Sun Valley Freestyle '73 - Rick Glesner Photos

[Bill Talbot]

holy thread drift, Batman -

A lot here since Phil asked Hilary Englisch and Andrew Weinbrecht to compare the lengths of skis they skied in different eras -

Because this is a 1973 Sun Valley mogul thread, I believe many (myself included) thought Hilary Englisch skied in the 1970s -
Phil says, no(,) it was the 1980s -
by 1980, there were lots of freestyle specific models - available in a wide range of lengths ;
the better skiers still skied on long skis
( Bump skiers would likely be on a long, soft flexing ( But not too soft, Because they needed a ski with rapid rebound )
( Plake was skiing zipper lines on 207s. or 212s (in the '80s )
granted Hilary was not Plake - But a Strong, fast, compact skier in the early 1980s would certainly have been on a long ski. )

Andrew Weinbrecht ( -as Phil has pointed-out- ) skied and competed in a different era - GS skis of the 2010s. Not 210s, but GS skis of the era - which as Phil has said ( -including Andrew's report in Phil's tale - ) were 195cms.

different eras.

remember Dynastar Verticals ? or Rossis Smashs ? of Hart Freestyles and later F17s ?
( I would feel negligent not to mention the K2 Winterheat, though I did not see a lot of them where I skied...
( and K2 255s. I had a pair of 255s ; to me, they skied like a slalom ski ) - )
oh. and The Ski ! one of the early Free Spirit skis ! ! )

these were the later mogul skis of my younger days --


thanks for the memories... skiJ

postscript. Rossi also had a model they called the Freestyle - More than forty years later, I believe it preceded the Smash, and briefly shared space in the line with the (Rossi) Smash...

I heard someone say Rossi?!
1975-76 season, Exhibition S, Smash and Freestyle was their lineup.

OK, just a few more...

 

[Bill Talbot]

Rossi BUMP

 

[Uncle-A]

Rossi BUMP

View attachment 139563

I always liked the Rossi CM, it delivered good performance and could be skied by intermediate and up skier's. I sold a lot of them back in the day.

 

[Uncle-A]

Rossi BUMP

View attachment 139563

Didn't they have an EM, FM, & the CM that were bump skis for the newer skier EM, the intermediate FM and the advanced CM ? Although I thought the intermediate would be better off to grow into CM.

 

[dan ross]

I heard someone say Rossi?!
1975-76 season, Exhibition S, Smash and Freestyle was their lineup.
Rossi was the first European brand that embraced this if I recall- this was in large part to the US HQ, in Williston if I remember correctly. Most of the other European brands were so embedded in racing culture they dismissed freestyle as a passing fad, Eventually, even Dynastar and Kniesel made ballet skis
View attachment 139555
OK, just a few more...

View attachment 139557

 

[dan ross]

I heard someone say Rossi?!
1975-76 season, Exhibition S, Smash and Freestyle was their lineup.

View attachment 139555
OK, just a few more...

View attachment 139557

Rossi was the first European brand to embrace freestyle and that, if I remember correctly was due to the U.S. HQ in Williston. The other European brands were so entrenched in racing culture they dismissed freestyle as a passing fad. Eventually even Dynastar and Kniesel made ballet skis...

 

[pipestem]

This thread is pure gold, can't believe I am just finding it now. Great great pictures from Sun Valley. I missed that entire scene by about 15 years. Circa 1981, I got some Rossi that iirc were mostly solid dark blue with maybe a tricolor chicken at the top. I can't find a picture of anything like that. Anyone remember anything like that?

 

[Bill Talbot]

Didn't they have an EM, FM, & the CM that were bump skis for the newer skier EM, the intermediate FM and the advanced CM ? Although I thought the intermediate would be better off to grow into CM.

Yes

 

[dan ross]

This thread is pure gold, can't believe I am just finding it now. Great great pictures from Sun Valley. I missed that entire scene by about 15 years. Circa 1981, I got some Rossi that iirc were mostly solid dark blue with maybe a tricolor chicken at the top. I can't find a picture of anything like that. Anyone remember anything like that?

That sounds vaguely familiar but it may have been what was referred to as a “ package’ ski. Some brands would put a different top skin on a ski and big dealers would put together a package of skis boots and bindings at a certain price point.
If you bought them at a place like Herman’s, thats a possibility.

 

[dan ross]

Yes

View attachment 139577

Great skis and the mustache places it right in the bicentennial era...

 

[dan ross]

I always liked the Rossi CM, it delivered good performance and could be skied by intermediate and up skier's. I sold a lot of them back in the day.

I sold a lot of Rossi smash and Freestyles as well in when I was in High school -they sort of sold themselves as the Rossi name was gold on the east coast at least. Marion Post , who I used to follow around like a puppy trying to learn her tricks was on Rossi and used the Jr. Freestyles for her ballet skis. Her sister, Ellen , was on K2 and at one point was using 233’s for ballet.

 

[Bad Bob]

I was selling and skiing K2 Olin and some Heads. Lots of winterheats (liked that ski but not very durable. Lots of Cheeseburgers. Mark IV and IIIs. Yahoos were a big deal too. This was Anchorage so might have been a different mix than a lot of places.

 

[Bill Talbot]

I'll remind folks to always have a look in here;

Retrospect and Ski Industry Index by Brand

www.skitalk.com

There is a LOT of brand specific content... and I mean a LOT!

Some on topic K2 stuff

 

[Uncle-A]

I sold a lot of Rossi smash and Freestyles as well in when I was in High school -they sort of sold themselves as the Rossi name was gold on the east coast at least. Marion Post , who I used to follow around like a puppy trying to learn her tricks was on Rossi and used the Jr. Freestyles for her ballet skis. Her sister, Ellen , was on K2 and at one point was using 233’s for ballet.

We sold mostly Rossignol skis even though we had several other brands. The shop I worked in the longest (13 years) was the biggest Rossi dealer in the NE. Now I have a question for anyone that cares to answer. What color scheme was the Rossi ballet ski? Our shop only had two pair of them and I sold the last pair to a woman that was a regular customer that was so happy after she skied them. She was 5 ft nothing and maybe 98 LBS. She had so much fun on them even though she was not doing any ballet.

 

[skiJ]

This thread is pure gold, can't believe I am just finding it now. Great great pictures from Sun Valley. I missed that entire scene by about 15 years. Circa 1981, I got some Rossi that iirc were mostly solid dark blue with maybe a tricolor chicken at the top. I can't find a picture of anything like that. Anyone remember anything like that?

yes - briefly in the early eighties, Rossi's 'race' line-up had a blue topsheet - though I do not remember it being as early as 1981
( 1982- 1983 ) ;
as noted earlier, there were 'package' skis that might have fit this description
( I am remembering a matte-finished navy blue ski that had lighter blue lettering ( a relatively non-descript ski )
but that run of Rossis , from before my time, through Tomba and Bode ( and Lindsey ) were good skis
( I had a cousin who taught on Saturdays, who every third year, got a new pair of Rossis slalom ski
( ST650, SLcompetition, 4s, (7S) ) )

I had forgotten the Exhibition(S)

( for a couple of decades, Rossi had a big piece of the pie )

Thanks for the memories... skiJ

 

[dan ross]

We sold mostly Rossignol skis even though we had several other brands. The shop I worked in the longest (13 years) was the biggest Rossi dealer in the NE. Now I have a question for anyone that cares to answer. What color scheme was the Rossi ballet ski? Our shop only had two pair of them and I sold the last pair to a woman that was a regular customer that was so happy after she skied them. She was 5 ft nothing and maybe 98 LBS. She had so much fun on them even though she was not doing any ballet.

They were(...Orange and red? - they were split lengthwise with a color on both sides and white lettering , the exact colors are fuzzy

 

[Uncle-A]

They were(...Orange and red? - they were split lengthwise with a color on both sides and white lettering , the exact colors are fuzzy

No, the ballet ski was different and I will let a few others guess before I share the answer.

 

[Don in Morrison]

We sold mostly Rossignol skis even though we had several other brands. The shop I worked in the longest (13 years) was the biggest Rossi dealer in the NE. Now I have a question for anyone that cares to answer. What color scheme was the Rossi ballet ski? Our shop only had two pair of them and I sold the last pair to a woman that was a regular customer that was so happy after she skied them. She was 5 ft nothing and maybe 98 LBS. She had so much fun on them even though she was not doing any ballet.

green and white. At least something they made was green and white. Just not sure what it was.

 

[Uncle-A]

green and white

Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner. It was a Green and White ski with White lettering on the Green strip part of the ski. Nice job, was it a guess, did you know the answer or did you own a pair?

 

[Don in Morrison]

Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner. It was a Green and White ski with White lettering on the Green strip part of the ski. Nice job, was it a guess, did you know the answer or did you own a pair?

I remember seeing green and white, short Rossis that had the same graphic layout as the orange Rossi Freestyle (Smash?). I figured it had to be the Ballet, but it was so long ago I don't always remember things right.