After my last trip to Monarch, I decided that I needed to have someone take a look at my boots. I'm sure that's not the entire problem with my skiing this year, but something isn't right with my boots. So, off I went. Kevin is the "boot guru" at the shop, but Rick (the owner) is no slouch either. I have been told that Mondays and Tuesdays are the quiet days and, therefore, are the best days to get some serious attention. Of course, that wasn't the case when I showed up there.
Kevin wasn't working on Tuesday, but Rick took a look. I explained the problem as best I could, but what I'm feeling isn't easy to describe. I mean, its not as though there's a single problem. Sometimes, I feel like I'm sitting back, and other times, it feels like my weight is too far forward. Sometimes, it feels like there's not enough room in the front of my boots, other times, it feels like the back of my foot is cramped. Easy to diagnose? I think not.
Anyway, Rick put in some heel lifts, in an effort to keep my weight more consistent.
Off I went to Ski Cooper the next day. I haven't een there this year. Ski Cooper is a small area, and there's not a lot of difficult terrain. It is, however, very quiet during the week and a very good place to work on technique or try out equipment. You can easily keep skiing the same terrain, and make changes as you need to.
As it hadn't snowed in a few days, I decided to break out the Volkls. They're more of a "hard snow" ski, and that's what I found. In fact, I found generally "hard packed" snow. There's not a lot of ice at Colorado resorts, as the moisture contents of the snow isn't high enough. What you can get, though, is heavily compressed and packed snow. The skis edges can still get a good grip, but its not fluffy and soft. That's what there was at Cooper.
I spent most of the day lapping a number of Cooper's black runs, interspersed by blues. That might sound like a breakthrough, but there are blue runs at Monarch that are steeper and more difficult than the blacks at Cooper. Remember, the run designations are only relative to each other at a single area.
Were things any better with the boots? Not really. I felt a little more consistent with my weight distribution, but it was consistently too far forward. On top of that, I still can't find a way to adjust the boots to give me enough control over the skis, and still feel my feet after about 10 mins. Oh well.
Did I have fun? Yes, I did. I have fun every time I hit the slopes (well almost). Did I get the most out of the day? Probably not. Did I learn something? Yes. Did I work on some new techniques? I did.
I ended up working on larger radius turns. I seem to have gotten into the habit of making very quick, short turns and staying in the fall line an awful lot. That's a good way to ski, but it leads to high speeds. There are times, however, that I want to slow the pace. For instance, when I reach steeper terrain that I'm not comfortable with, its useful to widen out the turns a little, and spend a little more time traversing. I put in a couple of runs where I tried to use more of the slope in sections, and then tighten up the radius of the turns in other sections. Sometimes, you just need to mix things up a little.
On the subject of the boots, I still need to find out what the problem is. When I got back, I removed the heel lifts. They aren't answer. I guess that I need another trip back to the Ski Shop. I will say one thing, though. This is why I recommend using a good shop. I can go back there as many times as I need, and they will work out what the problem is. They have a 2 year boot fit guarantee. There is no problem with making adjustments, and they're as committed to getting this right as I am. Somehow, I can't see the assistants at somewhere like Sports Authority being anywhere near as interested.
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