|
|
Use of this page means you accept the SkiMyBest Site Use
Agreement or
EXIT NOW.
TACTICS FOR TERRAINS and SNOW TEXTURES: In the West, skiers often complain of icy ski slopes. Eastern skiers scoff at this, for to them ice is like what you put in a cocktail drink. They brag of reading a page of The New York Times over which they have stopped, frozen under a slope of clear ice. Western snow can be hard, too, and is occasionally ice if there has been a long snow-less spell with repeated freezing and thawing. Continual skier/boarder traffic over a ski slope can also produce an icy snow surface, as with each passage of a slider the snow's crystal delicacies are melted only to freeze again after the slider passes. Another ice situation occurs where a groundwater spring seeps up into the snow and freezes. And there can be a surface stream that has run amok or a broken water line for a snow gun that spews water that then freezes on the slope, or the gun itself could have been badly calibrated or malfunctioned and generated the wrong mix of water and air that then sprayed onto the slope and froze. A tactic for ice is to avoid it when you can, or be a racer and love it for the speed it will give you. Ski edges that are smoothly filed and with a smaller base edge bevel and a larger side edge angle may help, creating bevels on base and side that generate an overall corner that is more acute. For ice, ski bases should have no convexity that would make edging less sure, although some add a slight concavity to the base so the edges touch the snow more than the base. (See Ski Equipment/Ski Edges for a fuller discussion of edge bevels and edge maintenance.) Some skiers use skis that are stiffer longitudinally for ice, but all should prefer skis that are stiff laterally so the ski holds firmly when tipped. Boots should be firm and buckled well, and power straps should hold boot liners firmly against shins. Pole tips should be sharp so they will not slip when touched on the surface. If the slope is partly hard snow or ice and partly softer snow, use the softer areas for as much of your turns as you can; your skis' edges will grip there better, and drift with flatter skis across the icy areas. If a large patch of ice occurs and your edges slip out, you can either go faster and edge harder so your skis will slice into the ice and hold (the racer's choice) or reduce your edge angle and drift across the hard surface, maintaining a balanced stance. Firm but progressive movements of the body are vital, for more rapid or forceful movements are likely to break the skis off whatever edge grip they may have attained and cause the skis to ski or skid more. A final word: Eventually, after selecting the tactic to apply, you must "Point the skis down the hill; let them buck; the mountain will teach you!" Contents of "TACTICS FOR TERRAINS and SNOW
TEXTURES":
|
|
SkiMybest.com:
"Learn to Ski/Ski Better" 
You are in
Skiing Web Manual "Skiing is a Sliding Sport"--contents at page
bottom.