You're probably safe enough in London as the turnover should be high enough for them to have somebody properly trained in it, if its done right you shouldn't have any pain in your feet during or after a days skiing though.
Winter sports thread 24/25
- Thread starter VRDoctor
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in retrospect/future - wouldn't you have tried for a boot fitting or renting some different boots in Meribel to look at alternatives
I never really had a problem with ski or (scarpa)ski-randonee boots fit, socks are part of the story, used thorlo mountaineering ones.
I never really had a problem with ski or (scarpa)ski-randonee boots fit, socks are part of the story, used thorlo mountaineering ones.
Yeah, I ought to have done, but it was such a good week that I didn't want to be faffing in the shops. I appreciate that that may not have been logical!
What on earth are you looking at? Just got a Burton Intsigator board, Mission bindings and Ruler boots (see post above) for 650 all in.Going boarding for the first timre in 12 years haha. March. Driving in VW Transports with brother in law.
La Plagne or Alp D'huez. Not going to buy any new kit yet so will get ny old board serviced and see how many bones I break.
Though I did price up a new board, bindings and boots and its nigh on £2k
Snow and Rock were great for my boots - measured my feet, found the best fitting boots instore for me, heat moulded the liners and helped with some insoles. Did four hours at Chill Factore Friday an foot pain/discomfort is all gone and was riding better than ever. Even tried some jumps which I never do!
Soldato
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The GOAT bootfitter in the UK seems to be Solutions4Feet in Bicester if you’re super serious about chasing the perfect fit.
I had a really good fitting done by Captain’s Cabin in Sevenoaks and the guy there chats to S4F a lot so shares the same ski boot fit philosophy.
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I've often considered a skiing holiday, but nearly everyone I've personally spoken to that has been has had an accident resulting in an injury, some of them quite nasty, which I find off-putting.
Are my friends accident prone or is there indeed a high hol/injury ratio at play here?
Are my friends accident prone or is there indeed a high hol/injury ratio at play here?
I started skiing late, when I was in my early forties. In the 8 ski trips I have had, I have only had a single occasion where I had a mild incident.
Basically fell heavily on a slope where there were lots of kids in ski school, and knocked my head, fortunately I was wearing a helmet and all was well. I am a very cautious skier so that probably helps.
I think provided you do not go mad flying off down the slopes beyond your ability you will be fine.
One thing I would suggest though is that you are reasonably fit. I struggled a bit on first trip due to leg ache and could only manage skiing for a few hours before I had to break.
Basically fell heavily on a slope where there were lots of kids in ski school, and knocked my head, fortunately I was wearing a helmet and all was well. I am a very cautious skier so that probably helps.
I think provided you do not go mad flying off down the slopes beyond your ability you will be fine.
One thing I would suggest though is that you are reasonably fit. I struggled a bit on first trip due to leg ache and could only manage skiing for a few hours before I had to break.
Been snowboarding since I was 28, now 46 - been away at least twice a year boarding since I learnt apart from covid era, never seriously hurt myself. I've had a few bruises and tweaks, but nothing I've not been able to carry on boarding with. I don't do park though - I'm a cruiser/carver with the odd small side hit thrown in.
If you don't want to hurt yourself take lessons (including progression lessons maybe after 20 days riding), don't do park, don't push yourself too hard and don't get sucked into Mates: 'seriously, this black run isn't that bad, you'll be fine' - just ride with what you are comfortable with. Ignore the bull**** bravado that sometimes accompanies snowboarding/skiing, all that 'if you're not falling you're not trying' crap etc.
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Soldato
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I guess that people think they can be lazy by strapping on a set of skis and expecting gravity to do the rest, whereas in reality I imagine (having never gone skiing) it needs a lot of skill, flexibility and fitness to go really fast and get to the bottom in one piece.
Been skiing almost 40 years and only popped some ribs that were already loose from another injury. You do see people being carted off on a semi regular basis though and seen a couple of fatalities (one though was a heart attack).
Tips for not killing yourself skiing:
Be fit
Take lessons
Stay on marked runs
If you need to stop, do it at the side of the piste and not under a blind crest.
If you’re not falling, you’re not progressing. This doesn’t mean throwing yourself down black runs or off cliffs, but expecting to stay upright 100% of the time is unrealistic. As a beginner, your falls will be (hopefully) at low speed and on slopes where you don’t keep rolling down (and lose all your gear). Oh, take regular breaks and hydrate well. The more tired you are, the more likely you are to cause yourself a mischief.
Skiing is awesome. Hope you manage to get a taste of it @bainbridge
Be fit
Take lessons
Stay on marked runs
If you need to stop, do it at the side of the piste and not under a blind crest.
If you’re not falling, you’re not progressing. This doesn’t mean throwing yourself down black runs or off cliffs, but expecting to stay upright 100% of the time is unrealistic. As a beginner, your falls will be (hopefully) at low speed and on slopes where you don’t keep rolling down (and lose all your gear). Oh, take regular breaks and hydrate well. The more tired you are, the more likely you are to cause yourself a mischief.
Skiing is awesome. Hope you manage to get a taste of it @bainbridge
Ski randonee where you climb to the summit , demands fitness, you feel as though you deserve the descent, and you burn some calories too - justifying the tartiflette,
for not killing yourself -
goretex shells can be very slippery on the snow if things go wrong.
polarized sun-glasses I'm not unconvinced that you loose some depth/surface-profile perception wearing these (as a glasses wearer I use prescriptions, too)
when is the renaissance for parallel / non-carver skis ?
for not killing yourself -
goretex shells can be very slippery on the snow if things go wrong.
polarized sun-glasses I'm not unconvinced that you loose some depth/surface-profile perception wearing these (as a glasses wearer I use prescriptions, too)
when is the renaissance for parallel / non-carver skis ?
Every year I'll see exactly one person doing monoski.
Just to re-iterate the "if you're not falling, you're not progressing", you do want to push yourself into more difficult terrain if you want to improve and gain the technique and confidence and this will involve taking a tumble now again. A lot of skiing is just risk management, know your limits and the snow conditions can change the likelihood and seriousness of falls. Steep icy runs are best avoided if you're not confident in your edge technique, but in better snow conditions can be straight forward.
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There’s always the chance some idiot who isn’t paying attention will take you out at speed when you’re just minding your business but otherwise:
-Take your beginner lessons seriously and commit to continuous learning. Skiing is inherently counter-intuitive in terms of how you move your body through space to get the desired outcome and the better you are, the more enjoyable and safer it is. It’s also a sport that’s very hard to progress in if you’re self-taught because you can’t see what you’re doing, so even past the week 1 lessons (do these at your nearest indoor place if you can so you can get more out of actually going somewhere) it’s worth the cost of lessons if you want to improve and be able to ski more of the mountain confidently.
-Leave your ego at the door. The easiest thing to do on skis isn’t falling over but straight-lining it downhill and if you’re still at the wedge/pizza & chips phase you quickly find that won’t slow you down once it gets vaguely steep. You obviously have to be on the edge of your comfort zone to improve but don’t run before you can walk and avoid the more intermediate and advanced slopes until you’ve levelled up, as you don’t just put yourself at risk you risk hitting someone else. Surviving a run beyond your abilities isn’t that fun either - you want to actually enjoy it and sliding down in on your butt or skidding 1m at a time is not fun unless you just want to post on your social that you did a black run (nobody will care). Most of the group trips I’ve been on, when someone got injured it’s because they were doing something stupid either impulsively mid-run, skiing hungover etc.
-Flexibility and strong legs are good. Although your skis will detach most of the time when you take a tumble, you can easily end up legs akimbo or twisted if they don’t and the bendier you are the less likely you are to rip or tear something if you pretzel yourself. You don’t need to be a yoga master or bodybuilder but flexible hips and ankles + decent connective tissue in your hips and knees are pretty useful.
-Take your beginner lessons seriously and commit to continuous learning. Skiing is inherently counter-intuitive in terms of how you move your body through space to get the desired outcome and the better you are, the more enjoyable and safer it is. It’s also a sport that’s very hard to progress in if you’re self-taught because you can’t see what you’re doing, so even past the week 1 lessons (do these at your nearest indoor place if you can so you can get more out of actually going somewhere) it’s worth the cost of lessons if you want to improve and be able to ski more of the mountain confidently.
-Leave your ego at the door. The easiest thing to do on skis isn’t falling over but straight-lining it downhill and if you’re still at the wedge/pizza & chips phase you quickly find that won’t slow you down once it gets vaguely steep. You obviously have to be on the edge of your comfort zone to improve but don’t run before you can walk and avoid the more intermediate and advanced slopes until you’ve levelled up, as you don’t just put yourself at risk you risk hitting someone else. Surviving a run beyond your abilities isn’t that fun either - you want to actually enjoy it and sliding down in on your butt or skidding 1m at a time is not fun unless you just want to post on your social that you did a black run (nobody will care). Most of the group trips I’ve been on, when someone got injured it’s because they were doing something stupid either impulsively mid-run, skiing hungover etc.
-Flexibility and strong legs are good. Although your skis will detach most of the time when you take a tumble, you can easily end up legs akimbo or twisted if they don’t and the bendier you are the less likely you are to rip or tear something if you pretzel yourself. You don’t need to be a yoga master or bodybuilder but flexible hips and ankles + decent connective tissue in your hips and knees are pretty useful.