I have a confession (in praise of short carvy skis)

[JCF]

I want to ski like that:





FIS SL help me BIGLY to move towards that goal.

What clips?

These ^ But the takaomaruyama one - sweeeeeettt

 

[Tony Storaro]

The bastard has gotten to a lot of us…

Enthusiasm is contagious…

 

[Tony Storaro]

Skis du jour.
View attachment 198662

Perfect match for the snow and terrain.
View attachment 198663

Yeah, I can imagine the 157 would be real nice in that if it is properly firm.

 

[KingGrump]

Yeah, I can imagine the 157 would be real nice in that if it is properly firm.

Pretty soft.
Take a lighter touch.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Pretty soft.
Take a lighter touch.

So FIS SL not essential then? I mean if it is soft a pair of twin tips would do just as fine, yes?
Not my cup of tea this terrain, one needs to be uber careful, lots of nasty stuff could happen real quickly, this is like downhill mountain biking and I am more of a road cyclist-like to descend super fast but it needs to be smooth not bumpy.

 

[KingGrump]

So FIS SL not essential then? I mean if it is soft a pair of twin tips would do just as fine, yes?
Not my cup of tea this terrain, one needs to be uber careful, lots of nasty stuff could happen real quickly, this is like downhill mountain biking and I am more of a road cyclist-like to descend super fast but it needs to be smooth not bumpy.

It's all n the turn shape and line. It's a dance not a fight. I much rather ski that on an FIS SL than a twin tip. Much cleaner and better snow feel. Difference between a scapel and a butter knife.

Mamie killed it on her FIS SL today. Thought the SL had much better feel than her SR 85W. Her timing was spot on since she can feel the bump and snow underneath her ski. Same issue I had with the AX & WR-ST. Lack of feel. The skis maybe smooth but too isolating.

It's not a high speed high impact descent. It's a slow waltz. All round turns with a measured cadence that fits the bumps. Every turn has a top, apex, bottom and transition. Just like on the groomer.
In fact, bump skiing is just an extension of groomer skiing. Without the groomer.

 

[François Pugh]

View attachment 198709

Skiing Dynastars tomorrow early chair and shooting for 60 plus mph on Totemoff pure beautiful groomer at Taos..

View attachment 198710

Shouldn't be a problem on the GS if you have a clear view of the hill in front of you. I would advise against it on a SL.
BTW they still make SG and DH skis. Just say'n.

 

[François Pugh]

It's all n the turn shape and line. It's a dance not a fight. I much rather ski that on an FIS SL than a twin tip. Much cleaner and better snow feel. Difference between a scapel and a butter knife.

Mamie killed it on her FIS SL today. Thought the SL had much better feel than her SR 85W. Her timing was spot on since she can feel the bump and snow underneath her ski. Same issue I had with the AX & WR-ST. Lack of feel. The skis maybe smooth but too isolating.

It's not a high speed high impact descent. It's a slow waltz. All round turns with a measured cadence that fits the bumps. Every turn has a top, apex, bottom and transition. Just like on the groomer.
In fact, bump skiing is just an extension of groomer skiing. Without the groomer.

I like the constant feed back from the very tip of the ski when it has a traditional cambered shape. Even some SL and SL-ish skis have tip rocker (some more than others); I don't like the tip-rocker skis as much as the ones with no tip rocker just because of that lack of "touch". I like full rocker skis too, but they are missing that feedback from the tips when the tips aren't in contact with the snow/ice; they feel fine once they are tipped over and engaged in a turn.

 

[smctigue]

I recently grabbed some new Rossi FIS SL but in the "long" length of 165.
Today's impulse buy was new Dynastar FIS SL in the "short" 157 length. Clearly "FIS Tony" has gotten to me ! My season is now done as of today, and I will decide on the keeper next season . Both were at 40% off so no tough to say no to them when "race" skis rarely go on sale up here.

View attachment 198661

If I wasn’t 6’3” I’d be on the 157s. You’ll find out why next season.

 

[François Pugh]

I recently grabbed some new Rossi FIS SL but in the "long" length of 165.
Today's impulse buy was new Dynastar FIS SL in the "short" 157 length. Clearly "FIS Tony" has gotten to me ! My season is now done as of today, and I will decide on the keeper next season . Both were at 40% off so no tough to say no to them when "race" skis rarely go on sale up here.

View attachment 198661

For Chicopee: 157 for hard snow days (more pressure for better snow/ice penetration), 165 for soft spring snow days (more platform for more g-force).
For Collingwood training days: 165.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Same issue I had with the AX & WR-ST. Lack of feel. The skis maybe smooth but too isolating.

You mean these?:

Nothing wrong with them-smooth as butter, powerful like a locomotive, grips the ice with claws of steel. And FAST! After the spell on FIS SL I found these really easy to ski. Firm to icy snow, endless grip, no crowds...what a day, what a day...
Only downside is these are the 180, so to get the most out of them you have to drive them real fast, but it is a good problem to have.

And yeah, I do know what you are talking about... Smoothness comes at the price of a thin layer of baby seal skin over the muscle. Very thin in these and quite a lot thicker in the AX. Still as everyday driver for me WRT are unbeatable.

So, the SOP from now on is going to be: Ski the FIS SL for 5-6 days non stop to punish myself for my sins, work on details, get better then hop on these and go WEEEEEEEEEEE....

 

[Nobody]

Anyone notice in the slow motion shots that the image of the ski tips goes nuts on the edge transitions? What’s going on here? Is it real vibration that is getting aliased by the camera’s sampling rate.

RaceTigers SL (all version, "shop-graded" "Masters" and "FIS", I understand) have Tip Rocker...

It's all n the turn shape and line. It's a dance not a fight. I much rather ski that on an FIS SL than a twin tip. Much cleaner and better snow feel. Difference between a scapel and a butter knife.

Mamie killed it on her FIS SL today. Thought the SL had much better feel than her SR 85W. Her timing was spot on since she can feel the bump and snow underneath her ski. Same issue I had with the AX & WR-ST. Lack of feel. The skis maybe smooth but too isolating.

It's not a high speed high impact descent. It's a slow waltz. All round turns with a measured cadence that fits the bumps. Every turn has a top, apex, bottom and transition. Just like on the groomer.
In fact, bump skiing is just an extension of groomer skiing. Without the groomer.

I tend to agree, for us "general public" an SL ski in hard snow bumps would be the right tool to insure a good run. Only problem for me...my "hill" has few or nil bumps most of the season....I should move around with a "ski-quiver Caddy" and ask/confer with them "please pass me the SL R13 skis for these 100mts of a bump run, what do you think?"

 

[Tony Storaro]

RaceTigers SL (all version, "shop-graded" "Masters" and "FIS", I understand) have Tip Rocker...



I tend to agree, for us "general public" an SL ski in hard snow bumps would be the right tool to insure a good run. Only problem for me...my "hill" has few or nil bumps most of the season....I should move around with a "ski-quiver Caddy" and ask/confer with them "please pass me the SL R13 skis for these 100mts of a bump run, what do you think?"

I do not understand. I mean, why not just start the day on a pair of FIS SL R12 ski and ski them everywhere?

 

[Nobody]

It was said in half jest, remembering this comic

Now, half seriously...
Because at my "hill" whenever I start at one end (the one closest to me) it would mean..mileage...a lot of...to go back and forth (as an example, from top of "Passo Presena" to "Ponte di Legno" is a 11 km - almost continous- run, with some flattish terrain, which in turn would mean some schussing) and not enough bumps/places where to enjoy a 165R13 SL ski. Mind you, it's doable, but with my old Head iSl, 165R12, it is a lot (and I do mean a lot) of right-left-right-left or left-right-left-right (in 12 mt radius...straightlining with those is no-no, did once and ended up in the safety nets, too unstable of a ski) and pushing/skating/poling around on the flats (which I abhorr)

Ski area map page
Mind you, I've skied the whole day on SL skis, but mostly at the end of the season (or at the very beginning), skiing higher up on the "glacier", which is a 500ish mt run (steep&usually icy) that we lap around...3-4 minutes down (at most) and 6-7 minutes up with the bubble car...

 

[KingGrump]

Mind you, it's doable, but with my old Head iSl, 165R12, it is a lot (and I do mean a lot) of right-left-right-left or left-right-left-right (in 12 mt radius...straightlining with those is no-no, did once and ended up in the safety nets, too unstable of a ski) and pushing/skating/poling around on the flats (which I abhorr)

My experience with FIS SL on groomer and flat are quite different. Tip the skis "slightly" up on edge will get rid of that squirrelly feeling. The turn radius with the skis tipped slightly can easily measured in tens of meters. Finesse.

Was on a side trip from Snowbird in 2014. Bird -> Jackson -> Sun Valley => Mammoth.
Sun Valley is known for their perfectly pitched groomers that runs nonstop for 3K+ vertical feet. Hit the groomers the first day with my Kendo. It was OK. Switched to my FIS SL. Much faster and happier. YMMV.

 

[Tony Storaro]

My experience with FIS SL on groomer and flat are quite different. Tip the skis "slightly" up on edge will get rid of that squirrelly feeling. The turn radius with the skis tipped slightly can easily measured in tens of meters. Finesse.

This right here was my main worry before I tried them. Would they be bitey? Will they try to kick me out of the saddle? Will they try to kill me if I straigh-line them? No, no and no were the answers.
Granted-they are far less stable in long turns than a long ski with longer built-in radius especially at speed but if you are careful with the edges-no problems really.
Yes I admit I start shitting bricks above 80 km/h and pull the reigns but no, nothing bad has happened so far. Guess they are capable of more than 85 km/h but I am just too scared to go there.

The craziest and best skier on the mountain today was a stocky bearded dude on a pair of 160 Salomon skis which he skied in basically SG turns at mach looney speed. I was on the 180 WRT and was able to keep up only on the runs when he relaxed a bit the crazy mo-fo.

 

[KingGrump]

The craziest and best skier on the mountain today was a stocky bearded dude on a pair of 160 Salomon skis which he skied in basically SG turns at mach looney speed. I was on the 180 WRT and was able to keep up only on the runs when he relaxed a bit the crazy mo-fo.

Didn't know @A Grump was on your side of the pond.

 

[James]

Yeah, I can imagine the 157 would be real nice in that if it is properly firm.

155cm Nordica Sl’s with plate made by Vist. I think the skis are from 2008. They sat in a shop’s attic for years, I got them free, had them ground, and put on new Fischer r16 bindings.
Certainly not firm in there. Breakable crust that was light, but say 10-20mm thick. Can’t say I’m good at negotiating the crust, but they did surprise me. The short length also gives you options you don’t have with the 188cm 96mm Kastle I skied in there with leftover powder.
Don’t forget you can always bank on the sides of bumps.

 

[KingGrump]

So, the SOP from now on is going to be: Ski the FIS SL for 5-6 days non stop to punish myself for my sins, work on details, get better

FIS SLs do not have to be punishing and/or a drudge. It is all dependent on the skier input. Sounds to me you are doing it wrong.

 

[slowrider]