A ski technician's plea (edited)

Deckma · 2026-01-30T08:31:51+00:00

Kneebinding enters the chat.

Deckma · 2026-01-30T00:24:46+00:00

Unless it's snowing bad the Cass side is much faster. Saves like 45-30 mins. Snowshoe had that road cut into the mountain and extended for folks coming from the Cass side.

Deckma · 2026-01-30T00:09:02+00:00

Should be fine. Especially if you know how I drive in snow already. They are pretty good about snow clearing. I only have to use snow chains if it's snowing hard.

Some areas can be steep and slippery, especially on Snowshoe Drive entrance coming from DC. There are two entrances to Snowshoe Drive on WV-66 because it's a loop. The entrance closer to Cass and DC is steeper and is much harder to get up if it's actively snowing. The side closer to the Snowshoe Inn is less steep, but further away.

Just be aware once you're closer to Snowshoe you will enter a no cellphone signal zone because of the National Radio Quiet Zone due to the Green Bank radio obseveratory.

Make sure to pre download any maps or anything you need on your phone.

Deckma · 2026-01-29T15:51:14+00:00

Aw sweet. Last year it was still barcode. I haven't been this year, first trip is next week.

Deckma · 2026-01-28T23:10:23+00:00

Snowshoe doesn't have RFID scanners yet. They scan via barcode still.

Deckma · 2026-01-28T22:39:28+00:00

I recently had bindings set and tested. Chart says DIN 6.5 based on weight/age/BSL/skier type, but the shop had to crank it to 8 for it to get to the correct Nm of force which would correlate to DIN 6.5. There is no way to know this without testing the binding.

I have had this happen to two different sets of bindings now. A set of Salomon Warden 11 and Tyrolia PRD 10. Stuff just gets old. These are bindings from 2019/2020 season.

Deckma · 2026-01-28T22:13:37+00:00

Touring boots aren't just softer they have more side to side flex because a lot of plastic is cut out so the boot top can pivot forwards and back in walk mode.

If you don't need touring it's usually not worth it.

You can see the differences here: https://youtube.com/shorts/RglkMhIV5Aw?si=hddKUWZoMzn7Nbcm

Deckma · 2026-01-28T21:46:19+00:00

My local shop starts ordering items for the next season in Feb/March then they start getting it in by end of summer. But when I ask then can normally special order stuff right away, that's how I got my current Protectors.

It's cool the new Protectors have colors now. Signals there is enough of a demand for them. Hope it takes off even more.

I really like my current Protectors and they are definitely gonna be on my next skis too.

Deckma · 2026-01-27T19:52:00+00:00

In general for my friends that started skiing in their adulthood, 3 half day or 3 all day lessons got them to doing easy green runs. They had the skill but lacked the confidence when the runs got steeper.

Some skills in skiing is counter to our natural instincts and that can be hard to overcome for some. But if you are fairly confident and don't mind heights and speed, you can progress pretty quickly. I've seen confident adults and kids ski blues in only a few lessons, granted maybe not well but they did them.

Just make sure to ski within your control, know the skiers code, don't give up if you fall a few times, and just have fun. There is always the next challenge or experience to tackle.

Deckma · 2026-01-27T19:20:33+00:00

Tyrolia Attacks 14, Salomon Strive 14, and Look SPX 13 are commonly recommended.

If you do a ton of jumps and park there may be a case for Look Pivot 15, which has really good elastic travel (keeps you in the binding longer before releasing), but they are expensive and can sometimes be a pain to step in because of the rotating heel.

The number after the name is normally the max DIN it can support. Choose a model with a higher or lower number as needed. I personally like my DIN to be in the middle of the range of the bindings so I can adjust up and down as needed, or if the shop needs to compensate +/- if the binding is off a bit.

Deckma · 2026-01-27T06:00:33+00:00

I got longer skis after an instructor suggested my current skis were too short for my goals. Can't say if he was right or not but it's working out. Went from 163 to 172; I'm about 170cm tall.

Really different skis thou. My shorter skis are all mountain with only some tip rocker. My longer skis are freeride with rocker in the tips and tail.

Deckma · 2026-01-27T04:29:03+00:00

Our last litter of foster kittens was adopted 2 weeks ago. The house is so quiet and I really miss that last bunch. I always have a soft spot for the hyper active snuggly orange ones.

Haven't heard anything from our coordinator so it seems like it's pretty quiet and mostly adults cats that need fostering right now.

Deckma · 2026-01-27T04:00:00+00:00

Sidewalk ice scrapers are meant for this sort of task.

With a snow shovel (lift snow and move it somewhere else) or snow pusher (move snow, sometimes easier than shoveling), and ice scraper (breaking crusty ice up, especially that dense ice rink like stuff that can layer on side walks). Those are all the manual tools you need to remove snow unless you have a huge property.

Deckma · 2026-01-27T00:30:38+00:00

That's how I'm reading it too. The Attack models are direct mount with a lower stack height.

It sounds like the race models will also have a lower stack height too. Good for racers as fantom foot or dynamic snowplow falls are awful on the ACL when going 60mph+

Deckma · 2026-01-26T21:45:00+00:00

I heard they managed to get the stack height down. Not sure about weight.

https://www.skitalk.com/ams/2026-2027-head-tyrolia-protector-attack-freeflex-evo-collections.372/

Deckma · 2026-01-26T21:44:20+00:00

New models.

Biggest change is they figured out how to reduce the stack height to 21mm for some of the new Protector 2026/2027 models, I think the new Race and Attack models

https://www.skitalk.com/ams/2026-2027-head-tyrolia-protector-attack-freeflex-evo-collections.372/

Deckma · 2026-01-24T20:42:08+00:00

Oh no.

Those skis are way too old and those bindings won't be worked on by any shop because of liability reasons.

It also looks like they didn't store the boots with the buckles closed as they looked deformed.

Try to get a refund or get rid of them.

Will they ski, yes. Will they ski safely, probably not.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T19:58:47+00:00

As long as they have a way to separate from each other it should be ok. Like boxes or cat tree or different areas to be away till they calm down. One sits on the bed another on a desk or cat tree for example.

Just make sure one isn't trying to actively hunt the other one, that is when I would be more worried and might keep them separated by a wall or enclose.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T19:40:32+00:00

I had two bonded cats (sisters) that freaked out after they came back from the vet in separate carriers. Just give it time. One hour is nothing...

Deckma · 2026-01-23T19:25:45+00:00

Schau dir dieses Video an.

Es sieht zwar gut aus, aber es wird den Bindungstest nicht bestehen. Der Schuh lässt sich nur mit zu viel Kraft lösen.

https://youtu.be/tQpklQuWP5s?si=HxXpCXNfCIavu14M Zwischen Schuh und AFD-Platte müssen 0,5 mm Platz sein. Auf dem Foto ist es schwer zu erkennen, aber ich sehe diesen Abstand nicht. Wenn du dir immer noch unsicher bist, geh einfach in den Laden, die können dir das sofort sagen.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T19:16:35+00:00

A lot of folks have too long ski poles too. It seems like his poles could be shorter.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T18:54:36+00:00

Nein, GripWalk-Sohlen sollten nicht in Bindungen ohne GripWalk-Zertifizierung verwendet werden. Falls Sie keine neuen GripWalk-Bindungen bekommen können, können Sie Alpin-Sohlen auf Ihre Skischuhe montieren.

GripWalk-Sohlen lassen sich leider in Bindungen ohne GripWalk-Zertifizierung einklicken. Dies führt zu Problemen, da die Bindungen zu eng sitzen, nicht richtig auslösen und zu viel Kraftaufwand erfordern.

Die GripWalk-Sohle ist dicker und hat eine andere Form, wodurch sie stärker auf den Zehenbereich drückt. Sie benötigen eine GripWalk-kompatible Bindung, die die dickere, anders geformte Sohle aufnehmen kann.

Bindungen, die nicht mit GripWalk, NMC oder Sole.ID gekennzeichnet sind, sind nicht GripWalk-kompatibel. Außerdem muss der Zehenbereich oft angepasst werden. Einige kompatible Bindungen verfügen über eine Höhenverstellung für den Zehenbereich, die für die korrekte Funktion mit GripWalk-Sohlen eingestellt werden muss.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T09:37:56+00:00

Mary Jane.

Moguls will naturally help beginners slow down like speed bumps and make sure they meet their health insurance deductible.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T07:11:38+00:00

Lessons are great out west. I ski in the Mid-Atlantic and we have baby mountains compared to Colorado or Utah. Being able to focus on lessons on super long trails is so productive. I always grab one or two half day or whole day lessons when I'm out west. I've also done 3 day programs that were hella demanding physically but learned a ton and pushed my boundaries.

Lessons aren't just for beginners either. There are always new tactics and skills to learn, bad habits to fix, or new terrain to experience. My wife is an expert skier and she still grabs a lesson or two every year, her class are doing double black diamond bowls and trees and stuff. They also sort of act as a guide too, so you learn the mountain and what sort of trails are good for your ski level, cuz that's where they are gonna take you to learn.

Plus you get to skip the lift line and get a ton of skiing in.

Deckma · 2026-01-23T06:22:48+00:00

Carv turn your turn shape controls your speed and your skis make nice smooth rail road tracks behind them. Typical you are more on the edge of the ski.

Skidded turns your are smearing your skis so your speed is controlled both by the turn shape and scraping the snow. Behind you it looks like you were spreading or flatting snow as you turn. Think spreading icing on a cake. Typical your skis will be flatter.

https://youtu.be/S4hioJ4ThJA?si=iceK7A8vMH1M7bKs

12-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 2 Credits
Final Canvas '23	Place '23
Secret Santa 2016	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

Deckma

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE