Author Topic: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day  (Read 618 times)

jim-ratliff

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #30 on: January 06, 2011, 01:45:05 pm »
This seems like an appropriate time to harken back to when I first skied with you, Gary, Lynn, "Michael" and Ed (Lynn's boot assistant from prior year) and the cat-skiing day the four of you went on.

Pretty amazing how much all of us have grown in our skiing since then (and that's only been a few short years).
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

Ron

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #31 on: January 06, 2011, 01:49:41 pm »
I'm still just a gaper.....

midwif

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #32 on: January 06, 2011, 02:48:19 pm »
I'm still just a gaper.....

Yes, but we won't tell anyone. >:D
"Play it Sam"

jim-ratliff

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #33 on: January 06, 2011, 02:56:48 pm »
I'm still just a gaper.....

ME TOO!!  But's that's 'cause I'm always skiing behind Lynn.   >:D ;D  Lets see if the moderators edit this one.
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Ron

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #34 on: January 06, 2011, 03:05:27 pm »
I freely admit this...

Philpug

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #35 on: January 06, 2011, 06:51:09 pm »
Ron,
Being a little redundant, but....

May your powder in B.C. be as deep as the above B.S.

hahaha.

LivingProof

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #36 on: January 08, 2011, 10:17:37 am »
A TR from the demo day

Let?s get this out of the way real quick. It was powder day! 3? bottom, 5? top. I can hear the laughing from those of you who have skied copious amounts of snow in the west. Eastern snow was destroyed last week in a melt, so the new covered some ice and some pretty slick hard pack. In between, if one looked for fresh snow and had the skill to get to it, then it was fun. Best skiing of last 3 years.

The new snow delayed our arrival and, after meeting-up with Lynn and Jim, we hit the slopes after 10. Jim brought his Chariots and adjusted them to permit me to use them. I?ll do a review of the ski in Jim?s thread about those skis. It was great to ski with both and we skied as a threesome all day.

Our late start limited me to skiing 3 new skis, the Chariots, Dynastar Sultan 94 and Elan Waveflex 12, which is a 72 waist carver. Blizzard and Head were not present so the ONE and a KERS super shape did not occur. Rossi was there, but the S3 was in use each time I tried to obtain it.

The Dynastar?s were skied on variable conditions on Elk?s black trails. As they are somewhat similar to the Kastle 88?s, I understood how to ski them much better than I would have a year ago. They are very open to input from tipping movements and come up on edge very nicely and hold harder snow better than I expected. It was fun to ski them and I?d love to give them a go for a day when out in Tahoe on softer snow. Two friends who were there also tried them and had less positive reviews, but no details. For an eastern skier, the Sultans are too close to my 88?s in performance to justify purchase.

The Elan Waveflex 12 is well suited as an eastern carver at 72 waist and 168 in length. It seemed shorter, but carved very well. The Dalbello rep, who gave it to me, is a friend of Phil?s and misses his sales presence in the Philly area. After skiing longer and wider skis all morning, it took a while to readjust on black runs. Tended to overpower them, need to trust a little more. They carve, they go! I?d rather ski them than the Blizzard SL?s I took to Elk that day. When the day comes to replace my Supershapes, the Elan?s would be something to consider.

The last several runs were spent with all of us skiing what we brought in the continuing falling snow. Jim and Lynn are good people. Thanks for skiing with me at Elk - we should ski together again and for an extended period. The power of Real Skiers is developing the personal relationships to supplement the posting persona. And Lynn, get those skis tuned! And watch out for Jim!

jim-ratliff

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #37 on: January 09, 2011, 09:20:50 pm »
A quick addendum.

On a whim, I skied the Dynastar 6th Sense Slicer.? Only a 98 mm waist, but not a good ski for me or the conditions. Felt like a tank, not manueverable or alive at all.? Skied the Elan Waveflex 82 xti and this was a great little ski, and the emphasis on little in the sense that it didn't feel at all like an 82 mm waist.? Really a lively, easy ski.? A bit of an eye opener.

And by the way, I'm sure we've all heard the adage "we tend to ski where we are looking" and that when skiing in trees you want to look for gaps in the trees rather than looking at the trees.? Well, I was watching Lynn making some turns and admiring her style and, sure enough, I completely blind sided her and skied right into her.? HOW EMBARRASSING, and we were both moving along at a pretty respectable clip.? Fortunately, she wasn't seriously hurt.? Unfortunately, I didn't even fall down, and that just made me feel even worse.

She heard people on the lift commenting on what a big hit that was.? Sorry Lynn.

RealSkiers description of the Waveflex 82 xti.
Elan scores a big hit!
"Relaxing high performance?no vices?broad performance envelope," pretty well sums it up. Stable, quick, predictable and relatively non-demanding, while delivering serious high performance.
Close to being the the "Holy Grail" as a Big Mountain Carver 1-ski-quiver well worth considering.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2011, 12:24:47 am by jim-ratliff »
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

Perry

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #38 on: January 10, 2011, 03:36:32 pm »
Jim,
How would you compare the Elan to the SS Mag

jim-ratliff

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #39 on: January 10, 2011, 07:54:29 pm »
Jim,
How would you compare the Elan to the SS Mag

Perry:? That's a hard question. I like the SuperShapes better because they give me more feedback about what's going on under the boot.? The 82 xti's are lighter in weight and lighter feeling when skiing.? The xti's turned almost instinctively and with little effort (or feedback), especially compared to the Watea 84 and the Head iM78, that was the amazing part.? But now that I think about it, I'm not sure I like the "lack of feedback or feeling" from under the boot.? Kind of hard to explain.? I would defintely consider doing a full day demo on them just because they felt so different and it would be interesting to get a more complete picture of what they are like.

I had just finished trying to ski on the 6th Sense Slicer, so I was just glad to have a ski that was responsive, but was primarily just skiing along with Lynn on the skis she was demoing. Compared to the Watea 84's, I think I would probably pick the Elan's, but would want to ski them faster and also slower just to get a more rounded picture of the ski.? I believe that the narrower waist of the SuperShapes is a good thing, and there isn't anywhere that I ski on the east coast the the 82 width of the Elan's would do any better.

Not much of an answer I know.? It was a different feel than anything else I have skied.

« Last Edit: January 11, 2011, 12:26:58 am by jim-ratliff »
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

Perry

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #40 on: January 10, 2011, 10:23:20 pm »
sounds like a good answer to me.  It makes sense that an EC ski with big tip doesn't need to be wider than 72 - 78 mm.  I also agree that sometimes a ski is different to be both intriguing but at the same time not something you would want to buy without more time on it.\
Perry

LivingProof

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #41 on: January 15, 2011, 06:54:26 am »
A quick addendum.

? Skied the Elan Waveflex 82 xti and this was a great little ski, and the emphasis on little in the sense that it didn't feel at all like an 82 mm waist.? Really a lively, easy ski.? A bit of an eye opener.

RealSkiers description of the Waveflex 82 xti.
Elan scores a big hit!
"Relaxing high performance?no vices?broad performance envelope," pretty well sums it up. Stable, quick, predictable and relatively non-demanding, while delivering serious high performance.
Close to being the the "Holy Grail" as a Big Mountain Carver 1-ski-quiver well worth considering.


Jim,
I was at a demo day at Blue Mtn yesterday and Elan was there (same rep). I really wanted to do the Waveflex 14 after reading your review and remembering your gushing about it's performance  , but, it's gone from the demo fleet.   >:(   According to the rep, the ski is sold out this year from Elan and can only be obtained from shops who happen to have them in stock. Waveflex 12 was no longer in demo fleet and that was the ski I liked very much at Elk.

I hope Lynn's recovery is complete.

jim-ratliff

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #42 on: January 15, 2011, 02:06:16 pm »
Yeah,i think 40 hours of dedicated neck and back rubs Friday night had reduced it to nothing more then an occasional twinge. She is pretty tough for such a "Bronx Belle full of charm and wit."
« Last Edit: January 15, 2011, 02:08:10 pm by jim-ratliff »
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

midwif

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #43 on: January 15, 2011, 02:57:11 pm »
Yeah,i think 40 hours of dedicated neck and back rubs Friday night had reduced it to nothing more then an occasional twinge. She is pretty tough for such a "Bronx Belle full of charm and wit."

EXCUSE ME! "puckish wit and charm". :D

For those of you wondering. Jim once asked me to describe myself and that was my response as I was feeling sassy.
lcs
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LivingProof

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Re: The Magnificent Elk Mtn. Demo Day
« Reply #44 on: January 18, 2011, 07:33:58 am »
Another minor addendum about but as it's about a ski, I know I get automatic forgiveness.

At the Blue Mtn Demo day, my favorite ski was the Nordica Firearrow 80. (132 80 115)

Great turner, good in bumps, easy initiation, good edge hold. Just a fun ski. Yes Ron, sometimes I forget and just have fun. It responds to upweighting soooo easily! :P

Phil told me it's a great $850 ski that sells for $1200. Nodica's support for the ski is minimal, almost no Epic info about it's performance.

Check out the graphics! :o  :o

http://www.nordica.com/usa/products/allmountain/fire-arrow-80-137

If Start Haus has a demo, I might just get on them on the Feb visit.