Hello DCSKI,

I am coming at you with another gear question. And I know how well you all helped me out last time.

MY girlfriend is looking for a nice new ski for the east cost mid-atl area. Heres her thread from Epic: Text

She jsut came back to sking a couple of seasons ago (with my help) after being a pretty good slalom racer as a teen. Now she wants to ditch her old straight boards and pick up something new. She is about 5'2" 150# and is 29(and holding!).

She skis alot slower than I do making fairly careful short(at time windshield wiper style) turns down most groomed blue and black slops arroud here... She is a really fluid skier when comfortable but she tends to freeze on ice, or at the top of steep sections and make some other mistakes that I think are related to a fear of falling. I think her old skis and the newness of it all is holding her back somewhat. And by the end of last season it seemed she was getting more in the flow of things. We skied 10 days last year.

I know how I felt 4 years ago when I went skiing the first time after taking a 4 year hiatus for college. She has worked really hard to get in shape and has lost 20# since a year ago.

Anyway, she is alredy planning a couple lessons once she gets her new equipment. But we are somewhat in a question about what she should get. I mean legitimately right now she is a level 5 or 6 skier. But we are planning to ski 20 days this season and continue... so I am worried that she will get either too much ski and won't be able to advance on it or get too little a ski that won't grow with her. What a problem!

The ski will need to handle groomed, hard pack, and ice in a variety of turn shapes short (seems to be her fav) or long...

She is looking at:

Fischer Vision 40
Rossi Zenith Z3 W
(both recomended at ski center)

Other skis that looked good were the
'03 K2 T-Nine X (or Spire) (the new K2s are just too ugly to consider)
Bandit B1 W

All skis would be arround the 150cm lenght.

We aren't able to demo arround here because we are off to quebec the 2nd week in Jan when all the local areas are having their demo days. Do you recomend leasing for the season and then buying next season? Any advice is appreciated.

So you're dating Sheena? I saw the poster name on Epic recently and thought it was a good one.

I agree with the advice on Epic - demo, demo, then demo some more. Since your GF used to race, she probably has pretty decent form despite the layoff. The type of ski you can get with a season-long rental is probably not a good enough ski for her. I'd avoid that route. Tremblant should have a wealth of demo options. Try a different ski each day. Most shops will apply the cost of 2-3 demo days to the price of the ski. If you buy in Canada, you may have to worry about GST and customs declarations. If you don't declare the item, can you still get reimbursed for GST?

Were her current/previous long boards well-tuned? If not, that would make a huge difference when skiing ice. Can she still use those skis this year until she buys a new pair? Use the long boards and demo when you get the chance.

How good/old are her boots? The mantra of boots being more important than skis is very true. Though it sounds like she needs to upgrade her skis pretty quickly.

Show up at Liberty or Roundtop for lessons in December. The instructors there can evaluate your GF's skiing and may be able to recommend a ski based upon her skiing.

tromano:

Resist the temptation to buy especially since she hasn't skied the new skis yet. Leasing is an interesting idea, but she might like demoing different skis as well. This is a good way to see what lengths or types of ski she likes. If you are going to destination resorts, there will be a lot of places to rent and/or demo and depending on where you ski, it can be very convenient. I will never again buy a ski before I try it.

Yep, have been dating for over a year.

Her current boards are Kastle SL450s that she got in 1988 or something. They have metal topsheet and are mighty stiff. I think they are probably alright condition they have a slight shape to them, but they are pretty stiff and are 160CM long.

We are actually hitting up MT Ste. Annes (not Tremblant)... But I am sure there are plenty of demo options. Her boots are rear entry and of approxiamtely the same vintage. She says they fit fine so I am not going to argue there but that is definately an upgrade for next year(if not now).

I took a look at the tune and the seem pretty good. The skis have a strange base w/ a long groove down the middle. Don't know much about this. But the edges are sharp. I can shave my thumb nail.

Her form is pretty good. And she made a deffinate improvement in confidence during the season last year. We have the lift tix form the ski expo and I think the snowtime resorts are offering free lessons. So thats a great option. We will also be at the skicenter demo day on 1/5.

The boots may be holding back her skiing more than her skis.

I'd like to add a clarification about getting input from a ski instructor. (The instructors on this forum will probably want to comment also.) I wouldn't expect an instructor to recommend a specific ski, but based on their evaluation of her skiing, they could probably recommend a general category of skis and an approximate length. They'd also be able to assess how her boot fit is affecting her skiing.

The right category of skis for your GF could be all over the map. Since she raced a bit, she was a pretty decent skier at one point. If an instructor thinks her technique is relatively solid and that her equipment is holding her back, she should be in a higher performance category. If her technique is what's holding her back, a more forgiving set of skis and boots is what she needs. Talk about a non-answer answer.

Rear entries! Forget about the skis and get her in some new boots!

John,

That is the problem. I am not an expert on such things and I am biased any way. If you have any recomendations about who we should talk to at liberty / whitetail that would help. I awas unsure to even take a leson on the old skis. But I suppose there is nothing to do but go for it.

Liberty instructors who post on this board include Otto and Roy. Maybe Eastern Ski Bum also? Physics Man teaches at Whitetail. They could recommend specific instructors or a specific lesson.

I'd assume that you'd want to take an early-season lesson on your existing equipment, not on equipment that you are unfamiliar with (i.e. demo equipment)??????

For a really fast confidence builder on ice, see if you can't get her a pair of Volants (Vertex 66, 68 come to mind from last year) if for nothing else as rock skis early season. Phil P. and others on the Epicski list might be able to help you here if you can't find something local easily, cheaply, or soon. Unfortunately, you just missed the last round of swaps . . .

Yes, they're called heavy but you're not really looking to encourage up-down motion.

Have fun at MSA!

To add to your demo list:
Elan S8 W
Dynastar Omecarve 9
Atomic C9
Volkl 4-star


Very valid point above about GST! Have the receipt stamped as you cross back over the border.

As far as the boots go, she may be actually ahead of the game here - at least she's not locked into way-forward-tilted blocks of concrete.

I agree with JohnL. She needs more experience skiing shaped skis before she buys a pair. If I were her, I'd buy a new pair of boots and hold a season on skis. Rear entry boots are just not designed for the intense shin contact that shaped skis require. With new boots and some decent instruction on shaped skis, she'll inevitably graduate out of whatever she thinks she needs right now anyway. That's what happened to a friend last year who bought intermediate skis. He now wishes that he had purchased a stiffer ski.

All true johnfmh; however that means she rents for 3-4 weeks locally (in a happy snowy future, of course) at some expense before going off to Canada.

My rock-ski Volant opinion was based upon the possible priorities of:
- quickest skills progression through lessons (i.e. on a sidecut ski soonest without changing gear and performance envelope every rental)
- purchasing boots at resort where they can be fiddled with day-to-ski-day.
- never even being tempted to ride the old gear for a half-day at Ski Liberty
- less worry about tearing up new skis or rentals on early season rocks.

Just got back from class. Thanks for the the additions to the list Comprex.

Johnfmh, I apreciate your insigth on the differences between rear entry and modern boots. I didn't know that front entry boots were literaly required for shaped skis. I had figgured that if the boot fits...

This is really how I was feeling as well about buying too soon. When I bought my first shaped skis they were very soft and after 1 season I was ready for somethign else. I talked to Sheena (not her real name) just now and she is basicly convinced to go with boots first then skis at the end of this season once she has had a chance to demo. Thanks for all the input guys and girls.

Now all that remains is to get some boots and then in a couple weeks when the white stuff begins to fall, take a lesson or two. Is it possible to get in touch w/ Tom-PM or others through this forum or what?

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Is it possible to get in touch w/ Tom-PM or others through this forum or what?

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Send them a PM. I've used this DCSki feature before, and it works well. People may not realize they have a PM sent to them, so don't expect an immediate response.

You may be able to get a package deal of boots and skis, so you don't necessarily have to wait one year to have new skis and new bindings. My main advice is to not rush your purchase. It sounds like Sheena was doing OK on her previous equipment; if she buys some skis or boot in January (or later), she'll probably have numerous ski days during the rest of the year to enjoy them. If it's the right purchase, she'll enjoy them for years.

Let the pros give you some advice, and decide for yourself what you like in demo equipment.