Skiing Aspen & Clendenin Clinic

[Gary]

Joes right....John was on the Head Peak 78's at Portillo....speaks very highly of that ski.

Perry....I too found it important to have a 2 ski quivver...with my Fischer P8's, 72 underfoot and a 12 meter turning radius....groomers, bumps, and up to boot high snow....it's a blast....

When the snow get's nasty, wet or deep, out come the Pilgrims, 90 underfoot, 17 meter turning radius and they are a blast.

Your Magnums will handle all Aspen can throw at you. What I find having skied my 66mm waist Head SS in boot high snow, they take more focus and concentration, more mental and physical energy to ski in the deeper stuff. In those conditions, I can relax more, think less with the wide 90mm underfoot.

All boils down to personal preference for sure. I do get the ski in instead of on top and that's why I use that ankle / boot high snow marker (depneding on wet or dry snow) as my personal marker for changing skis.

Ron is right on in the low angle pow department....if it floats on top ya don't need as much speed like when? you're a foot deep.

Steamboats coming this weekend for a week....so pumped....think snow everyone....lots of it!

Best, Gary

[Ron]

Just to clarify, you don't have to float on top with a rocker or fat ski, you can modulate the depth that you want to ski at, You want to go deeper, you just need to arc more or push down more, float up, unweight slightly or decrease the arc.

EDIT- ADD ON-  its not just riding on top or down deep, the feeling and sensation changes as well, its not just the fact of width that determies the ski used for me, there's no formula, it kind of depends on what or how I want to ski that day. Just want to cruise around, surf and have fun jibbing around, I may want a big fat rocker (HB) want to be more aggressive, ski more technical lines, I may want the Nomads or Pilgrims, so it''s not just a matter of the depth of the snow.

[Perry]

Comments about the benefits of the wide skis are interesting and helpful to me.  I definitely need to demo some.  I spend most of my skiing life on NC or WV slopes that are mostly hard and sometimes blue ice.  I have a new video "sinners" that has a bunch of deep powder.  I need to get in some with some Hellbents or some 1010's and make up my own mind.

Ron - the"in vs on" the snow was just me pushing your HH buttons

Knowing you have an HH button makes me either;
A)A brilliant intuitive thinker in the footsteps of Sigmund Freud
B)A facetious pain in the *ss
C)smart enough to catch on when the 2x4 hits me upside the head

Gary - feel free to answer honestly

[Ron]

Well, perry. Iif you are interested in wider skis I would suggest you start with somethihg less wide and then work up. For where you ski, you have the right tools for sure, moving to soft snow does require a midification to your skiing in that the use of edges? has to be tempered and modulated or you will be overworking the skis.

As far as HH goes, its not HH, he's just runing a business and marketing his product? Its the mentality that some Harbilites have that I object to. Too many misconceptions and preconceptions that have been "fed" to them that are just not true or factual.? (THAT DOESN'T MEAN ALL HERE!)? I know that was my former self.? Like many,I dont ski enough so you look to fill that wth something else ski related. Some become gear whores, some become advid ski **** watchers, others study skiing technique. I'm a ski-**** watcher and? gear ****.. and I will overcome this.  HH is a fantasitc skier for sure and his skiing method is great. I commend anyone for dedicating themselves to improving their skiing and encourage everyone to conitnue to be the skiers they want to be- Trying Johns method is a great: a different approach, there are certainly similarites that all skiing share but you will see some contrasting approaches as well. Hopefully, you wil adopt some of those skiils to your skill-set toolbox.

for me, its learning different approaches, trying different sks/gear to see ihow it changes the experiece and pushing myself to challenge me mentally as well as physically. However, I dont want to think about?my skiing, I just want to ski- this a shutting the mind down and just skiing in the moment. I have never enjoyed skiing as much as I have since arriving in Chile and changing my whole outlook and approach to skiing. I hope you all have the joy in what you are doing. I don't mean to insult anyone or anyones skiing preference but encourage you to broaden your horizons and and be open to to what may bring even more enjoyment to your sking

[LivingProof]

Knowing you have an HH button makes me either;
A)A brilliant intuitive thinker in the footsteps of Sigmund Freud
B)A facetious pain in the *ss
C)smart enough to catch on when the 2x4 hits me upside the head

Perry,
Too funny! I've been tested as an intuitive thinker in Myers Briggs and we are known to be real pains in *ss to the uninformed majority. They just not have seen the light

Now Ron's HH button (and he does have one) is directed at his followers. Maybe it's Christmas time and the "peace to men of good will" thinking will prevails. (Love ya too, Ron)

In the whole area of ski selection, I think it's critical to do an examination of your own specific needs and fit your ski or skis to match your needs. Like you I ski in the East mostly on very hard old man-made. I'm also a turner and speed doesn't enter into my skiing. So my Blizzard SL's/Supershapes match up very well to my everday needs. Your quiver seems to match your needs. I, and probably, you need to tune out a lot of wide ski discussion.

I know from skiing with Gary and Phil, they both have one everyday ski that suits the great majority of their needs. While Gary is closer to you and I, Phil is a much more aggressive charger and he loves the GS like stability provided by a 88. He also a much better skier and can use them with a lot more versatility when conditions get hard. If I skied where Ron skis most of the time, my thinking may be much different, but, I've no data to state with any certainty what I would do.

I've made a commitment to ski the West once a year and I've found that my true carve skis just don't perform in heavy wet spring snow. Therefore, I've added a 78 for those two reasons. Still a more traditional carver but very suited for my PMTS skiing. They permit me to be "not me" and do wider turn, higher speed more relaxed skiing. And that's a good thing.

Now if I can only follow my own advice and stop thinking about those Pilgrims or the Kastle's. Skiers, we all dream of the next ski.



?

[Gary]

Perry
Ok let me try to be politically truthful with regards to your comments below:

Knowing you have an HH button makes me either;
A)A brilliant intuitive thinker in the footsteps of Sigmund Freud
B)A facetious pain in the *ss
C)smart enough to catch on when the 2x4 hits me upside the head

Answer:
the answer is a bit of A and C...having any new tool in your ski skill arsenal is brillant...knowing and applying are 2 different things so the only time one deserves a smack in the head is when they talk the talk but won't walk the walk.

I find for me learning new ski skills brings me to a new and better place but I always keep the fun factor there...gotta be smiln' on the mountain and enjoying the path that got you there.? ?
Best,
Gary

[Gary]

Ron....a beautiful statement my brother....nicely done!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, sleigh bells ring are ya listening, I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.


Yeah and all that!

Life is too short to sweat the little stuff....be happy...ski!
G