The Ski Lite / XCD thread

[CIMA]

Cima , watch this vid ..Everyone uses the positive , backhanded pole plants in it..And that's fine ; I am not raggin' on anyone's skiing..Looks like some great fun. Love to ski that with them..but if you watch, you will see that that type of positive plant often causes the hand to drag and pulls the body into the uphill side..That sort of upperbody twist could, at times, be useful, and a times quite the opposite..In soft , deeper , lite snow and low angles, it's not much of an issue, but at times, it could easily get one in trouble pretty fast..
The vid is a little laggy from where I am..You can switch HD off to help..

Very instructive.
Thanks for the video, Ron.
I wish I could watch the videos of right pole plant...

[Raventele]

Perhaps the ultimate pole plant is none at all? if it's really only about timing, then time it in your brain..Advising people to "reach" to plant may just be baggage that contributes to unneeded upperbody movements-- provided we do as our friend Cesare says and simply keep the arms properly aligned to the hill and perhaps merely flick the poles if desired..Sometimes when I ski with a certain alpine friend, she castigates me for arm movement when poling.."Jesus Christ , Ron, you are moving your arms around needlessly again..just flick the poles from your wrists"!!! lateral movement to initiate the turn should not be confused with reaching with poles..Good alpine skiers don't do a whole lotta reaching, I doubt it's all that benefical in tele either..

[Dongshow]

I didn't see a whole lot of reaching in the last video that CIMA posted. I tend to think of planting the pole with a touch down the fall line as opening the door and it doesn't have to be back handed. If you don't keep that hand quiet and in front it can lead to problems with rotation. Of course pole plants or poles aren't necessary and on a lot of terrain, like cruising groomers at high speed doing GS turns I don't pole plant, but it is helpful in steeper and more complex terrain. You don't often see someone ripping it up in the bumps, steeps and trees without poles.

[Raventele]

^^Dogshow,
I mentioned most all those exceptions re poles earlier..And Curely's double-pole jumps to initiate turns on XCD skis is pretty awesome too! ..I am sure we all do that now and then..If I ski something long and steep, I like to shorten my skis more, to reach farther DOWN(lateral), but not so much more forward..
If you can't see the upperbodys being pulled back uphill often in that vid, borrow Mike's eyes! It's not that pronounced in Cima's vid..
Oh, when Sockpuppets ski !!!!? Only if pigs fly!!!

[MikeK]

Yeah I don't know Ron? 'Ole Dong seems strange to me. Asks you to go skiing then seems to clam up about it and says he doesn't know if he can keep up. Maybe he doesn't like PBR?

If he is spoofin' you he's about the most benign sock puppet I've come across.

[Dongshow]

I'm not really interested in going to Lookout or the other resorts up there, the NWS says rain to 5000' + coming into Thursday and through the weekend. The cold air looks to be pushed west. I would be happy to meet up with Ron at Mission on Friday if he's coming to Leavenworth. I'll be visiting friends in Wenatchee again. Like I said before though, not sure if I can keep up. Ron gets to ski so much and it sounds like he's pretty skilled.

[Raventele]

They weather will be decent enough for skiing at Lookout and the many other areas around here at least through early Saturday..Was going to go ski Mission and the Lworh Ski Hill and XC trails but other parties coming from the Seattle side wimped out..
The Bitterroots tend to hold the coldest air in the INW
( Idaho, W. Montana , E Wa and NE wa as well as parts of BC) Dong, depending somewhat on elevation of course..Almost always colder than the Cascades and drier except during Chinook periods..and the Bitterroot Crest in general REALLY wrings the moisture out.. 400 inches of snow at Lookout..500 inches or more on up the St Regis Basin..There's nowhere else in Idaho or Montana to find more snow and often it's decent quality..
This link will give you a good and reasonably accurate idea concerning weather at about summit level at lookout ..
BTW , if you ARE going to Wenatchee, why not lookop Aaron Wright (expert over at Geezer Glide) or Nurse Ben (another pariah from Ttips and Geezer Glide)..
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.ph ... L_zUord9hd

[Raventele]

Yeah I don't know Ron? 'Ole Dong seems strange to me. Asks you to go skiing then seems to clam up about it and says he doesn't know if he can keep up. Maybe he doesn't like PBR?

If he is spoofin' you he's about the most benign sock puppet I've come across.

WTVR Jesse, and if you think PBR is my first choice in a beer, well, guess who's fooled ?

[Raventele]

[MikeK]

WTVR Jesse, and if you think PBR is my first choice in a beer, well, guess who's fooled ?

Oh you think I'm Jesse do you? Don't be silly Ron - they actually like that guy. No one on that forum ever liked me... even from the start.

I don't know what you drink? I know you mentioned PBR and smooth IPA. I think when you come out east for the Tele party I'll introduce you to some beers you'll probably really like. I'm not sure if you could get them in Idaho...

I just think you two ought to ski and have a beer, whatever it may be... then we'll see what we see.