skiing scheduled, but hopefully I'll actually take advantage of the closeness of Tahoe this year.

[Rhinox]

I ski. I'm limited to the NE states though mostly. I did get out to Colorado a few years ago, stayed in Silverthorne and skied Breck, Keystone, and Vale. Unfortunately, I'm lucky to get to Holiday Valley in New York once a year over the past few years. That's where I learned to ski.

[zoraster]

Do you notice much difference between NE and Colorado? I've only skied in western states, and they're significantly larger, but the bigger thing is that people always complain about the northeast being the "ice coast."

[Majiffy]

I used to snowboard.

[Rhinox]

Do you notice much difference between NE and Colorado? I've only skied in western states, and they're significantly larger, but the bigger thing is that people always complain about the northeast being the "ice coast."

Yeah it can get icy sometimes when temps tend to get above freezing during the day then refreeze at night. But mid-season, if you stick to the groomers I didn't notice a ton of difference other than the colorado trails are much longer*. Personally, while not ideal, I kinda get used to the ice. And a couple of the "icy trails" the locals were complaining about seemed like just fine conditions to me.

Couple other big differences:

The NE tends to do a ton of snowmaking and you can notice a difference between powder out west and the "loose granular" that is pretty much all artificial snow. But that is one way the nicer places fight the ice - they build a big base of mostly artificial snow, and then in the spring they can chop away at it with the groomers when it gets too icy to extend the season.

And night skiing is a much bigger deal in the east. Holiday Valley, for example, is like 80% lighted, and more people night ski than day ski. All the school clubs and what not have their trips mostly on saturdays from 4:30 to 10:30. When I was learning to ski I did almost all my skiing at night and it felt weird to get up early to ski during the day and need to be off the slopes by 3/4 in the afternoon when I was in CO.

*ETA: I should note that holiday valley is considered one of the nicest NE resorts usually considered top 3 in the east. So my point of reference is basically comparing the best in the east to colorado.

[AxleGreaser]

Anyone else ski or snowboard?

I firngleiter
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... odelle.JPG

if that counts

it kinda looks like skiing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx64lYT7tJE << this is some club in Europe that slaloms in them.

These guys are on the larger version that has a curve in the side which in Australia are called blades.
and they are having a fun ski
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR3Xe4ZaqTk


Its doing that but in firngleiters or figgles... that is fun.

compared with skiing,
primarily it characterized by a feeling of being way out of control (on the raggedy edge) but usually not hurting yourself.
(For ME: the falls mainly dont pull like, due to shorter ski, and i tend to spin out not land awkward.)
(there are exceptions traps for new players and people who dont have my background)

[zoraster]

so... the point of it is to be less in control?

Short skis have gotten a bit more popular here, but they're primarily for park tricks

[mykonian]

I would happily watch professional snowball fights. Why hasn't that ever been invented as a sport? Everybody does it, there's a decent amount of technique to it, and surely you could invent many strategies. Someone make this happen.

[Majiffy]

Signing up for first pro snowball fight

[zoraster]

Hard to score I would think.

[AxleGreaser]

so... the point of it is to be less in control?

Short skis have gotten a bit more popular here, but they're primarily for park tricks

hmm there is short skis. (120-150 or so)
Then the are blades, like in the video , and then even shorter there is figgles which have straight sides a bit wider, only few inches out the back, and not whole lot in front either.
All are quite different.

In the shortest ones.... Figgles,

Park tricks....
I used to be able to do this trick (more or less) in figgles.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjPT1x39UCk (its actually not hockey thing but was a figure skating thing from waaaaaay back.)
I have not tried for a few years, I am probably not flexible enough anymore.


For me in particular the point.
As i said I was speed skater. Short skis for me feel natural, I cant cross the tips. So instinctive reactions from years of ice skating just work, instead of crossing the tips and killing me as skis do.
I can

ski

figgle one week year and hammer the mountain down the fall line. In skis. It would all be hard work.

I cant quite agree with less control as i turn stupid fast and fall less often and badly in the figgles. (lack of length means no angular momentum, so I just throw them around.) can do 360 spins in the lift queue, or while boarding the chair, or the Tbar... (park tricks)

To get to see more than park tricks on a run you need to see a former ice skater use them.... not some skier mucking around.
being on the "raggedy edge" is usually due to shortness meaning they can when carving a corner bounce/chatter, and I can wind up skiing on just the inside or outside figgle until i put the other one back.
I used to be able to do that bit in long skis, but in figgles its more normal.

Being short they bounce on details in the snow that skiiers just ignore. For me, Hammering figgles down slope has lot more rush to it than skis did.

[zoraster]

First ski trip of the season (I have two fully planned and another that will hopefully come together with my wife's best friend, plus whatever day trips I make to Tahoe) coming up in 9 days.

A little jealous I'm going to have missed out on this, but nice it'll be part of the base:

[Annadog40]

Hard to score I would think.

The could have special vests that chemically react to the snowball?