Quiver of Two

Harv, those knees aren't getting any younger. Look at SteveC and Pam...they are a pair of amazing telemarkers, but now they have locked their heels. I used to tele, but it did a number on my back. I actually find alpine skiing much more fun and relaxing. It is technically safer (bindings release) and enables you to relax your legs, especially in the runouts.

There's no harm in going alpine, as long as you are having fun.

AC started on telemark gear, and now you can hear him scream "LOCK THE HEEL AND SKI FOR REAL!!"

Great blog site Harvey!  I found this thread googling for my next ski over the holiday and subsequently bought the prophet 90 sight unseen last week from Als.  Great salesmanship SBR! I mounted my bishop bombers up to them last night and only hope there's enough snow at Gore now so I don't wreck them?  Gore was rough over new years weekend!!!  Thank goodness for Lies.  I frequently ski Gore and look forward to logging into the blog frequently for updates.

Update on the Pilgrims:

I had some concerns that I couldn't get them around in the trees. The are definitely much bigger (heavier) than anything I've ever skied.  I've been thinking, so this is my new groomer ski? Weird.

I'm learning how to ski them and getting adjusted to skiing more aggressively. You just have to have more courage with a bigger stiffer ski. Ultimately I think it will make me a better skier. (As mentioned in another thread, I think lengthening my poles has helped too.)

I haven't heard a PEEP out of my knees since New Years. I have to admit I'm surprised.  And I've been going hard every weekend, with little exercise during the week too. Fingers crossed.

EDIT to remove any confusion: IMO telemarking is one of many forms of real snow riding.

Harvey44 wrote

For the record - IMO telemarking is real skiing.

Certainly that is your opinion. But after telemarking last weekend at Telefest, I say LOCK THE HEEL AND SKI FOR REAL!!!


Quiver of 2 is a good idea...unless you get the Line Prophet 100...then you only need one pair of skis

My first outing on the Prophet 90's wasn't so hot at the end of January.  There was a LOT of pilot error going on at Gore that weekend, but I'd like to put that all in the past.  My initial impression is that the ski is VERY stiff. I had my bishop bomber bindings on it and it was way too much ski at 172cm (I'm 5'10", 160 lbs).  I have since put Hammerheads on and will see how they ski over the next few weekends. I have since been skiing on a set of Rossi Powderbirds (now the SC 80), bought new from telemarkdowns.com (great site, great guy!) and it is an awesome all around ski. I was skiing last week with a fellow at a bumps/tress clinic that had the same setup as me (prophet 90's and bombers) and the ski seemed really stiff for him too and he was easily 25 lbs heavier.  I think the better ski for telmark is the Line "Flite", which is the same basic ski/dimensions as the prophet but doesn't have the metal top sheet and a different type of wood core (poplar?).  SBR was just too good a sales person earlier in this thread.  My next "fatter" ski will have rocker for sure!

telerider wrote

My first outing on the Prophet 90's wasn't so hot at the end of January.  There was a LOT of pilot error going on at Gore that weekend, but I'd like to put that all in the past.  My initial impression is that the ski is VERY stiff. I had my bishop bomber bindings on it and it was way too much ski at 172cm (I'm 5'10", 160 lbs).  I have since put Hammerheads on and will see how they ski over the next few weekends. I have since been skiing on a set of Rossi Powderbirds (now the SC 80), bought new from telemarkdowns.com (great site, great guy!) and it is an awesome all around ski. I was skiing last week with a fellow at a bumps/tress clinic that had the same setup as me (prophet 90's and bombers) and the ski seemed really stiff for him too and he was easily 25 lbs heavier.  I think the better ski for telmark is the Line "Flite", which is the same basic ski/dimensions as the prophet but doesn't have the metal top sheet and a different type of wood core (poplar?).  SBR was just too good a sales person earlier in this thread.  My next "fatter" ski will have rocker for sure!

As I recall, the Karhu lineup have some skis that are the exact same dimensions as the Line Prophet series (since both lines are from the same company) but the Karhu products are not as stiff, particularly the BC version. Might be a good thing to check out if the Prophet's are too stiff.

Finding the right stiffness in a ski is just as important as dimensions. Flex (or lack thereof) is a very important characteristic depending upon how you make your turns. I'd rather fit the ski to my turn than fit my turn to the ski.

Its important not to be guided to skis by rave reviews but by what the reviews themselves are saying. Information about the reviewer, how they ski, and their preferences are perhaps more important than what the review says itself. Because almost every ski is perfectly designed for someone but I have never found a ski that is perfectly designed for everyone.

Lack of demoing options surely makes finding the right ski difficult. You often need to go out of your way to find demos of certain skis. Multi-ski rep demo days are few and far between and only at select mountains once per year. Not easy building a quiver. I've bought and sold after only one day on the mountain before. That experience made me a lot more selective and I haven't gone wrong since even without demoing.

This thread is funny like looking at clothes from the 70s.

I'm starting to think the quiver of two for me is a daily driver around 100 and a specialized hard pack ski.vs the other way around.

Meh, it's not that crazy. I was using a 2 ski Tele Quiver: 78mm waist and 97mm waist (but really soft, and no rocker not like today's 97 skis). My alpine ski quiver was 68, 78, and 105, which still isn't horrible.

Now my Tele quiver is 87 and 105 and my alpine quiver is pretty much the same (middle pair switched from 78 to 87).

I still question the need for 120mm waisted, full banana skis in the east. As it is, I only use my fatter skis 8-10 days a year here. But, ski companies have figured out how to get edgehold from 90-100mm waisted skis, and that's the big difference.

mattchuck2 wrote

I still question the need for 120mm waisted, full banana skis in the east.

I still question it out west.

Yeah I have this idea in my head that people pick a ski they think works most of the time and then something for deeper conditions.

Reality is I still want something fatter because even though they days when I need more than 100 are rare, they are gold.

mattchuck2 wrote

But, ski companies have figured out how to get edgehold from 90-100mm waisted skis, and that's the big difference.

Agree.

T... what ski do you use most at Alta?

Harvey wrote

This thread is funny like looking at clothes from the 70s.

I'm starting to think the quiver of two for me is a daily driver around 100 and a specialized hard pack ski.vs the other way around.

I've gone away from the two ski quiver on piste and have skied with a one ski quiver for the last two years. Natural snow oriented skis are finally being designed with acceptable compromises on groomed, bumps, and hardpack. The hard snow performance on wider skis is still far from ideal but sufficient enough to not warrant deciding between two different skis.

For earned turns, I still have a two ski quiver but that is a different beast and variable condition utility is less important than specialization since conditions won't deteriorate due to traffic (unless it is Stowe early season!).

My daily driver is 98 mm underfoot now.  I have a soft pair of 102mm for BC and a pair of 110mm for big days and Hickory days.  I also question the need for anything close to 120mm.  

94 or 96 for lift served.  BC is 114. Meadow skipping - 78.

..and I also have some 120's in the quiver, but that's pretty much a special occasion, or when I feel like bringing a nuke to a stone throwing.

Both my lift served skis are dated, Rossi Sick Birds (178) and Rossi T-4's; they're both pre- rocker, about 10 years old. If I was in the market for new daily drivers for skiing the lifts, then these are what I'd probably go with:https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/products/2363919992155/SCOTT-"The-Ski"-Ski/Just because....