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X-Man
Joined: 07 Dec 2004
Posts: 1263
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 Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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I guess I need to apologize for feeling that just getting down some hairball steep slope doesn't make one an expert skier.
So I'm sorry, but to my way of thinking expert skiers ski with a fluidty and grace that, while it may be hard for me to describe, I know it when I see it, and that kind of skiing was distinctly lacking among the AT skiers in the last PW video. Judging by the response last fall in a long thread here, I was hardly the only one to take similar notice. |
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JPL
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 3256
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 2:25 am Post subject: |
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I thought ATA's skiing in the Powderwhore film was just fine, and he's obviously a helluva ski mountaineer and adventure skier, where looking stylish is secondary.
Back on topic, I am with carl in advising practice with whatever tool you choose, and my experience with the Whippet is that it's particularly important to get used to the difference between self-arresting with a ski pole rather than an axe. |
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J
Joined: 07 Dec 2004
Posts: 3023
Location: Cdv-PWS
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 6:19 pm Post subject: |
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Bet'n 95% of 'well heeled' telemark aficionados are p-turn'n in serious Whippet-required descents...except when being filmed.
Expert 'alpine turns' can usually be discerned by most but watching even a good Tele-wacker dance-the-line makes everybody smile.
Whatever self-arrest tool is available be ready to use IT. Dangerous speeds can quickly be reached on moderate Spring-time slopes. Bad, bad things can often lay below moderate slopes: cliffs, huge boulders/trees and rock fields. |
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stevesliva
Joined: 11 Dec 2004
Posts: 10123
Location: SEA
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| Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 3:01 am Post subject: |
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| Wished I had a whippet (or axe) on a boot pack today. One leg got tweaked on a good 35 degree slope. Fun one point of solid contact when I was giving it a rest. A single whippet would've at least upgraded me to 2. |
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robrox
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 17729
Location: following Diogenes, but the ba$tard threw away the lamp so I'm just stumbling along in the dark!
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| Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 10:08 am Post subject: |
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Scored a Whippet yesterday and skied* with it too..
I'm an expert now 
* laugh about "poseur" all you like, I sure as Hell did!
_________________
"Moderate is not the new Low" - Chris Joosen, USFS Lead Snow Ranger (Tuckerman Ravine, White Mountains National Forest) |
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J
Joined: 07 Dec 2004
Posts: 3023
Location: Cdv-PWS
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| Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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| robrox wrote: | and skied* with it too..
I'm an expert now |
So, whatch think?
Handy? |
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robrox
Joined: 20 Oct 2005
Posts: 17729
Location: following Diogenes, but the ba$tard threw away the lamp so I'm just stumbling along in the dark!
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| Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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| J wrote: | | robrox wrote: | and skied* with it too..
I'm an expert now |
So, whatch think?
Handy? |
Well, on 30-37 degree, thick corn snow......it was a fine ski pole. If I was on a somewhat drier sort of snow I might have tried it for a practice arrest.
_________________
"Moderate is not the new Low" - Chris Joosen, USFS Lead Snow Ranger (Tuckerman Ravine, White Mountains National Forest) |
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Chamonix
Joined: 12 Dec 2007
Posts: 1952
Location: VT near Jay Peak
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hiplainsdrifter
Joined: 26 Jan 2007
Posts: 2237
Location: Wyoming
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| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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| snojones wrote: |
With an ice ax in hand it was easy to get into the arrest position quickly. With Whippets how do you keep the unused ski pole out of the way. Do you have to remove your non-ax wrist strap and just accept that you likely could loose a pole. |
I have been skiing without pole straps for years, and plan to continue doing so. There is no reason for them that I can see- poles are not critical gear, and if you let go of them that probably means you ate it and don't want gear thrashing around tethered to your body. Obviously you would want to use the wrist strap with the whippet because the head is too small to grasp like a traditional ice axe and get the leverage to self arrest. I have a Whippet but I am scared of it. I need more practice with both it and my ice axe.
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let 'er buck |
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