I had no idea you could go downhill on XC skis...video proof

[Manney]

Even people who start skiing later in life can build good skills, flow etc. They can get fitter as they go too. But if they think that “x” amount of speed is the limit, they might stop before achieving their potential. Or if they think that “y” gear is the only game in town, then that might hold them back.

Participated in another post a while back. A gal was talking about new boots… her feet were killing her. She was directed to that boot by her instructor (who recommended it for all the students). That instructor needed a good kick in the ass…

Don’t get me going on impossibly wide skis on walking trails… or people saying “I didn’t think that was even possible” when a video shows a young guy skiing really well on skinnies.

That’s how silly this ego and gear bullshit has become. It takes away from the skiing… makes the skier the slave and the gear the master. Pretty messed up.

When the gear is wrong for the skier or conditions, the skiing suffers.

[JohnSKepler]

I'm not looking to pick a fight, scout's honor. I occasionally ski with a group of skiers, one of whom is a woman with an ankle injury that occurred when she was a kid. She uses widesh scales skis and plastic boots. Shes not skiing anything rad, she gets out into the bc with confidence and comfort with her heavy gear and light skiing. If she didn't have that gear, she would most likely not be skiing. Manney, your strict rules for what skis to use when, outlined above don't work in the real world. Each skier has unique needs and don't need to justify to you why they choose the gear that they do.

I have no ACLs. Gone in both knees. That's why switched to XC and tele. It's just safer but when I went to heavy plastic boots, it didn't feel safer anymore and I wound up limiting what I was was willing to try even more than with the lighter weight gear. So, I mostly ski lightweight gear paired up, as best I can, with a ski for where I'm headed on any given day. I'm not going to take the Objective up Green Canyon. Not going to take the Gammes up Bunchgrass. I'd feel comfortable with the FT62 on either, or up at the Sinks or on the bench. The scales on the Objective are insane, though. On the rare occasions that I go to a resort, I may break out the Scarpa/V6 combo. Or, maybe I'll stick with the Objectives but I might want the Scarpas for that... Really stoked about that Transit binding. When can I get one?!?

Regardless, for me, it's mostly about conditioning. Keeping everything strong and tight but as flexible as possible. So, I can't play soccer at all anymore. Still, my only real disappointment with all of this is when the snow melts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's always people whining about growing food for the next year but that really just sounds like an excuse to me...

Love you guys!

[connyro]

I'm not looking to pick a fight, scout's honor. I occasionally ski with a group of skiers, one of whom is a woman with an ankle injury that occurred when she was a kid. She uses widesh scales skis and plastic boots. Shes not skiing anything rad, she gets out into the bc with confidence and comfort with her heavy gear and light skiing. If she didn't have that gear, she would most likely not be skiing. Manney, your strict rules for what skis to use when, outlined above don't work in the real world. Each skier has unique needs and don't need to justify to you why they choose the gear that they do.

I have no ACLs. Gone in both knees. That's why switched to XC and tele. It's just safer but when I went to heavy plastic boots, it didn't feel safer anymore and I wound up limiting what I was was willing to try even more than with the lighter weight gear. So, I mostly ski lightweight gear paired up, as best I can, with a ski for where I'm headed on any given day. I'm not going to take the Objective up Green Canyon. Not going to take the Gammes up Bunchgrass. I'd feel comfortable with the FT62 on either, or up at the Sinks or on the bench. The scales on the Objective are insane, though. On the rare occasions that I go to a resort, I may break out the Scarpa/V6 combo. Or, maybe I'll stick with the Objectives but I might want the Scarpas for that... Really stoked about that Transit binding. When can I get one?!?

Regardless, for me, it's mostly about conditioning. Keeping everything strong and tight but as flexible as possible. So, I can't play soccer at all anymore. Still, my only real disappointment with all of this is when the snow melts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's always people whining about growing food for the next year but that really just sounds like an excuse to me...

Love you guys!

I have nothing but respect and admiration for folks with physical challenges who think outside the box in order to cope with or even overcome their issues. Use whatever gear puts a smile on your face and gets you out there, regardless of what other people say or think. There's no purpose served by taking yourself or skiing as an activity too seriously when you are looking for fun and satisfying recreation.

[Manney]

You can walk in snowshoes at 3.5 mph.

Doesn't really affect your argument or point much, but this would require a very specific snow condition. In general, snowshoeing will be much slower than walking on dry, firm ground. You're right, though, 4mph skiing on flat is certainly not something to aspire to.

Pulled this from the forum…. If this were an 80 YO or a double amputee, there wouldn’t be one of us who wouldn’t offer respect. But it’s an able bodied member of the forum who often challenges people to defend their skiing ability and pushes strongly back when questioned on the suitability of their gear for the task at hand.

Having this serve as a legitimate representative of the sport dashes any hope of attracting younger, functional skiers. It turns the forum into a parody of telemark skiing. Reducing the level of exertion down to the point where it’s comparable to country stroll isn’t skiing. It’s walking on skis.

[connyro]

You can walk in snowshoes at 3.5 mph.

Doesn't really affect your argument or point much, but this would require a very specific snow condition. In general, snowshoeing will be much slower than walking on dry, firm ground. You're right, though, 4mph skiing on flat is certainly not something to aspire to.

Pulled this from the forum…. If this were an 80 YO or a double amputee, there wouldn’t be one of us who wouldn’t offer respect. But it’s an able bodied member of the forum who often challenges people to describe their skiing ability and pushes strongly back when questioned on the suitability of their gear for the task at hand.



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Having this serve as a legitimate representative of the sport dashes any hope of attracting younger, functional skiers. It turns the forum into a parody of telemark skiing. Reducing the level of exertion down to the point where it’s comparable to country stroll isn’t skiing. It’s walking on skis.

This is just another disgusting post mammey. What is the speed one should ski on flats in order to be considered a skier by you? What other rules do you have for skiing? Don't go too slow, use gear that mammey dictates, don't relate your own personal experiences when offering advice on a ski forum, don't buy used boots - the list goes on. Don't want to follow mammey's strict ski rules? You'll get bullied and ridiculed.

[Manney]

It’s not just the speed… it’s the lamentably low level of ambition that accompanies it… along with the constant questioning of others abilities and pushback on gear choices. It’s the whole package… one of your crew.

As for boots… try (on) and buy. Avoid buying damaged ones. Doesn’t sound like bullying to me. In fact, posted a photo that the person looking at eBay boots didn’t see… showing pin hole damage. He seemed to appreciate that.

Thanks, didn't look closely enough. Pin holes are shot.

[connyro]

It’s not just the speed… it’s the lamentably low level of ambition that accompanies it… along with the constant questioning of others abilities and pushback on gear choices. It’s the whole package… one of your crew.

So a retired guy goes out skiing with his wife for a fun ski at a leisurely pace and talks about it, god forbid, on this ski forum and you ridicule him and think that's not fast enough or bad assed enough to be considered skiing. That's pretty disgusting right there.

[Manney]

Yeah, right. The same guy whose “Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.”, who enjoys “BC with a focus on downhill perfection”? Not seeing the alignment here with a guy whose policy is to avoid any level of meaningful exertion by walking on skis.

Nobody should care about what ppl ski, how they ski. But when they call others’ abilities into question as a matter of policy, they’re pretty much asking for it.

And that’s the thing that gets you and your crew going… being questioned, being judged by your own standards, being called out for stating stupid bs, bs-ing others about your abilities.

https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... =70#p61047

You’ll keep on feigning ignorance, expressing outrage. All this does is bring more attention to your tone deafness. Ppl will eventually get it. Heck, they probably get it already. But the herd will wait to see how things play out before doing anything.

Whatever they do, it shouldn’t be about picking sides. There are no sides. It should be about a commitment to the truth, a focus on what is being said rather than who’s saying it, a focus on the sport and not the politics on the margins of it.

[connyro]

Yeah, right. The same guy whose “Current job is to take my recreation as serious as I did my past employment.”, who enjoys “BC with a focus on downhill perfection”? Not seeing the alignment here with a guy whose policy is to avoid any level of meaningful exertion by walking on skis.

Nobody should care about what ppl ski, how they ski. But when they call others’ abilities into question as a matter of policy, they’re pretty much asking for it.

And that’s the thing that gets you and your crew going… being questioned, being judged by your own standards, being called out for stating stupid bs, bs-ing others about your abilities.

https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic. ... =70#p61047

You’ll keep on feigning ignorance, expressing outrage. All this does is bring more attention to your tone deafness. Ppl will eventually get it. Heck, they probably get it already. But the herd will wait to see how things play out before doing anything.

Whatever they do, it shouldn’t be about picking sides. There are no sides. It should be about a commitment to the truth, a focus on what is being said rather than who’s saying it, a focus on the sport and not the politics on the margins of it.

Ranting and raving. You are delusional. There's just so much stupid and inaccurate shit in that post that it makes it not worth the effort to respond intelligently and frankly, makes me feel stupid for even engaging with you. You are a blowhard and a bully.

[Manney]

Yawn.