Spotted for sale...NOT PSA just interesting.

[cantunamunch]

Note the reverse sidecut.

The high point, of what little camber there is, is just in front of the heel.

 

[Uncle-A]

Note the reverse sidecut.

View attachment 208235
View attachment 208236

The high point, of what little camber there is, is just in front of the heel.

View attachment 208237

Looks like kids skis from the 40's.

 

[Jilly]

That or maybe...skis for the GLM teaching system?

 

[cantunamunch]

Looks like kids skis from the 40's.

That or maybe...skis for the GLM teaching system?

No. Wedeln skis for full adults from the '50s. Like firngleiter skis, except not heel-driven. In other words, proof that Salomon didn't invent short skis , Volant didn't invent reverse sidecut, and that reverse camber barrel staves date back to the 19th century.

Some of the structural details are quite interesting.

The foldover tip and tail pro are something we can do today - repurpose old MTB tires if you like. I think it should be possible to microwave-steam veneer into a foldover structure for wood topsheet skis. Or Kydex for whatever skis.

The placement of flex points - immediately in front of the toepiece but way way way behind the heel - obviously they were fans of the toe-position mounting point and not the center-of-boot mounting point.

The taper of the ski thickness rearwards means they were shooting for a net-neutral boot by compensating for the under-heel plate, not something with a raised heel.

The placement of the cable throw lever is just...weird. I can't imagine having significant flex in the nose of the ski without moving the cable throw lever and changing the cable tension. That part, not so well thought out.

 

[Uncle-A]

No. Wedeln skis for full adults from the '50s. Like firngleiter skis, except not heel-driven. In other words, proof that Salomon didn't invent short skis , Volant didn't invent reverse sidecut, and that reverse camber barrel staves date back to the 19th century.

Some of the structural details are quite interesting.

The foldover tip and tail pro are something we can do today - repurpose old MTB tires if you like. I think it should be possible to microwave-steam veneer into a foldover structure for wood topsheet skis. Or Kydex for whatever skis.

The placement of flex points - immediately in front of the toepiece but way way way behind the heel - obviously they were fans of the toe-position mounting point and not the center-of-boot mounting point.

The taper of the ski thickness rearwards means they were shooting for a net-neutral boot by compensating for the under-heel plate, not something with a raised heel.

The placement of the cable throw lever is just...weird. I can't imagine having significant flex in the nose of the ski without moving the cable throw lever and changing the cable tension. That part, not so well thought out.

What length are they?

 

[Uncle-A]

That or maybe...skis for the GLM teaching system?

The original GLM skis were made by Elan skis. They were bright red and white. I will try to find some pictures.
See post #43 in "All Things Elan" for a picture.

 

[cantunamunch]

What length are they?

~ 82 cm.

 

[Tom K.]

Beautiful wall ornament, if refinished!

 

[cantunamunch]

Beautiful wall ornament, if refinished!

Not sure I'd do much beyond rust-converting the metal bits, if that.

But I think there are things to be learned from how they did what they did.

 

[cantunamunch]

Now these made me think of Elan - specifically the spotted bases of the early 90s MBXs. Of course they're not from Elan but from Evolution.


But they're weird. Someone at Evolution obviously decided that there was a marketing niche - in the late 90s and 00s - in making a copy of a Miller Soft, except one soft enough to be mounted for telemark.

 

[Bad Bob]

Cliff Taylor skis, they are a bit of history. He was pretty much the founder of the GLM (Graduated Length Method) teaching method. You could argue that short skis were all his fault. Cuss or compliment him, those things changed skiing.

 

[Uncle-A]

Cliff Taylor skis, they are a bit of history. He was pretty much the founder of the GLM (Graduated Length Method) teaching method. You could argue that short skis were all his fault. Cuss or compliment him, those things changed skiing.

I believe that he and the GLM method of teaching is what helped our sport grow by leaps and bounds in the 1970's and it got people skiing a lot quicker than any other teachings method. If you want the sport to survive you have to make it easier to learn and participate with out a long learning curve. Look how easy it is to learn how to snowboard and the boots do not punish you as you learn.

 

[Jilly]

Our local ski shop back the in the 70's had one of the GLM skis as part of the sign pointing you upstairs. The owners wife had a pair that she had learned on somewhere along the way. And that is all I know about them.

 

[Bad Bob]

I believe that he and the GLM method of teaching is what helped our sport grow by leaps and bounds in the 1970's and it got people skiing a lot quicker than any other teachings method. If you want the sport to survive you have to make it easier to learn and participate with out a long learning curve. Look how easy it is to learn how to snowboard and the boots do not punish you as you learn.Taylor's

@Uncle-A totally agree with your thought based on the modified GLM. That helped a lot getting people skiing. Trying to transition someone from 30" skis to something 4-5' was a challenge in the early 70's. Was just not a fan of Taylor's system.

 

[crgildart]

The BSL on those cable bindings definitely fits adult boots

 

[Uncle-A]

@Uncle-A totally agree with your thought based on the modified GLM. That helped a lot getting people skiing. Trying to transition someone from 30" skis to something 4-5' was a challenge in the early 70's. Was just not a fan of Taylor's system.

I didn't have that experience, I was able to transition my wife's ski length from a 120 to a 150 to a 160 and eventually to 180 over the course of a few years. The 120 was a Elan GLM, the 150 was an Olin Mark I, the 160 was a Rossignol CM and the 180 was a K2 610. She handled the longer ski very well because once she knew how to make a turn she just made the same motions and the ski turned.

 

[Bad Bob]

I didn't have that experience, I was able to transition my wife's ski length from a 120 to a 150 to a 160 and eventually to 180 over the course of a few years. The 120 was a Elan GLM, the 150 was an Olin Mark I, the 160 was a Rossignol CM and the 180 was a K2 610. She handled the longer ski very well because once she knew how to make a turn she just made the same motions and the ski turned.

I was teaching the modified GLM back in the day, as you are describing, and that worked really well. Another ski school on the same little hill was using Cliff Taylor GLM, start adults out on 90 cm skis. We saw a number of people come to us after a couple of lessons on a larger hill, that slowed down the progress for the whole class , you had to teach to them . This created a remedial lesson for most of the students. It was really frustrating for everybody.
If a new skier had been able to progress on with the GLM system it may have been a brighter picture.

 

[no edge]

Looks like kids skis from the 40's.

I don't think so. The owner of the mountain I skied at actually skied on these.

 

[Uncle-A]

I was teaching the modified GLM back in the day, as you are describing, and that worked really well. Another ski school on the same little hill was using Cliff Taylor GLM, start adults out on 90 cm skis. We saw a number of people come to us after a couple of lessons on a larger hill, that slowed down the progress for the whole class , you had to teach to them . This created a remedial lesson for most of the students. It was really frustrating for everybody.
If a new skier had been able to progress on with the GLM system it may have been a brighter picture.

Sounds like you had skiers taking a group lesson that misrepresented their level of ability and holding up the rest of the class. That is unfortunate for the rest of the students but that can happen in any teaching method couldn't it?