Helpful skiing tips that you may not know...

Triple_Strum

Triple_Strum

Active member
I read this article in Powder (I think) a few years ago and it was actually pretty informative with facts I didn't know. Anyone know what I am talking about? In any case, I thought I'd start an NS one that everyone could add to. I thought of this when a kid was asking about cold hands in a different thread. So here goes, just add good tips about staying warm, saving money, helpful stretches/exercises, energy foods before you go, etc.

Tip #1: The veins that carry to your fingers are in the back of your hand, not near your palm. So to effectively prevent numb fingers, you want to put hand warmers on the back of your hand. I recommend picking up some surgical tape (type that sticks to skin well) from CVS/Walgreens and just taping one of those little handwarmers on the back of each hand in the morning and voile! you are good for the rest of the day.

Again, don't just put down "good advice", but maybe something people don't realize.
 
When Ptexing a core shot in your skis, make sure the ski is inside and warm before you put any ptex in the hole. Otherwise when it does get warm, the ptex will expand and pop itself out of the hole.

good thread
 
When mounting a binding to a ski, start each screw at the same time and go 1-2 turns until they all grab, then work them down together. If you put in one screw at a time your binding is very prone to end up crooked...I learned the hard way. Also use a #3 posidrive screwdriver for all binding related things except din adjustments
 
when in the cafeteria at a ski lodge and you dont have enough money for food so you decide to eat bacon on line and then ditch the plate MAKE SURE SKI PATROL is not 2 people behind you or you will get busted (I learned this the hard way)
 
yah man putting the warmers onb the back of the hand is key. i have gloves with little zipper pockets to putt hand warmers in
 
For an energy food I always eat peanut butter on a toasted multigrain english muffin or two slices of oatmeal bread before I head out along with a glass of milk. Keeps me going even through lunch. Good thread ++K to you sir.
 
Snow is heavy! So if you bang you tips together before picking them up you skis are much lighter.

(may sound stupid but belive me many people dont know this!)
 
yea thats what i was thinking, surely your wrist is the place to put warmers, on your arteries.
 
STRETCH!
and take a warm up lap!
most important things in skiing for me. next to having my boots perfect, and a couple beers in my bag.
 
race bases (on skis like the pipe cleaner) are not more brittle, contrary to popular belief. they are actually harder, they just require more bases. unlike a standard base they DO become brittle if they dry out, so you need to wax them much more often. but as long as you keep the bases saturated, they will be just as durable as a normal base
 
stretching is sooo important. i usually take one lap and get a bit loose then stretch for a bit. feels so good and you feel so much more limber. good breakfast is important too. i find that if i eat something filling and full of good things for you in the morning besides just cereal or something i feel less tired, have more energy, and am generally just more on all day. start the day off right!
 
Boot tip: always keep your boots in the cabin of the car/truck so they aren't cold when you put them on. When you are done at the end of the day, buckle your boots up the way your would wear them. They will be easier to get on the next day.
 
When hitting a jump, flex those abbs. Its your core and essentialy links your upper body to your lower body. This can really help when throwing spins so everything is in one fluid movement apposed to flailing.
 
if you take laps through the park and jumps and then take a break, take it easy on your first run back through it. jumps and jibs can change dramatically in as little as 20 minutes.
 
this may be common knowledge to some. but make sure to buckle both your boots to the same neutral tightness over the summer ASWELL as overnight. buckling too tight/loose could warp the boot.

get into the habit of taking out your liners after a day of skiing and wiping down the inside of the shell the make sure its dry. also, setting your liners in front of a heater is a great way to make sure your boots will be nice and warm in the morning.

maybe some more later if i can think of them
 
It's implied that everyone else provides the other tips that they can think of, creating a thread of skiing tips.

If your goggles fog at lunch and don't defog by the time you're leaving, put them under a hand dryer for a couple seconds and the fog will disappear pretty much instantly.
 
oh, i feel dumb now.... :D
i'll provide my little tip:
when you strap your skis together, strap around the spot where both bases touch.
If you put the strap where the bases stand apart, your camber(wether its reverse camber, rocker or regular camber) will weaken...
for regular camber; strap around tip or tail.reverse camber; strap underfootrocker or early rise: strap where the rocker/early rise begins...
 
real trick to warm hands:The reason your hands and toes get cold is because your body stops pumping blood to your extremities to keep your core warmer when it gets cold outside. If you wear really warm clothes hike a lot (even if it's just rails) or ski really hard you won't need hand warmers or even gloves if it's not too cold out. That is all provided you aren't like a lot of skiers who have developed poor circulation to their extremities, and get cold hands and feet even when it's not that cold out.
The best way to prevent shin bang is to not ski in the back seat. focus on moving your hips forward.
 
Make sure your hands are already warm when you put your gloves on or else they just get colder. I noticed that if i put my gloves on in the car my hands are warm all day, but if i wait to put my gloves on and they get cold there pretty much cold all day
 
i spin leftside, when i ski switch, i have some how lost the ability to look over my left shoulder effectively making me need to spin right side when switch, its kinda cool but i want to be able to spin left side well too
any helpful exercises for this that anybody can think of?
 
scraping and brushing your ski after waxing is essential in order to bring out base texture and drastically decrease friction!
wrap some tennis racket handle tape (or whatever the leathery tape around the handle is called...) around your pole, right under the grip for polyvalent backcountry use; no need for length adjustable poles!
never put your sunblock in the same pocket as your goggles/shades!(if your sunblock spills over your goggles it can dissolve lense coatings and not only make it messy but ruin it for life! )
Pinetrees often have a "snowtrap" underneath that can be as deep as the snowpack is thick, don't fall into it or you'll be cursing yourself for the next half hour!
when wearing goggles all day and saving up for a goggle tan, put sunblock on the tip of your nose otherwise you'll look like rudolf by the end of the day!

 
I slept on my stomach turning my head to the left for like a month. Also if you bend over hardcore I find its easier to see behind on your bad switch looking side.
 
If you're hiking, pop the top of your lense out and your goggles wont fog up as easily. also, wearing your goggles on your forehead will make them fog up real nice.
 
skiing deep pow?

take with you two lengths (about 2-3 feet worth) of brightly coloured, fairly weak ribbon, tie one end around your bindings, and stuff the loose end up your pants leg, so when your skis pop off you will be able to see the brightly coloured ribbon floating above the pow for easy recovery and retrieval!

(warning do NOT tie the loose end of the ribbon to your leg, hence the weak ribbon, you don't want your leg to be ripped off do you now?)
 
to get rid of rust on your edges, a cheap way is to rub steel wool along them. This may take a while, but at the same time it can help to sharpen your edges and save you money from having to pay to get them tuned.

Drink a lot of water before you go skiing because this keeps you feeling fresh, limber and energized

 
if you have cold fingers all the time, EVERY time you stop just put your hands in a fist inside your gloves. i have the coldest gloves ever i think but this keeps my hands warm
 
wax your skis once a week.

it may seem excessive, but bases need wax to stay healthy, dry bases become more brittle. wax creates a sort of protection for your bases and can help to keep bases in good shape when on rails and such. you will also go a hell of a lot faster.
 
In trees and powder I always do up the straps. I hate dropping my poles in pow and having to hike through fresh to find my pole

In the park, it depends. When I hike I put them around my wrists so I can just drag my poles along. Little stuff I usually have them strapped. If I'm trying new stuff I unstrap them
 
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