Author Topic: Wider skis for my wife?  (Read 2370 times)

Svend

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Re: Wider skis for my wife?
« Reply #15 on: November 05, 2011, 01:09:53 pm »
Mike, it's always a pleasure to hear from you.  The voice of calm reason and objectivity.  Great insight -- thanks for that.

I hear you re. the "buzz" around wider skis.  I am quite cognizant of, and have healthy skepticism regarding the industry's push for ever-wider boards.  Back when I first started skiing -- just 5 years ago -- an "all-mountain" ski was 70 to 74 mm.  Now, if you believe Ski Magazine reviews, it's 88 to 98 mm.  Seriously? OK, if you lived near someplace like Alta, I could see that.  But for the rest of us?

Hence my thought that a lot of people are on skis that are too wide for them -- they are being told that wide is the way to go.  Then the 160 lb eastern intermediate skier ends up with a 90mm+ ski that can't hold an edge on our icy slopes.  Or if it can, then it's way too stiff and heavy for them and they struggle to control it.  I see a lot of these guys on our home hill.  Not a pretty sight. 

As for not going to Jackson -- hey, my wife needs to fly the coop for a week every now and then.  Mental health break  ;D  Everyone here benefits  ;)  And staying behind with our daughters is no purgatory.  They are just the best.  Super pals.  We have a great time together when Mom isn't home  8)   I know I'll be missing some great skiing at Jackson, and get really antsy when I get the daily reports from there.   But I get my treats when I head west for business and take weekends to ski -- this winter I'll be in Vancouver (Whistler), Kamloops (Sun Peaks), Edmonton (Jasper National Park / Marmot Basin) and Calgary (Banff National Park / Lake Louise, Sunshine).  My boots are mandatory carry-on luggage on those trips.  So, who am I to complain?

Cheers,
Svend
« Last Edit: November 05, 2011, 03:59:52 pm by Svend »