Ski

No, must be a flash thing. The newest (16m) are lighter...more like the 10.22's.

Yes, the 16m GS:11's are lighter than the 21m skis. And I would ski the flower skis if they were fast. Hell, I'd ski the 70's if they were fast.

I think it's very possible you are both right... Drape, aside from KMart finals, have you noticed attendance in the last couple of years? And ski areas are now charging an absolute premium for use of their slopes for weekend races. Mountain Creek, Tanglwood, Hidden Valley had 35 to 50 racers showing up---there were almost 150 at MC in '01 and nearly 100 at a late season Jack Frost race that same year. It also reflects on sponsorships, of course. Some of the attitude of ski clubs has been pretty crappy, in fact. MACK happily rented my home hill's NASTAR course for club race, yet openly complain that ASRA is too expensive. I told my dear MACK friends that they should get off their lazy asses and support real gate running, or their only option will be green circle NASTAR courses at places like Shawnee. Peace.

BTW, welcome, Drape, great to have a fast chick such as yourself around!

Well, Drape, some of us have list of folks we consider beyond any hint of criticism...we are generally unabashedly harsh on anyone appearing even slightly negative of people that run a race series that doesn't cancel due to blizzards; anyone resembling Al Hobart; shop guys that give you screws and other small items for free; and, certainly not to be forgotten, U6 soccer coaches. My apologies for seeming harsh to you.

Just your kids, eh? Hahahahahaha!

Youth sports participation have changed a lot in the last few decades. What boy didn't play baseball in the 1950's? Or the 60's and 70's? We like to think that today's pro athletes are superior than they were 30 years ago...but they aren't. The talent pool is spread thin among more sports, or playing no sport at all. Are kids lazier today? Well, they watch six hours of tv each day compared to two hours in 1970. Maybe lazy isn't a great word; perhaps sedentary? Okay, back to watching the Yankee game on tv...

I sent my $25 membership renewal in today...I wonder how much Blue Mt. charges for closing down a premier black diamond slope for an entire mid-winter weekend day? Or Sugarbush...or Killington...or Hunter...

Agreed, 'Mom. Interesting that it was drape001's first post. Very few things are ever a coincidence.

I thought bindings were included...

http://www.paskiandride.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1905

...

That's $70 less than at your local ski shop. The shipping is less than the 6% PA sales tax, too.

Great post, Jeff...

I suppose it could on a microscopic level. Bases that are new have sharply defined peaks and valleys. That's why brand new race skis need to be broken in to ski their fastest. Also, skis (and boards) that have just been stone ground are also slow. Skiing rounds off the peaks. Hard wax that hasn't been scraped will remain on the bases in streaks.

The only way she'd ever race is if I find her a 1998 Slovanian speed suit in XS from their technical team. It's mostly green, with tie-dye... I'm pretty sure it's an impossible find...

I know, I know, I know... The problem I have with USPS is that our mail only comes to just inside the front gate. We only get packages off the truck if we happen to pick up mail when the letter carrier is filling the boxes. But my mailman is a good guy...used to instruct at Elk.

Ha, no not for the little one. She's all set with mounted 70's, 80's, and 90's...the skis at the PO are my second set of the race stock 16m GS:11's in 170. Same as Jeff's. I had planned on 21m GS:11's for race camp, since that radius is a great all-around carving ski AND the Sugarbush GS courses are pretty widely set. But then I figured I should practice on the same ski I'm going to race on. And remember all that gravel that kicked up after you got off the lift and turned right? Seemed like a second set of 16m GS:11's were in order... Is it Monday yet?

My new skis came Friday, but were taken back to the Post Office because I wasn't around to sign for them...so I have a pink slip that says I have a package from Denver. I've decided that having your new skis sit at the PO all weekend goes directly into the "sucks" catagory...

Yep. Your bases will feel sticky on the snow for a run or two as it wears off. No big deal. If you hot wax with a warm (soft) wax such as a yellow, it'll come right off, especially with crappy manmade snow. But if you wax with a really hard, cold weather wax (green), then go out on a powder day, the excess wax will stay on all day and be a pain in the butt. Remember: you really aren't skiing with a coat of wax between your ski base and the snow. The wax is absorbed into the base like a sponge and is inside the base material. Unless you are brushing A LOT after scraping, you're still skiing on a coat of wax anyway. But, in the end, it's highly recommended that you give your bases a few scrapes, even if you're feelin' lazy.

Agreed. Ski clubs and race organizations across the US are pretty infamous for terrible web sites. If your interested, here's MACK Ski Club's: http://www.mackskiclub.homestead.com/ Here's the site for all Eastern PA ski clubs (I can't even figure it out): http://www.easternpaskicouncil.org/

Most of the ASRA racers are long-hours professionals and don't even visit the website except to check the schedule and results pages. The MB went down for months after a lot of porn spam and nobody really noticed. The pics are from races at least five years ago...maybe more. I really think race day turnout would be better if the site was top shelf, but nobody has stepped up to take it over for AJ...