Downhill Skiing

**Cataboo** · 01-22-2009, 08:28 AM

For another female oriented forum site - check out peaceloveski.com, which was started sometime last year by a great pair of ladies...

I just came back from skiing out at Snowbird & Jackson Hole, there was fresh snow the week before I came, so the beginning of the ski trip was good, and by the end it was reduced to groomer skiing since the temps were hovering above freezing during the day & below at night...

I got a local ski pass this year for the Pennsylvannia resorts - whitetail, ski liberty & roundtop. I'm guessing I will hate it, but figured skiing is skiing!

My favorite place to ski is Kicking Horse mountain in Canada - 4,133 foot vertical, 30-45 mins long steep runs, great powder, challenging terrain, and a cousin with a ski lodge at the base of the mountain. Next to that I'd say would be Lake Louise... However, I haven't tried Whistler yet! After that I'd say Vail for skiing...

I'm a strong blue skier, and can do most blacks... I've gotten to the point where I'd say I was "reasonably competent" on moguls, but I hate them. I can get down them looking reasonably in control and it's not merely survival skiing, but I don't enjoy them. Steep however, I love.

**RolliePollie** · 02-08-2009, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by yellow

I confess. I, yellow, have gone to the dark side.

After debating with myself over and over last year, I finally gave in to the lure of a fixed heel. I've been on telemark gear since about 1996. But these days I don't ski enough to stay strong enough to tele all day and keep up with my friends. So this year I went on an alpine ski hunt.

I lost track of how many skis I demo-ed. But I found a love, or Tough Luv to be precise. It is SO nice to ski all day and not have jelly quads. I am having a serious amount of fun with these boards.

Hey Yellow - I picked up a pair of K2 Lotta Luvs yesterday at REI (awesome sale!) and I'm in love too! I took them out for their maiden voyage this morning and I'm very impressed. The snow was a weird combo of minimal soft snow on top of icy Sierra Cement and it got pretty chewed up by noon...these skis just busted right through all the crud! I can't wait to get up there on a weekday when I can have the runs to myself. Oh, and they're very pretty too. K2 did a nice job on their graphics this season.

It's supposed to snow tonight...woohoo!

**Cataboo** · 02-08-2009, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by RolliePollie

Hey Yellow - I picked up a pair of K2 Lotta Luvs yesterday at REI (awesome sale!) and I'm in love too! I took them out for their maiden voyage this morning and I'm very impressed. The snow was a weird combo of minimal soft snow on top of icy Sierra Cement and it got pretty chewed up by noon...these skis just busted right through all the crud! I can't wait to get up there on a weekday when I can have the runs to myself. Oh, and they're very pretty too. K2 did a nice job on their graphics this season.

It's supposed to snow tonight...woohoo!

I ordered a set of last season's lotta luvs off backcountryoutlet last week. I can't wait for them to come. I have a set phat luvs from a couple years back that I love.

**7rider** · 02-09-2009, 03:56 AM

Another one with a pair of Lotta Luv's here. I got mine at the end of the '05/'06 season. They're much stiffer than the skis I was on previously, but they have been a great ski for me so far (although I sometimes wonder if the Tru Luv would have been more suited for my less-than-aggressive skiing). But I have taken them everywhere from groomed cruisers to trees and bowls, and they are great.

**ttaylor508** · 02-09-2009, 07:59 AM

One more Lotta Luv skier here. I love them, although I wish I would have went for one size down. I feel they are a bit too long for me. That's the bummer about ski's, once you have tried them, you can't take them back to adjust size.

**Cataboo** · 02-09-2009, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by ttaylor508

One more Lotta Luv skier here. I love them, although I wish I would have went for one size down. I feel they are a bit too long for me. That's the bummer about ski's, once you have tried them, you can't take them back to adjust size.

K2's because of how they measure them tend to be bigger/longer skis for their size than the other ski manufacturers... What K2 calls a 160 is longer than what other ski manufacturers call a 160.

**7rider** · 02-09-2009, 09:43 AM

Really?? You know...I've never actually measured mine. And FWIW, I always felt mine were too short. TTaylor...wanna trade?

**ttaylor508** · 02-09-2009, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by 7rider

Really?? You know...I've never actually measured mine. And FWIW, I always felt mine were too short. TTaylor...wanna trade?

Mine are 153's (I think), I should be on a 149! I was actually thinking about trying to sell mine on Craigslist and get the right size. I will probably have to tough it out this year until I get a job.

Totally drifting from the topic, but does anyone else get vertigo when skiing in the fog? There was really dense fog on Friday and after about 5 runs, I was completely sick to my stomach like I had just ridden a carnival ride.

**Cataboo** · 02-09-2009, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by ttaylor508

Mine are 153's (I think), I should be on a 149! I was actually thinking about trying to sell mine on Craigslist and get the right size. I will probably have to tough it out this year until I get a job.

Totally drifting from the topic, but does anyone else get vertigo when skiing in the fog? There was really dense fog on Friday and after about 5 runs, I was completely sick to my stomach like I had just ridden a carnival ride.

I can't say I've gotten sick to my stomach, but I've gotten pretty weirded out and disoriented.

A friend & I were skiing at snowbird a few weeks ago... We decided we wanted to go through the tunnel to the other side of the mountain to see what it looked like... we did that, but at that time a thick fog had set in. I'd never skied the front or back side of that mountain, and she hadn't skied it in years... So we knew there was an easy green to get down and a bunch of blacks... and there were a bunch of "danger cliff signs"... Either of us would have been game to ski the blacks if we knew the territory or could see... So we decided to be cautious and take the green down... We found our way down it, but it's a bit disorienting to suddenly drop down a 2-3 feet drop that you couldn't see. We could see no detail in the snow, and could barely see each other.

We got back up on the lift, but then had to take the cat track over to the front side of the mountain to get out of that... Very icy cat track with a steep drop off down the side - and we couldn't see the sides or the switchbacks till we were right on them, it was blowing snow or ice and caking our goggles instantly... so pretty much had to take off our goggles and just squint against the ice that was blowing in. We pretty much snowplowed our way down (I haven't snowplowed in years).. then got to the open bowl at the bottom and did the..... Okay, we can't see a thing, and we know there's 1 blue to get down here, and a bunch of blacks... heck if we know which way to ski to get to the blue, because the signs are all at the bottom and neither of us had been down the front. And we both knew there were sections with cliffs and it is possible to cliff out at snowbird. And the bowl was pretty carved up in moguls, and while I'm reasonable with moguls I GOTTA BE ABLE TO SEE THEM... hitting mogus you don't see, sucks.

Anyways, eventually we happened upon some guys that knew the terrain, who guided us the rest of the way down. Then we went and got into the hot tub, because neither of us had any desire to go back up there and try to find our way back down again.

**solobiker** · 02-09-2009, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by yellow

I confess. I, yellow, have gone to the dark side.

After debating with myself over and over last year, I finally gave in to the lure of a fixed heel. I've been on telemark gear since about 1996. But these days I don't ski enough to stay strong enough to tele all day and keep up with my friends. So this year I went on an alpine ski hunt.

I lost track of how many skis I demo-ed. But I found a love, or Tough Luv to be precise. It is SO nice to ski all day and not have jelly quads. I am having a serious amount of fun with these boards. Much tougher to drive than my old tele set up (this new one is probably twice the weight, and I'm not a very big person) but such a blast. Here we are today at Solitude here in Salt Lake. (Yes, I have a tiny head, so I look like an alien in a helmet.)

I'll still tele in the backcountry and occasionally when I feel the need to punish my quads. Keep the p-tex down, ladies!

NOOOOOOOOOOO, gosh, one more lost to the fixed heel. I know what you mean about the Quads though. It has been several years since I have taken mine to the resorts. I mainly use mine for the Huts and touring and of course Yo-Yo skiing. I got my butt kicked this past weekend. We went on a hut trip and did some laps. Boy are my legs out of shape

Oh well, it was still very fun! maybe next year we will go to a resort. I'am just not a fan as they are crowded and peole seem to be more out of control then they used to be.

**RolliePollie** · 02-09-2009, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by Catriona

K2's because of how they measure them tend to be bigger/longer skis for their size than the other ski manufacturers... What K2 calls a 160 is longer than what other ski manufacturers call a 160.

I bought 163's and I'm 5'6"/155 lbs. so I'm hoping I made the right decision. I've been skiing on Tru Luv 153's for the last three seasons and they've been feeling too short...like there wasn't enough length in the tail to carve good turns. I love my Tru Luv's but I've been feeling like they're not challenging me anymore. On yesterday's maiden voyage with the Lotta Luvs, I could definiltey feel the extra length of the 163's but they felt good. They may be a tad long but I think I'll adjust.

I think my old old skis from the 90's were 185's...it seems so weird to be thinking 163's are long!

**Cataboo** · 02-09-2009, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by RolliePollie

I bought 163's and I'm 5'6"/155 lbs. so I'm hoping I made the right decision. I've been skiing on Tru Luv 153's for the last three seasons and they've been feeling too short...like there wasn't enough length in the tail to carve good turns. I love my Tru Luv's but I've been feeling like they're not challenging me anymore. On yesterday's maiden voyage with the Lotta Luvs, I could definiltey feel the extra length of the 163's but they felt good. They may be a tad long but I think I'll adjust.

I think my old old skis from the 90's were 185's...it seems so weird to be thinking 163's are long!

I think you'll be fine... I'm 5'1 and I have 160's in the phat luvs and just bought 160's in the lotta luvs. I'm probably skiing longer than I should be, but I'm used to it and I manage fine.

**7rider** · 02-09-2009, 06:35 PM

I have the 153's and I'm 5'8" and...well, a bit heavier than you.

I wanted the 163's (or a comparable size, whatever they had when I got them), but all they had left were the 153's and I was assured they would be fine. Yeah, they're okay, but like you, I think I would like to have a bit more material under me. My last skis (more like red and black noodles, they were so floppy) were 170's. Before that, I had 177's, so my skis keep getting shorter!

FWIW, I just ran a tape measure down the base of my DH's Atomic's. His advertised 164's are indeed 164 cm. My K2's, when I measure the same way as DH's skis, are 154...not 153.

**yellow** · 02-09-2009, 06:57 PM

Still fun....check!

I demoed the Lotta Luvs but, alas, they weren't quite fat enough for what I wanted them to do. That said, I might try to pick up a used demo pair or one of the Burnin' Luv for groomer skiing (which I don't really do that often...if I have to ski the groomers, then I'd rather be Nordic skiing, snob that I am...but I do have friends that only ski the groomers and, well, I might as well make it more fun). The Lottas turn fast and were pretty fun in the bumps, I thought. The Burnin' Luvs got rave reviews for an on-piste ski. Anybody tried them?

Don't worry solo, I'll still tele a bit. Making big tele turns in powder on the steeps is such a blast...

FWIW, I am 5'2" and I have 156 Tough Luvs and am very happy that I didn't go shorter. My tele skis are 163, but they aren't as fat.

**Cataboo** · 02-09-2009, 07:22 PM

Credit to Ski Nurse from the sac forum/ski diva/peaceloveski.com/goingprepared.com

Originally Posted by Ski Nurse

Luv advice...
Wednesday, January 09 2008, 01:52 PM
by SkiNurse (2453)

I know..too little too late. But this can be for the next time they are up.

First of all, K2s skis RUN BIG. A 160 in women's K2s is a 167 in female Rossingnal (for example). K2 and I think, Voikl, measure the skiable area NOT tip to tip. So, take that into consideration.

I am 5'2", #120. I ski the Burnin' Luvs 160cm and the Lotta Luvs 153 (yea, they come in 153s) Since the Lotta Luvs are close to the top of the totem pole for aggressiveness, is why I went one size smaller. I wanted to ski the ski, not the ski ski me! Remember the sizing difference in K2s from other skis. I'm a very assertive skier, not necesarily an aggresive skier. I can ski all mountain, but prefer natural terrain and steep powder bowls. But, the type of ski preference also goes with if you are a Rockies skier vs a West coast skier vs an East coast skier.

And, I love my Luvs! Fantastic skis. But, I'm a K2 girl.

Check out www.theskidiva.com for many different types of ski reviews.

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten the 160's in the Lotta Luvs, if Ski Nurse was using 153's... I skied with her last year in Colorado and she's a hella better skier than I am.

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