This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips / Telemark Francais Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web since 1998. East, West, North, South, Canada, US or Europe, Backcountry or not.
This is the World Famous TelemarkTalk / TelemarkTips Forum, by far the most dynamic telemark and backcountry skiing discussion board on the world wide web. We have fun here, come on in and be a part of it.
mugglesport wrote:I'll admit I had to look at that photo several times to get your joke. At first I thought you were just standing on some really light cover.
What kinda leashes do you have on? I'm thinking maybe I should get some when I'm at the tow just to keep the fuzz from hassling me...but I don't want to spend $30.
mugglesport wrote:I'll admit I had to look at that photo several times to get your joke. At first I thought you were just standing on some really light cover.
What kinda leashes do you have on? I'm thinking maybe I should get some when I'm at the tow just to keep the fuzz from hassling me...but I don't want to spend $30.
I made a rope tow el-cheapo set out of some paracord and some small clips. I just tied a bowman's knot to the clip (to attach to my ski bale through a hole) and created a loop to my boot. Any little h/w store clip will do, it's not like you are skiing mach 10 and worry about skis running away down 1000' of vert.
Errmm... yeah, just like those in function but I just used some paracord (not nylon rope) and cut the ends of the knot short and burned it so it wouldn't unravvel. Even easier than those... but I like those too.
Woodserson wrote:Yes, Bluebird Day, work well easy to use with gloves.
My Big Bangs have something I concocted with parachute cord.
Anything with pins AND a cable doesn't have anything, because I can call either the pins or the cable secondary arresting devices... right? Right!?
That is my thought. I do not have anything on my 3-pin HW or my 3 pin cables. As it has been said, kind of like suspenders and a belt! I do carry a length of cord in my pocket just in case somebody wants to make an issue of it.
I am getting rocked a bit on the Vectors. They are an amazing ski but I'm still having problems really bending them and keeping my foot on the ski. I end up reverting to parallel technique.
Big Bangs with the Chili's-- no prob, BOF on ski, fun. Same with the 3pin/cable stuff, etc. in both leather and T4.
I got some decent skiing in and just reverted to paralleling the skis and had a stupendous, wonderful, time but was not tele-ing. I grabbed a pair of skis with some BD 02 bindings, a little shorter and about 127-94-118 (something k2, no idea what) to test and had a great time with the shorter ski and the more active binding-- which makes sense, it's covering up my bad technique.
Basically the more active binding BD 02 is fine, but conversely I also find that the Chilis are fine, which is a pretty neutral binding too (right?).
There is something in the 180cm Vector/Voile SB combo that I can't get my finger on. I just don't feel like I can keep my BOF down. I'm applying the techniques above from dn-upt and connryo but it just don't feel right. Better than initially, for sures. I'm not going to lie, I think I bit off more than I can chew with the 180cm Vector and am wondering if the 170 is the best bet for my weakling self. *hang head in shame* Or is it the position of the hardwire on the SB compared to a flexible cable? Does it force the boot in a weird stance and I still need to get used to it?
Not freaking out, still plugging away, doing well. Just not harnessing this amazing magical ski in a tele-sort of way.
The ski might be too big Woods. I've had skis too big and couldn't get weight on the rear foot on hard pack. They were great in the powder but I paralleled the groomer to the lift. With T4s and if you aren't a big guy I can see you having a problem. If you could try a 170 it might work. I actually rented a ski and loved it but then bought the next size up and had that same problem on hardpack. But if I skied that same ski today I don't think it would be a problem as I was just getting used to plastic boots at that time and hadn't gotten them dialed in yet.
How big/small are you? The 180 Vector isn't a terribly "big" ski when you think about it with the rocker, so I don't think that is your problem.... I've skied some pretty big skis with soft bindings (the same Switchbacks) and never felt like my boot wasn't flexing, at least not due to ski length.
My suggestion would be to try going into a tele (while still, maybe even while on carpet) and trying to adjust your weight until you get the back boot to flex more.
Are you skiing your other skis with O2s with the mid stiff cartridges? You might just like a little stiffer binding. No shame there, it is just about finding what works for you/your set up. It'd be good if you could try the Vectors with a binding with a little more backbone.
Something I've never tried, but thought about when I had the normal switchbacks, was getting a set of the black cartridges from the X2s to stiffen them up. I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work, and it might bring them up closer to the stiffness of the O2.
Above all, keep on skiing! New/different stuff always takes a little time to get used to. And telemark is largely about being stubborn enough to stick with it.
mainer wrote:Above all, keep on skiing! New/different stuff always takes a little time to get used to. And telemark is largely about being stubborn enough to stick with it.
That's good advice Mainer, but I'll bet you 20 bucks it's the skis. Just kidding, but I don't remember people having that problem with the SBs. I think if Woods tried the SBs on a ski that has already worked for him I don't think he'd have an issue with them. In addition I am curious to know if they would work in powder if he hasn't tried it yet.
