Wide Skis Bad...

[Guy in Shorts]

Don't ever remember going back to the car/condo for a second pair. Ever.

How the Saga of good ski advise could miss the mark on this one had me scratching my head for a second. This only works if you always on new (<70 days) skis. In my world were folks keep and love their equipment to death you better have a backup pair. Skis get broken, bindings get detached, ski edges get torn off, funky tune - etc. We park next to the snow so swinging past the tailgate is a breeze. Never farther than 100 yards from my vehicle this season except that one day at Whiteface.

Tailgate swap time

Bindings mandatory

 

[silverback]

I usually load 2-3 pairs in the car (plus different layers, goggles, gloves & mitts, etc). Last season I skied multiple skis on 47 of my 96 ski days. Only a few days did I ski three different skis.
Sometimes I misjudged the conditions, sometimes I just wanted a change of pace, sometimes I just wanted a run or two on a new ski to test it out even if it is wrong for the conditions.

 

[James]

Tailgate swap time
Bindings mandatory

Was that this May? The patroller I remember.

 

[Cheizz]

I hardly ever get anywhere near my car (or apartment) during a ski day. So I always have to pick a pair and stick with it. But when you know that, it's only realistic to accept that your choice won't be the absolute best for parts of the day. You know that in advance, though, so you deal with it, both physically and mentally.

 

[James]

You just bring two skis to the rack and leave one there if the car is far away. But it just depends on the setup of the place.
Older race kids often carry four pairs of very heavy skis to the hill.

 

[Cheizz]

The point is: in most cases I'll be at another part of the mountain, or in another valley the entire day. I eat lunch somewhere on the mountain. There's no need for me most times to go back to wherever I started that day, except to return home (place where I stay) at the end of the day. Big European resorts and all...

 

[James]

The point is: in most cases I'll be at another part of the mountain, or in another valley the entire day. I eat lunch somewhere on the mountain. There's no need for me most times to go back to wherever I started that day, except to return home (place where I stay) at the end of the day. Big European resorts and all...

That’s the important part, coming back to the same spot. More common here.

 

[KingGrump]

How the Saga of good ski advise could miss the mark on this one had me scratching my head for a second. This only works if you always on new (<70 days) skis. In my world were folks keep and love their equipment to death you better have a backup pair. Skis get broken, bindings get detached, ski edges get torn off, funky tune - etc. We park next to the snow so swinging past the tailgate is a breeze. Never farther than 100 yards from my vehicle this season except that one day at Whiteface.

Tailgate swap time View attachment 173030
Bindings mandatory
View attachment 173031

I am just a short fat old guy moseying down the hill. What do I know?
Correction: I am a finesse skier (aka out of shape).

 

[fatbob]

That’s the important part, coming back to the same spot. More common here.

I do it quite often in the US. In Canada it would depend - easy somewhere like Fernie to do a tailgate swap, PITA in Whistler given return to the valley. Same logic applies in Europe. Easy to do if you're staying Ski in/out somelike like Val Thorens or Tignes, pretty impossible in many Austrian towns.

Most obvious application is when you've taken out a skinny ski in the morning when conditions are firm and want something wider when the off piste softens up (or indeed the groomers when they corn up).

 

[anders_nor]

ski switching.
locally I can park as close as 4 meters to the snow, and about 40 meters to the lift

in the bigger mountains its usually 10-100 to snow, and maybe 200 to lift. but we eat lunch nearby. even my gf swaps skis through the day. its just more enjoyable matching the conditions.

my 110+ rarely gets used this snow year was shit, less than 10 pow days

we are looking to get our own place in the mountains, and requirement is SKI IN SKI OUT so I can switcharoooo through the day, and eat lunch at home as that has turned into costing minimum $50-70 per day for some reason

 

[Cheizz]

In places like Val Thorens or Tignes, it's very practical (due to ski in/ski out) to switch skis. However, when I start off from Val Thoren in the morning and around 11 I'm somewhere in the Courchevel valley, it's not so practical anymore. And therefore I accept - for that day - that switching out skis is not going to be practical. And I make a choice in the morning, and accept whatever implications that has.

I would find myself more 'limited' in having to come back to Val Thorens during the day (I'm in the Three Valleys for the vast amount of opportunities and nice day tours you can do) than to a ski that may not be ideal the first few hours of the morning.

And that's a choice, too.

 

[Philpug]

For @fatbob. So you see me now?

 

[fatbob]

Nope - not under New Posts nor under the Hardgoods forum thread. Only because I got pinged an alert. And yes I am excluding unread only.