Brighton/Solitude v. Sbird/Alta
- Thread starter gpaulski
- Start date
During the holidays for you, I would say yes.
The Eagle chair at Solitude is 1,400 vertical continuously pitched so anything groomed there you would like.
Brighton has a flat bench mid-mountain. Sustained pitches on groomers are short.
Alta's groomers are in general not that steep except for the pitch at the bottom of Wildcat/Collins. You really need to get off the groomed to appreciate Alta. However, Alta has numerous open bowls that are much less intimidating to intermediates than at Snowbird. Ballroom and Greely Hill come to mind.
Snowbird's grooming is more extensive than it used to be. There are steep pitches on most of them. With traffic you can expect some mogul development on many of them later in the day. Given the earlier thread about you skiing on short skis, Snowbird will likely give you a workout.
Does the 4 days require one at each area? My advice to you if flexible, is one day each at Alta, Snowbird and Solitude, then the 4th day at whichever of the first 3 you liked best.
The Eagle chair at Solitude is 1,400 vertical continuously pitched so anything groomed there you would like.
Brighton has a flat bench mid-mountain. Sustained pitches on groomers are short.
Alta's groomers are in general not that steep except for the pitch at the bottom of Wildcat/Collins. You really need to get off the groomed to appreciate Alta. However, Alta has numerous open bowls that are much less intimidating to intermediates than at Snowbird. Ballroom and Greely Hill come to mind.
Snowbird's grooming is more extensive than it used to be. There are steep pitches on most of them. With traffic you can expect some mogul development on many of them later in the day. Given the earlier thread about you skiing on short skis, Snowbird will likely give you a workout.
Does the 4 days require one at each area? My advice to you if flexible, is one day each at Alta, Snowbird and Solitude, then the 4th day at whichever of the first 3 you liked best.
I'm rethinking my comments more along the lines of MarcC, with the continuing comments about overly short skis. Wanting to ski LSG's at your height and weight on skis that short is almost an oxymoron. There are 2 possible explanations:gpaulski":oy3yvumo said:
1) You're really a very low intermediate and you need to polish your technique on moderate pitched groomers rather than sliding sideways down steep ones, or
2) You've been renting skis way too short for you, and when you step up to something in the 165-170 range it will be a great revelation how much more stable and enjoyable the LSG's will be.
IMHO low intermediates should avoid Snowbird.
My wife is 5'2" and skis 150s, so I'll join Tony in scratching my head about someone at least six inches taller and 50 pounds heavier on the same length ski. I'm in no position to throw stones at anyone about their skiing level, but at the risk of turning this into Epicski, I guess this is the point where we ask for video.Gpaul":2uo93y02 said:
I'm very reluctant to get into discussions of ski ability about someone I've never seen, but there are red flags here. MarcC is likely correct about not sending GPaul out the High T, no matter how nice the reward at the end might be.
"Dad, you're faster than me, but you ski ugly" My son,14 y/o, and a natural athlete (national swimming champion until 12, now national best midcourt/forward soccer sub-15). Not bragging, just some background. He skies gracefully, anything, tireless!
Me, ski, NOT slide, anything 'cept bumps and deep powder (yet...). Example run Vail's Avanti, top to bottom including dreaded last drop into lift. Skier's left off of Little Cloud in Sbird.
JH Amphitheater and Sundance, Stowe's front 4, etc., etc.
So, I guess that makes me an un-polished intermediate, but when I tried to go longer COULD NOT CONTROL TIPS and TURNS, really.
So, now what??? Gracias!
Me, ski, NOT slide, anything 'cept bumps and deep powder (yet...). Example run Vail's Avanti, top to bottom including dreaded last drop into lift. Skier's left off of Little Cloud in Sbird.
JH Amphitheater and Sundance, Stowe's front 4, etc., etc.
So, I guess that makes me an un-polished intermediate, but when I tried to go longer COULD NOT CONTROL TIPS and TURNS, really.
So, now what??? Gracias!
jamesdeluxe":3dsd4rf1 said:
http://www.skiutah.com/winter/members/s ... tubevideo2
I ski like this guy, just not as pretty.
Marc_C
Active member
gpaulski":hjmhc3na said:
Take lessons.
Take lessons.
Take lessons.
Take lessons.
Take lessons.
Stop trying to get advice on the net about ski length until you can have an instructor evaluate your skiing and remove your bad habits. This will happen when you......
Take lessons.
Take lessons.
Take lessons.
Oh, by the way, you might want to consider taking some lessons.
Marc_C
Active member
Just to clarify, that doesn't mean a 2-hr clinic near the end of your trip or even a half day. You need an intensive several days, back-to-back, right at the beginning of your trip.Marc_C":2u2377dn said:
And start a ski specific exercise program NOW so you don't have those issues to deal with on your first several days.
Underlining the point MarcC made.Tony Crocker in previous GPaul thread":meg9i58b said:
There's no way I would attempt to analyze this statement. Did you ever ski before the late 1990's, when turn initiation was not as easy as now with sidecut and tip rocker? You need to be observed by a qualified instructor to sort this out. You might be holding that kid back too. Once my son Adam approached me in ability, I insisted that he take lessons each season so he would NOT learn from skiing with me. That was at age 7. Your son needs to be in a separate lesson from you to be taught different things and advance at his own pace. He's plenty old enough to be skiing more challenging terrain than you on his own, then meeting up at a lift, lunch etc.gpaulski":meg9i58b said:
I would not like to have tried to learn to ski from once or twice a year extended trips. I progressed mostly from skiing one day each weekend at SoCal local areas for a couple of fortuitously good seasons. I could push very hard because I wasn't skiing the next day. I had to learn to pace myself when I stated taking longer trips. So MarcC's advice about conditioning is especially correct in your scenario.MarcC":meg9i58b said:
As far as spending all or most of the time in lessons, I'm not sure I agree with that. You get a couple of things to work on, practice those a few days, then go back for more. You do need to do it at the start to sort out equipment and identify any glaring habits you need to break. I would strongly recommend you and your son take lessons at the marquee expert mountains, those being Alta, Snowbird and Jackson. Adam gives the strongest recommendation from personal experience at the latter 2 when he was age 10-15 or so. These places attract the best and most enthusiastic instructors. And those are the mountains where you're going to be most restricted (or get yourself in trouble) skiing on your own without local guidance.
The "intensive, several day clinic" works best under the same instructor observing progress each day. That is going to be difficult to arrange on a ski safari tour like you have planned.
I think this trip will nhot only be as grand as all our ski trips, but an eye (and probably terrain) opener since I DEFINITELY WILL TAKE LESSONS specifically to move into better skis, and to learn the gift of powder skiing. Thank you ALL for such earnest and well-intentioned advice, gracias, gracias.
As we get closer to ETA will try and set-up skiing time with fellow FT skiers and friends.
Best!!!!!!
As we get closer to ETA will try and set-up skiing time with fellow FT skiers and friends.
Best!!!!!!
One step at a time. It is quite likely that your current technique for skiing groomers on overly short skis is the antithesis of what is necessary to be successful in powder.gpaulski":27mfjusm said:
Marc_C
Active member
Tony makes a good point and that was more of what I was thinking - just didn't word it well. I wasn't advocating a solid week of lessons nor 100% of the day(s) being lesson time. Something more along the lines of 3 or whatever days of morning lessons, with free-skiing in the afternoon to work on what was learned. From gpaulski's posts, I'd guess there are a lot of bad habits to unlearn, which is actually more difficult than learning the first time.Tony Crocker":3vgnosuk said:
Agreed.Tony Crocker":3vgnosuk said:
SnowbirdDevotee
Member
A huge problem in advancing to a higher level is not using your poles correctly or not using them at all. If you think you need short skis, it is likely that you are not using your poles to initiate your turns. I always say, "ski with your poles,not your legs". Meaning, a deliberate pole plant comes first, Just look at any expert skier gracefully moving down the hill, they all use their poles to initiate a turn. One problem with poles is that too many skiers use a size or even two smaller than they should. The old standard of grip the top upside down in the ski shop is not right. That method will give you a pole size at least one size too small. When you are in boots/ski and hold your arms out, your forearms should be parallel to ground, the pole upside down method will have your forearm/hand bent down. What happens it you don't get a proper plant, thereby you use your legs to initiate the turn, instead of a pole plant - and that might be why you feel more comfortable on short skis, because you ski with your legs not your poles.
Good observation, never actually picked poles while in boots/skis, which makes one maybe up to 2" taller?
Can someone tell me:
Benefits of longer skis v shorter??? Control? Ease of skiing? Speed? Tighter turns? I haven't a clue. This would be for us moving from 150 to 160?? Or is that too much or too little?? Me: 5'5", 165 and my son 5'8", 140lbs
Gracias.
Can someone tell me:
Benefits of longer skis v shorter??? Control? Ease of skiing? Speed? Tighter turns? I haven't a clue. This would be for us moving from 150 to 160?? Or is that too much or too little?? Me: 5'5", 165 and my son 5'8", 140lbs
Gracias.