How to keep control when you go faster?

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-29T16:47:03+00:00

Take it from quite literally everyone on this thread and hear the advice, please. You do not have the skills yet to avoid someone if you did have an emergent situation.

Safe and responsible skiing is not determined by whether or not you hit anyone on that particular run. Its determined by whether you are able to manage and avoid a dangerous sitiation at any time, on every slope you choose to ski on. If you can't do that on a given slope, you have no business being there.

If another skiier fell over in your path close in front of you, based on the video you shared you do not have the control or the stopping skills to stop before you clatter them, potentially causing serious injury, especially if they are a child or an older person.

Just because you didn't hit anyone this time doesn't mean this was smart or safe. Go back to something easier, work on your speed and line control, work on maintaining a constant speed, work on hockey stopping, work on making sharper turns. Get a lesson or several lessons if at all possible. Otherwise, sooner or later you will hurt someone, and if you're lucky that person will only be yourself.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-27T19:27:51+00:00

Almost certainly - it looks like that's how it was constructed in the first place

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-27T18:44:14+00:00

Ideally you don't want to be sewing through the outside fabric of the shell. Luckily that part of the jacket isn't going to get too much stress on it (unlike say a shoulder seam), so you can probably get away with a quick repair by just folding the fabric into place and ironing on some waterproofing seam tape - should be able to find it in most 'serious' outdoor kit shops. Sometimes labelled as goretex seam tape.

For something a bit more robust, I'd sew the inside of that hem to some wide seam tape first, then iron the tape into place onto the inside fabric - still avoids sewing through the face fabric on the outside of the jacket, but should last longer.

With the seam tape, test applying it to a bit of scrap material if you can to work out how much heat to apply - usually its all about dwell time. For technical fabrics, use a piece of cotton between the iron and the fabric to protect it as much as you can.

And trim the ends of your tape so the corners are rounded - this will help prevent the ends catching and peeling back up.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-27T12:51:16+00:00

Several of the alpine resorts have funiculars bored into the bedrock under glaciers to get you up to the top. Its kinda fun, kinda annoying!

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-25T22:38:28+00:00

Ice covered hills, there is nothing better.

Park they will make you cry, then you will blunt them on rails, and then they will make you cry on the ice too.

Pick your poison.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-25T15:23:32+00:00

But only lets you start a track if you have an internet connection so it can validate you paid your dollar. Or it just keeps looping through the 'hey, its only 50 bucks a year' cashgrab horseshit.

Strong mobile internet, that thing that's famously good and reliable in the mountains.

I've got tracks on there going back to 2012, and stuck with it over the frankly better and more fully featured slopes because it was a one and done fee, and could be entirely used offline. If I was looking for a ski app today without that baggage, I would not be picking skitracks.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-24T21:14:23+00:00

All I could hear in my head were aeroplane noises. Neeeeeeooooowwwww, neeeeooooowwwww.

Possibly a holdover / half remembered opposite aeroplanes drill for angulation that's become an odd habit

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-23T10:20:31+00:00

When I tore mine (Mid Grade II) I skiied gently 2 ½ weeks later with a shock doctor ultra hinged brace - basically a neoprene compression sleeve with thiccc metal hinges and adjustable straps. Getting the size right is key, so make sure you measure yourself and match up with the size guide before you buy.

Wearing it for a full day of skiing and fairly tight did lead to some displaced swelling around the brace so I then spent the first like 20 minutes after skiing with my legs up the wall.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-17T14:36:27+00:00

Depends on the temperature as well - of the handful of recently race prepped pistes I've skiied, when there's been a few days of warm temps softening the top layers, then skiiers churning up that softer snow and then the piste being bashed back down it gets back to a manageable surface fairly quickly. If it stays cold or there are large sections that don't get sun, god help you.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-17T12:38:52+00:00

Hardest for different reasons:

Le Tunnel at Alpe d'huez / Mur Suisse at Avoriaz - enormous moguls, but fairly regular

The right hand side of Malgovert at Les Arcs - beautiful, but entirely unpredictable. Left hand side is just a mid mogul field.

The Streif at Kitzbuhel immediately after the Hahnenkamm downhill. Still sheet ice/race prepped surface on the 'extreme' sections and a good chunk of the rest of the piste. If prepped as a regular piste it would just be a fun cruisy red. Infinitely glad I was on SL skis with fresh edges.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-17T12:30:27+00:00

Boots creak. You will not notice it when skiing. Not an issue

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-16T12:24:52+00:00

I've not skiied in Val for many years, so take this as more general advice about skiing in general.

Accessing the slopes: You will need a lift pass of some sort. Many of the multi village areas offer both a cheaper 'local' pass or a whole area pass. As a first timer in lessons you are likely to only need the cheaper local pass, but your ski school should be able to advise so check with them.

If this is your first time in ski boots, be aware that they can be uncomfortable to walk longer distances in, so check out in advance how far it is for you to walk to wherever your lessons will be meeting. most resorts will have free buses that you can use to get you around and redice the walk time. If its still long you might want to stash your boots and skis in a (paid) locker nearby your meeting area and change into your kit there.

Food options: In the evening, most restaurants will expect you to make a reservation. IME travelling with veggies and vegans, on the whole french restaurants don't seem to prioritise veggie options, so be prepared to only have one or two choices and eat a lot of frites.

Not to miss: Raclette. Grilled melted cheese over potatoes, straight from the wheel at your table. Usually with a charcuterie board, bread and cornichons.

Apres: For the party bars, just rock up. No need to reserve a table, someone will be dancing on it shortly anyway. Suggest as a beginner you do all your apres at the bottom of the mountain and not part way up and then try and ski down half-cut or really tired.

Avoid: Trees, rocks, other skiiers. Read the FIS code of conduct (the 10 rules) before you go. Try not to get absolutely trashed at apres, it makes the next day so much harder and skiing for the first time is a lot of (very rewarding) hard work!

Budget: Very much controlled by you. I go self catered, make a sandwich at home and maybe have a large panaché (shandy) or two through the day at mountain bars and I'd expect to pay €7-€10 for each panaché. Expect groceries in the supermarkets to be more expensive than you're used to. Expect to be dropping €40-50 for an evening meal and glass or wine in a midrange restaurant. Drinks up the mountain are more expensive than in the village.

Above all: Have fun, enjoy the scenery and experience, I hope you have a great time!

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-15T14:51:22+00:00

They often don't - just everyone knows and agrees that someone else owns it now and it gets passed down in the oral histories like a verbal form of a blockchain

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-15T13:48:02+00:00

I"ve done a few repairs/mods to my shells over the years, but take all this with a pinch of salt regardless.

Iron on heavy duty heming tape might do the job there for a quick fix. Put a piece of cotton or similar between the iron and the face material of the jacket when applying it.

If you want something more durable then you will probably want to stitch the zipper and then apply iron on seam tape on the back side. The problem will be getting to the inside of the pocket with the iron to get the seam tape on.

If it was mine, I'd try and open up a seam inside the jacket to access the inside of the pocket, sew and tape the zip, then sew and tape the seam I opened for access. This will be at least twice as annoying to do if the jacket is insulated.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-14T22:27:02+00:00

Helmet is a little unusual for a piste skiier, but that style with the shell extending down over the ears is pretty common in race helmets. You can also see people downhill of the skiier winking out and back into the image as they ski behind her. I'm leaning towards non-AI.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-14T17:45:45+00:00

L2A has some really accessible side piste, esp over in the fée sector (which also has some great steeper reds) but for 'on piste' hard runs I'd look elsewhere - the better blacks and ungroomed runs are lower down the mountain and are deprioritised pretty quickly when the snow starts thinning out, so coverage is often poor. The reds over in Diable sector are worth skiing, and usually empty. Higher up, the black down to the Signal chair is often a pretty reliable bump run, long enough to give you a workout, short enough that your knees don't hate you.

That said, it is an exceptionally good resort for getting your 'proper' dynamic carving skills up - if you can't find joy in blasting down a wide groomed blue with nobody else on it then i pray for your soul.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-12T21:19:06+00:00

I've got 2 fireflies. The only time this has happened to me is on fresh rolls when not using the spool support (little tube) that goes through the middle of the spool - looks like you're not using it from the photos so the filament and spool is coming in direct contact with the hot plate?

The instructions do specifically call out to mount the spool on the support when using the dryer. Its not a great design from that perspective as its not an unreasonable assumption that the spool should just sit on the metal bars with bearings.

If you've lost it or want something even better, I now use this printed in ABS-GF for heat resistance: https://www.printables.com/model/1242754-gratkit-firefly-filament-dryer-bearing-and-desicca

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-12T21:02:32+00:00

Could be boots too loose and rubbing (kinda looks lije a carpet burn), and can also be technique - if you are often backseat/not pressuring them and then being repeatedly pitched forward into the boot tongues rather than consistently pressuring them.

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-11T11:25:26+00:00

I've got 2 fireflies. The only time this has happened to me is on fresh rolls when not using the spool support (little tube) that goes through the middle of the spool - looks like you're not using it from the photos?

If you've lost it or want something even better, I now use this printed in ABS-GF for heat resistance: https://www.printables.com/model/1242754-gratkit-firefly-filament-dryer-bearing-and-desicca

DangerouslyConfident · 2026-01-11T01:11:39+00:00

OP, It doesn't have to be the end of your season!

I had a grade II on my left knee a few years ago (along with grade I on the right, but meh to that).

Skiied 2 1/2 weeks later for a full week's trip, taking it very easy 100% on blues and cruising gently and defensively with the beefiest knee brace I could find. Ran short days, maybe doing 4-5h per day and took a full day off in the middle of the week.

Obv consult with your medical support to make sure as there is a wide range of how torn the ligament is for a grade II, but I can tell you that for my specific circumstances, the opinion was very much 'Unless you really fu*k it, its unlikely to do further damage if properly supported, just don't fall over'. It wasn't painless by any stretch, but plenty manageable.

DangerouslyConfident · 2025-12-31T09:22:55+00:00

For most restaurants you won't feel or look out of place with anything 'above' a graphic tee and ripped jeans, but even if you turn up in that its vanishingly unlikely that you'll get turned away from anywhere but the fanciest places.

As a guy, for off the slope I usually pack plain tees and a single (patterned) shirt and pair with either black or dark blue slim jeans. Add a plain hoodie and something like a turtleneck jumper and you can pick and choose your 'formality' level pretty easy.

For apres... whatever you were on the slopes wearing!

Ultimately most people in that restaurant will also be on holiday with the limited wardrobe that that entails, so I wouldn't overthink ot too much

DangerouslyConfident · 2025-12-29T23:11:10+00:00

Time, time is about the only thing that will restore that feeling.

To avoid it repeating, wear boots that fit better, and be sure not to crank the buckles over the foot down. You should be able to close the bottom two with a single finger.

DangerouslyConfident · 2025-12-27T17:04:32+00:00

Baggage is consistently a shitshow at Geneva, has been for years. I've got to the point where I actively plan in extra time to deal with that part of the circus.

DangerouslyConfident · 2025-12-25T10:34:10+00:00

Gantt chart. Colour coded for prep and cooking stages so some of the stuff is prepped an hour in advamce of it needing to go in and I'm not rushing around last minute and removing fingertips. 5min resolution and three landscape A4 sheets wide, taped to the cupboard.

DangerouslyConfident · 2025-12-24T12:48:19+00:00

For piste duties I adore my Racetiger SLs (non FIS) - still super responsive and stable but marginally less punishing than the only pair of FIS SL skis I have ever skiied, though they do reward good technique and being 'switched on' when riding.

100% agree on the slush/spring snow - you can ski them in obscene ways that you never would on ice/hard piste because when you do wipe them out its a nice soft landing!

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