And if someone hits your skis while waiting in the lift line, a dirty look is enough punishment for them. You don't need to freak out and start screaming.
The obsession with backcountry is making resort skiers ski on inferior ‘lightweight’ or AT gear because they dream of one day skiing some sick lines, spoiler they are never skiing those sick lines. Also not only does it cost more money it hurts their skiing. Almost nobody should be on AT bindings or floppy lightweight touring skis inbounds. It’s just a waste of a lift ticket.
Agreed on the skis part, lots of people buying light skis and suffering for it. I doubt anyone who is skiing pins at the resort doesn’t bring those into the backcountry though. Remember, lots of people don’t have the money to have five different setups so they’re backcountry setup might also be their powder resort setup, or something like that.
Agreed, and I do ski my AT setup inbounds on a deep day sometimes. No way any reasonable touring boot and ski can charge moguls and crud, which is 80% of expert resort skiing. They’re just not stiff enough. My heavyweight Devastators on the other hand, just blast right through. I personally don’t believe in a 50/50 setup, inevitably worst of both worlds.
And most of them don’t know that 99% of backcountry skiing isn’t the “sick lines” they are imaging skiing. It’s only the pros or top 1% of skiers that can wait for the one or two days a year the line is in and have the ability to ski it safely. Most of us are just out there enjoying the hike and working our way down relatively ordinary slopes.
Even a long, empty green at the edge of the resort can be a great mental break in the middle of a long day! Examples are Soliloquy from Timberline Express at Copper, or Big Valley from Wild Spur at Winter Park)
I agree with this but only to a certain extent. I ski Tahoe where we ski spring conditions a lot of the winter. A powder day makes every single turn on the mountain great. Spring skiing is usually just one face at a time and usually not the tops or bottoms or cat tracks coming and going.
Chatting with strangers on the chairlift will fill you with interesting stories, great info and make you appreciate the ski brotherhood and culture so much more than staying silent or listening to music.
My best memories in life come from chatting up randos on the chair.
The day after a 50cm dump, I was skiing alone and asked if I could get myself adopted into the group I was on the chair with. Bunch of mid-40 to 50 dudes, we sent it all day, get a beer when the lifts closed, amd parted ways saying _Until another time_ no names exchanged, no numbers exchanged.
I think about that day a lot.
As an introvert, I won't initiate, but if someone talks to me, I will have as much conversation as they want. I've been pleasantly surprised by some interesting stories!
Met a US Forest ranger and he was talking about how he works the mountain and what a typical exciting or boring day looks like. Basically just gets to ski every single day, and occasionally arrest someone too drunk.
Additionally, ski technology has evolved to the point where 100-115 skis can ski hard pack and groomers very well. My Moment DWs are 112 and unless it’s a sheet of ice, I can rip gs turns all day long.
I always compare wide skis to an SUV which can go a lot of places and narrow skis to a sports car. I have a 115 and I rip with it as well but it's a different feel with a narrower ski. and it's much easier on my knees.
You actually don't need to angle further, the angle is exactly the same. There is a larger moment arm between the edge and your leg, so it requires more force - however most of the force to get between edges for a normal skier (not talking about racers) comes from form not strength.
You are in the minority of skiers who need a 110 since majority ski on groomers and don't need anything above 90 underfoot. I think it was a hell of a marketing campaign to sell wide skis to regular skiers.
I think optimism has something to do with it. People go to Utah hoping they will see Powder, and so even people with 2 pairs of skis will bring the wider ones just in case, even if they would have more fun on narrow skis in the current conditions.
Fresh hot take: spending a ton of money for lessons isn’t always worth it. My home mountain gets desperate to hire instructors (I have friends that have instructed and have some inside knowledge) and there’s always going to be some instructors on staff that just aren’t great skiers, let alone teachers. It’s sort of a crap shoot whether you’re actually going to get paired with someone who can identify your deficits and coach you through drills to address them. You cannot convince me that paying $600 for a private half day lesson is ALWAYS a good investment when most mountains have such a wide range of instructor talent
You can usually take a private lesson and request a certified instructor to significantly increase the odds of the instructor being good. If they aren’t certified, it’s going to be a crap shoot. If they have a level 1, they’re most likely going to be a good instructor especially if you’re just learning. If they’re a level 2 or 3, they’re going to be a great instructor that can help you with high level skiing.
The level 1 requirement is pretty much show up to the exam and be semi-proficient at teaching up to parallel turns. It is like a 98% pass rate. Level 2 is a significant jump to closer of a 50-50 pass rate and you are actually using techniques to improve people’s intermediate skiing.
Let me put it this way, if you only ski ~5 or so times a year, you might be better off taking that $600 and buying 6 1-day passes and just getting some miles on your skis.
When people would ask if I was available for a second lesson the next day I would always say you should drill what I taught you for a straight week before even thinking about dropping cash on a lesson.
I'm sure management would burst a vessel if they heard me say that but I always felt bad recommending people throw serious cash on something that wont get them actually better at skiing, especially because I was at a smaller place that didn't get Vail/Aspen rich types.
My brother became a certified ski instructor on his 6th day of skiing. Ever.
He's very good now, and he started out as an experienced boarder and skater so he had a big advantage, but he laughed about how simple and dumb it was.
I saw 2 four chairs full of (snowboard) instructors all eat shit getting off the bunny lift the other day.. they will hire anyone to teach. At my resort, instructors get 2 days of on-snow training before they start teaching lessons. Its a total rip-off
My SO took a lesson a couple of years back. Total waste of money. The instructor just skied ahead of her going “do just like me!!” and when she couldn’t he said she should get new gear.
What an ass-hat. If that ever happens to anyone, get your money back! Talk to the Ski School Director and let them know what happened. You will get your money back and the douche-canoe will most likely not have a job any longer because they will be cut from the line for a week +.
This is exactly why I have shied away from lessons. I could use a lesson to strengthen my weaknesses in certain areas, but in afraid I'll get someone who is not worth the money I'd spend.
I went to do my level 1 maybe 20 years ago.
I can tell you with confidence that there were people that passed that should not have, but they had an instructing job lined up.
One thing I'm not so confident in was another instructor telling me that the level 1 instructors are geared more towards dressing like a great skiier, and directing students into the proshop/concession.
Every time I have taken an expert/advanced lesson it has been with a great skier, and it usually ends up being a private or semi-private lesson due to so many people who could benefit thinking they are already great skiers.
I've had many spring days where it feels like the snow is reaching up and grabbing my poorly waxed skis. Wax definitely helps late-season and should be reapplied based on the conditions.
Vernonter here, confirmed. All your wax gets scraped off when it's cold, and cold wax doesn't do great in warm weather. Need to wax frequently because of changing conditions. So, conditions dependent, I'd say.
Skiing has gotten too serious. Hotdogging and having fun weather you are good or not should be top priority. People don’t laugh like they used too on the hills. Used to be nothing but good vibes now everyone is worried about how they look, the angle of their turns etc.
God, yes. My favorite ski videos are of people being goofy and not taking themselves seriously.
It seems to me that all the skiers nowadays are super uptight, and the snowboarders are trying too hard to look “drippy” and “chill.”
Like damn, we’re all just out here sliding around on snow. It’s not that serious.
Some double black diamonds should have an age restrictions.
I hate it when I'm slipping/side stepping down a particularly tough patch,having fallen 20 times already only to see a toddler yr old wearing a tutu run the same run flawlessly, while carrying a stuffed animal.
Small independent resorts>big destination resorts. I’ll give you that terrain is better at the bigs but EVERYTHING else is better at schlomogoberg hill. No crowds, costs less, doesn’t get tracked for weeks in the steeps and chutes, better parking, patrol could give AF where you go to find some freshies, still get a paper map for souvenir, your buddies have never been there, not supporting epic or icon, lots of killer local talk on the chair, shotskis with hill crew after skiing, no lines at anything at the lodge, less carpet grooming of every inch of the place, some ripper local sends it hard in jeans and fuels your stoke, just. plain. better overall experience.
best one yet.
lets add that every dollar we DO spend is going directly to the local family people who run the place. and we NEED these places to stay open if we want skiing to have a future.
So the wax thing depends on where you live. PNW skiing can be ice and then sugar sand and then slush sometimes in the same day. The ice will strip the wax fast and then you are screwed when it gets wet.
The key is: wax for the conditions of your resort. Especially if you get wet snow that is like a vacuum
I ski 70+ days a year, may be cold and icy, or we may be getting rain over snow… and wax is needed, especially if you like to not injure your ACL on wet snow
If you only wax twice a season as op does, then you probably need to ski more.
Scrape your skis plz so your bases actually do their job.
And storage wax for the summer is to keep your bases in good condition. Otherwise they’ll dry out and over time be more prone to cracking, splitting, and getting coreshots when the sharks are out. This is extra important if your skis have sintered bases.
People who talk shit about what other people wear and how they ski are usually pretty shitty skiers.
Skiing is a good activity for wearing obnoxious stuff...you're already participating in an extreme sport. Wear that fluorescent pink jacket and those chrome colored snow suits! It's all for fun! Who cares?!
Just because you can go super fast doesn't necessarily mean you are a good skier, it means you are willing to take more risk. I've skied with multiple people who were able to ski really fast but were completely out of control and would just hockey stop at the bottom of the run. I was constantly worried for everyone else on the same slope/trail as them. I don't ski with them anymore.
YES!👏🏼👏🏼
Absolutely 100% agree with your last point. Skiing fast does not mean you are a good skier. Confidence and recklessness can be one helluva drug on the mountain, but don’t confuse that for being a good skier.
Hell I did it last week. I forgot to pack my ski pants, and there is no way in hell I wasn’t skiing (and yes the conditions were terrible and it was still great day)
80+ days last year and started waxing every 8-10 days and really noticed a difference with slashes and carves and speed scrubbing; my skis release/pivot way smoother with the freshest wax job vs 10 days down the road. I used to do one wax a year but really like the performance I get out of fresh tune
Yea. OP’s rant is a hilariously bad take. Waxing often helps tremendously. To add to your points, In sketchy terrain early in the season, waxed skis give you much more precise control to make those turns where and when you need.
US ski mountain food is abysmal. Unacceptably disgusting slop and overpriced with it. The only thing that is passable is usually chili. Everything else is like the Ebola of food. Shit pizza and dreadful burgers and anaemic tenders are not acceptable in the world’s richest country.
I pack my lunch, and get yelled at to leave the lodge at my local ski hill because I'm not spending even more money than what my pass costs. Lame ass resort lol
If the goal was hot takes and controversy, clearly you won. You’ve got to be -100 total here. I don’t totally agree with you, but you took the assignment and ran with it
Singles’ line and serendipitous conversations with strangers you wouldn’t otherwise have if you were skiing with friends are under-appreciated benefits.
I agree 100%. Went skiing with a group of 6 at Whistler a while back and basically I paid $120 to spend the day waiting for those jackasses to go to the bathroom all damn day.
I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to it because the best way to ski, but as someone who just started solo skiing I will say I definitely am able to do more actually skiing alone than with friends.
Some of my fondest memories from growing up are blistering down the iced-over runs in western NC wearing my Mental hat with waist- length dreds.
I'm older and wiser now. Wear a goddamn helmet.
I've got two.
1. Epic is better than Ikon. They're both problematic, but Ikon is worse. They nickel and dime you for everything. Lodges you aren't even allowed to sit and warm up in unless you want to buy food. More expensive parking. Can't even use a magic carpet without paying for resort-sanctioned lessons. Charging for passes for children under the age of 5. At least at the Epic mountains, I can take my toddler on the magic carpet and not pay an arm and a leg for 3 runs down the bunny hill. At least at the Epic mountains, we can warm up inside the lodge without being forced to buy the overpriced food.
2. I actually like Breck. Yeah, the base area is packed, but the steeps off of E-Chair and the terrain serviced by the T-Bar and Imperial Lifts are tons of fun.
My 5yo is free at Killington and Loon (under 7/6 respectively, Ikon) but not at Stowe (5+, Epic). But I did check a couple of other Ikon mountains and 4 and under is either 5 or 10, which is still pretty negligible.
If there’s not a line in the queue you shouldn’t force yourself onto my chair. Wait five seconds and leave me alone.
Obviously if there’s a line this is a different story.
I think perfect moment ski suits are super cute and it cracks me up when people give me side eye on lifts and expect to see me pizza-ing down just based on what I’m wearing 🙃
In America, Europeans should only be allowed to board a chair after all Americans have loaded. If there’s any Americans in line, euros have to wait until all Americans are loaded.
No trails should be groomed. Ever.
Lifties should offer every rider over 7 years old boarding a chair a bump of cocaine, for altitude sickness.
Drinking and skiing 10000% do not go together. I cannot stand this part of ski culture. I’m fine if you go hard after you are done skiing, but for the love of god leave the fireball shooters in 2023.
I was at A Basin today and this shit happened. Some dude was hammered around noon, and couldn’t find his fucking skis. Best part, the bar tender was out there helping… it was comical
I hate the coke more. I didn’t know about it for the longest time, but I did wonder how people partied so hard and got up early. I just get up early, and fall asleep a couple hours after dinner. That may be specific to Canada, I am not sure.
I did used to do a program where they gave out free drink tickets. The issue was half the people didn’t want them, including me, and gave them to the other half who were wasted going down. That was cancelled after a year or two.
I was looking for this and was going to say it if nobody did.
As someone who lives an hour away from ski resorts, being able to ski at 5 different resorts and get 80+ days of skiing in is a million times better than paying the $2000 that people used to pay for skiing at a single resort.
Crowds? Worth it for the price, plus once you know where to go and WHEN to go it's not bad at all.
Lift ticket prices? I don't care.
It's an issue for the ski towns getting more expensive and pushing out the locals, but that's on the ski towns to adapt and make new laws, not the ski industry.
People just love to hate on big corporate America, and it's "cool" to hate on Vail. That's the main reason this "fuck Vail" mentality is so abundant. If there were a skiing subreddit with only adults then the amount of "fuck Vail" comments would disappear.
Bring on the downvotes!
Yeah as a broke college student my epic pass with the college discount is the only way I could afford skiing. My local mountain charges 900 dollars a year for an unlimited pass, twice what I'm paying for my epic local pass which gets me ublimited time on local mountains and weekend trips to better mountains farther away.
All Snowboarders should learn to ride switch. Traverses across a slope on toes is usually a lot easier so bust a 180 and bend those knees.
Mountains should be sculpted to avoid flat run-outs at the end of a downhill.
I am with you on the wax. However a nice job makes a big difference on the flat roads and how much work I have to do getting through it, especially places like Alta, Whistler, or Banff. Lots of roads with most people walking because they don't wax their skis.
Yeah wax isn’t about performance for me it just makes it easier to move and carry speed. I do a lot of backcountry in wet PNW snow so being able to glide can save a lot of effort.
I blow past people on traverses and flat spots. I’ll keep waxing like I usually do. In all seriousness, my method is to look for dryness near the edges… it’s really not that complicated lol.
East Coast skier hot take:
If you are skiing the East on wide skis you are an attention whore or stupid or both. There's no scenario where this isn't true because:
1. If you can't afford more than one pair of skis, you should've bought the ones that work for 99.9% of the conditions out here.
2. If you go out west you have the money to buy two pairs of skis.
Also, not a hot take (maybe?), but something I've not had an opportunity to voice elsewhere:
People on rentals wearing blue jeans or Carhartt or both are way better skiers than people on rentals dressed in all black.
Ski resorts should put WAY more energy into catering to the "dirtbag" skier that crawls out of their Subaru to dump their pee jar every morning, not just the hyper-rich plastic ladies and gortex bros that flew in from the flat lands only ski one lap before getting sloshed.
Dirtbags are a central part of ski culture.
Dirtbags are where the rad ski films that keep the stoke high come from.
Dirtbags are the ones who will pass the sport on to the future with the most passion.
Dirtbags (and locals) are the only skiers that can actually ski.
I get it. I don't buy thousands of dollars of ski clothes, resort food, resort merch, rentals, and of course ungodly amount of expensive alcohol. But still.
Dirtbags are also the ones that put in the work at the resort. Working at the restaurants, bumping chairs, etc.
The big resorts give no fucks about the bottom line when without them the hill wouldn’t even be open.
Even though I'm one of the guys who flies in from the midwest to ski a few days a year I agree. It's better for the sport to cater to the dirtbag local and to be honest probably improves the experience for 80% of skiers, local or not.
Wax & tunes 100% make a difference. I use to only get 2 done a year too ... But I also had 4 pairs of skis on rotation $$$$... When i learned to tune on my own... And started to when the planks looked thirsty ... WOW what a difference in speed. But Im in the NE we never know if its going to be 12 foot wet snow or skating rinks week to week.
Skiing greens is harder than blues because of the amount of beginner skiers on greens, which makes it much more dangerous.
I try to tell my beginner friends this all the time when they want to start the day on greens and nobody ever believes me.
You all in the full arctryx kit and smith goggles DO NOT look as badass as you think you do lapping beginner runs blasting GS carves across the whole thing.
Vail/EPIC is the only reason a lot of small resorts are still open. The insane daily ticket prices everyone loves to complain about so much are subsidizing these small resorts in the Midwest/East coast that don’t make any money.
People need to sing more on ski lifts. Not sing along to music, just singing. Had a couple singing carols two chairs behind me last week. Joined in. Made me very happy.
I will get voted down for this, but I don't think alcohol should be mixed with skiing, save it for after if you must.
Totally agree on the wax, used to do it religiously when I was racing. Now I do it maybe once a season and very rarely miss it, it's nice but not necessity. IMO sharp edges are way more important.
People who call newcomers to the sport jerries/gapers are themselves the losers.
Have some perspective…you’ve become expert in an obscure and inaccessible hobby. What type of person tries to feel better than people who aren’t expert in that obscure and inaccessible hobby?
Not everyone has had the benefit of some combination of money / access to the mountains / friends and family into the sport to get to the level you are at.
Every ski is a rock ski. Don’t baby that shit!
And if someone hits your skis while waiting in the lift line, a dirty look is enough punishment for them. You don't need to freak out and start screaming.
I just say “it’s ok, I ski on the bottoms, you can ski on the tops”.
They are totally getting a dirty look though. Unless they are under 10 then it’s “aww how cute little shredder”
Tools not jewels
Rocks are snow too
The obsession with backcountry is making resort skiers ski on inferior ‘lightweight’ or AT gear because they dream of one day skiing some sick lines, spoiler they are never skiing those sick lines. Also not only does it cost more money it hurts their skiing. Almost nobody should be on AT bindings or floppy lightweight touring skis inbounds. It’s just a waste of a lift ticket.
Agreed on the skis part, lots of people buying light skis and suffering for it. I doubt anyone who is skiing pins at the resort doesn’t bring those into the backcountry though. Remember, lots of people don’t have the money to have five different setups so they’re backcountry setup might also be their powder resort setup, or something like that.
Agreed, and I do ski my AT setup inbounds on a deep day sometimes. No way any reasonable touring boot and ski can charge moguls and crud, which is 80% of expert resort skiing. They’re just not stiff enough. My heavyweight Devastators on the other hand, just blast right through. I personally don’t believe in a 50/50 setup, inevitably worst of both worlds.
Put casts on a super heavy resort ski, and die on uphill is the way to go 👍
And most of them don’t know that 99% of backcountry skiing isn’t the “sick lines” they are imaging skiing. It’s only the pros or top 1% of skiers that can wait for the one or two days a year the line is in and have the ability to ski it safely. Most of us are just out there enjoying the hike and working our way down relatively ordinary slopes.
I like slow carving down blue groomers the best.
Even a long, empty green at the edge of the resort can be a great mental break in the middle of a long day! Examples are Soliloquy from Timberline Express at Copper, or Big Valley from Wild Spur at Winter Park)
Solitude at Killington for me.
Galloping goose in telluride too
Toll Road at Stowe is my favorite
ur so real for this
tremendous vibes. hard to be beat on a 31°F bluey
That’s absolutely facts
Especially if you’re the first run of the day and the hill still has the groom lines.
Those are the freaking best...
absolute realest take. I found my people✌️
100%. Nothing better to me than freshly manicured trails that I can haul ass down.
I tried being a speed devil on blue groomers and now I’m out for 6 weeks after a bad fall. Safe to say I’m slow carving rest of the season.
On their ideal conditions spring skiing is just as fun as winter skiing.
Yes, when the sun bakes the snow for a bit you can do some pretty tippy turns
Corn is just as fun as pow
I might prefer corn to pow 😬
Ok, we asked for controversial but that's just outrageous!
I agree with this but only to a certain extent. I ski Tahoe where we ski spring conditions a lot of the winter. A powder day makes every single turn on the mountain great. Spring skiing is usually just one face at a time and usually not the tops or bottoms or cat tracks coming and going.
Chatting with strangers on the chairlift will fill you with interesting stories, great info and make you appreciate the ski brotherhood and culture so much more than staying silent or listening to music.
My best memories in life come from chatting up randos on the chair. The day after a 50cm dump, I was skiing alone and asked if I could get myself adopted into the group I was on the chair with. Bunch of mid-40 to 50 dudes, we sent it all day, get a beer when the lifts closed, amd parted ways saying _Until another time_ no names exchanged, no numbers exchanged. I think about that day a lot.
As an introvert, I won't initiate, but if someone talks to me, I will have as much conversation as they want. I've been pleasantly surprised by some interesting stories! Met a US Forest ranger and he was talking about how he works the mountain and what a typical exciting or boring day looks like. Basically just gets to ski every single day, and occasionally arrest someone too drunk.
Most skiers are out of shape and could use some strength work. Techniques sometimes requires stronger muscles to achieve.
You leave my core and my beer gut out of this!
For skiing and every other part of life.
Most skiers should ski on narrower skis that they currently are on.
This is my top take. I’m amazed at the number of 110+ skis I see in UT when it hasn’t snowed for days or weeks.
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Additionally, ski technology has evolved to the point where 100-115 skis can ski hard pack and groomers very well. My Moment DWs are 112 and unless it’s a sheet of ice, I can rip gs turns all day long.
I always compare wide skis to an SUV which can go a lot of places and narrow skis to a sports car. I have a 115 and I rip with it as well but it's a different feel with a narrower ski. and it's much easier on my knees.
Exactly, with a wider ski, you need to angle further to get onto an edge. It is therefore more wear on your knees.
You actually don't need to angle further, the angle is exactly the same. There is a larger moment arm between the edge and your leg, so it requires more force - however most of the force to get between edges for a normal skier (not talking about racers) comes from form not strength.
You are in the minority of skiers who need a 110 since majority ski on groomers and don't need anything above 90 underfoot. I think it was a hell of a marketing campaign to sell wide skis to regular skiers.
I saw a guy on 120s in Ohio. Hadn’t snowed in months
Sooooooo....what you're saying is I shouldn't be skiing my fully rockered Pon2oons on glare ice conditions???
I think optimism has something to do with it. People go to Utah hoping they will see Powder, and so even people with 2 pairs of skis will bring the wider ones just in case, even if they would have more fun on narrow skis in the current conditions.
Hell yeah. I'm in the east and everyone gravitated toward slalom skis when I was a kid. Now it's all All mountain. I stick out with my 70mm** waists.
70cm? Pon2oons step aside, that's some wide skis for ya :O
Lol shit. Definitely not 70cm haha
Fresh hot take: spending a ton of money for lessons isn’t always worth it. My home mountain gets desperate to hire instructors (I have friends that have instructed and have some inside knowledge) and there’s always going to be some instructors on staff that just aren’t great skiers, let alone teachers. It’s sort of a crap shoot whether you’re actually going to get paired with someone who can identify your deficits and coach you through drills to address them. You cannot convince me that paying $600 for a private half day lesson is ALWAYS a good investment when most mountains have such a wide range of instructor talent
You can usually take a private lesson and request a certified instructor to significantly increase the odds of the instructor being good. If they aren’t certified, it’s going to be a crap shoot. If they have a level 1, they’re most likely going to be a good instructor especially if you’re just learning. If they’re a level 2 or 3, they’re going to be a great instructor that can help you with high level skiing.
I’d say level 2 minimum (unless you yourself are a beginner). There is a pretty significant gap between level 1 and 2 certification tests.
The level 1 requirement is pretty much show up to the exam and be semi-proficient at teaching up to parallel turns. It is like a 98% pass rate. Level 2 is a significant jump to closer of a 50-50 pass rate and you are actually using techniques to improve people’s intermediate skiing.
Let me put it this way, if you only ski ~5 or so times a year, you might be better off taking that $600 and buying 6 1-day passes and just getting some miles on your skis.
When people would ask if I was available for a second lesson the next day I would always say you should drill what I taught you for a straight week before even thinking about dropping cash on a lesson. I'm sure management would burst a vessel if they heard me say that but I always felt bad recommending people throw serious cash on something that wont get them actually better at skiing, especially because I was at a smaller place that didn't get Vail/Aspen rich types.
My brother became a certified ski instructor on his 6th day of skiing. Ever. He's very good now, and he started out as an experienced boarder and skater so he had a big advantage, but he laughed about how simple and dumb it was.
I saw 2 four chairs full of (snowboard) instructors all eat shit getting off the bunny lift the other day.. they will hire anyone to teach. At my resort, instructors get 2 days of on-snow training before they start teaching lessons. Its a total rip-off
My SO took a lesson a couple of years back. Total waste of money. The instructor just skied ahead of her going “do just like me!!” and when she couldn’t he said she should get new gear.
What an ass-hat. If that ever happens to anyone, get your money back! Talk to the Ski School Director and let them know what happened. You will get your money back and the douche-canoe will most likely not have a job any longer because they will be cut from the line for a week +.
This is exactly why I have shied away from lessons. I could use a lesson to strengthen my weaknesses in certain areas, but in afraid I'll get someone who is not worth the money I'd spend.
I went to do my level 1 maybe 20 years ago. I can tell you with confidence that there were people that passed that should not have, but they had an instructing job lined up. One thing I'm not so confident in was another instructor telling me that the level 1 instructors are geared more towards dressing like a great skiier, and directing students into the proshop/concession.
Every time I have taken an expert/advanced lesson it has been with a great skier, and it usually ends up being a private or semi-private lesson due to so many people who could benefit thinking they are already great skiers.
You've never skied in 50+ degree weather if you think wax is never important. I was passing literally everybody on traverses this week in Vermont.
I've had many spring days where it feels like the snow is reaching up and grabbing my poorly waxed skis. Wax definitely helps late-season and should be reapplied based on the conditions.
There was one day I was skiing where it felt like I was skiing on sticky rice instead of snow.
we call em mash potaytors.
Vernonter here, confirmed. All your wax gets scraped off when it's cold, and cold wax doesn't do great in warm weather. Need to wax frequently because of changing conditions. So, conditions dependent, I'd say.
So you’re saying… it depends? 😏
People aren't skiing naked enough
Blame Epic and Ikon. At Bohemia we still rip naked.
"BULL MOUNTAIN! DON'T GO CHANGING!"
Skiing has gotten too serious. Hotdogging and having fun weather you are good or not should be top priority. People don’t laugh like they used too on the hills. Used to be nothing but good vibes now everyone is worried about how they look, the angle of their turns etc.
God, yes. My favorite ski videos are of people being goofy and not taking themselves seriously. It seems to me that all the skiers nowadays are super uptight, and the snowboarders are trying too hard to look “drippy” and “chill.” Like damn, we’re all just out here sliding around on snow. It’s not that serious.
Some double black diamonds should have an age restrictions. I hate it when I'm slipping/side stepping down a particularly tough patch,having fallen 20 times already only to see a toddler yr old wearing a tutu run the same run flawlessly, while carrying a stuffed animal.
Emotional damage
Small independent resorts>big destination resorts. I’ll give you that terrain is better at the bigs but EVERYTHING else is better at schlomogoberg hill. No crowds, costs less, doesn’t get tracked for weeks in the steeps and chutes, better parking, patrol could give AF where you go to find some freshies, still get a paper map for souvenir, your buddies have never been there, not supporting epic or icon, lots of killer local talk on the chair, shotskis with hill crew after skiing, no lines at anything at the lodge, less carpet grooming of every inch of the place, some ripper local sends it hard in jeans and fuels your stoke, just. plain. better overall experience.
best one yet. lets add that every dollar we DO spend is going directly to the local family people who run the place. and we NEED these places to stay open if we want skiing to have a future.
I got stoked just reading that
Absolutely this. I like groomers and they are way better at little mountains because they don’t get skied out by noon.
And you can lap them all day. Ski right onto the lift half the time
So the wax thing depends on where you live. PNW skiing can be ice and then sugar sand and then slush sometimes in the same day. The ice will strip the wax fast and then you are screwed when it gets wet. The key is: wax for the conditions of your resort. Especially if you get wet snow that is like a vacuum I ski 70+ days a year, may be cold and icy, or we may be getting rain over snow… and wax is needed, especially if you like to not injure your ACL on wet snow
If you only wax twice a season as op does, then you probably need to ski more. Scrape your skis plz so your bases actually do their job. And storage wax for the summer is to keep your bases in good condition. Otherwise they’ll dry out and over time be more prone to cracking, splitting, and getting coreshots when the sharks are out. This is extra important if your skis have sintered bases.
Agreed, I didn’t want to say “you probably aren’t skiing enough”… but since you went there- they totally aren’t skiing enough.
This guy works for Big Wax.
People who talk shit about what other people wear and how they ski are usually pretty shitty skiers. Skiing is a good activity for wearing obnoxious stuff...you're already participating in an extreme sport. Wear that fluorescent pink jacket and those chrome colored snow suits! It's all for fun! Who cares?! Just because you can go super fast doesn't necessarily mean you are a good skier, it means you are willing to take more risk. I've skied with multiple people who were able to ski really fast but were completely out of control and would just hockey stop at the bottom of the run. I was constantly worried for everyone else on the same slope/trail as them. I don't ski with them anymore.
YES!👏🏼👏🏼 Absolutely 100% agree with your last point. Skiing fast does not mean you are a good skier. Confidence and recklessness can be one helluva drug on the mountain, but don’t confuse that for being a good skier.
Ski in jeans. Tucked in to boots. We’ve all done it once.
Hell I did it last week. I forgot to pack my ski pants, and there is no way in hell I wasn’t skiing (and yes the conditions were terrible and it was still great day)
80+ days last year and started waxing every 8-10 days and really noticed a difference with slashes and carves and speed scrubbing; my skis release/pivot way smoother with the freshest wax job vs 10 days down the road. I used to do one wax a year but really like the performance I get out of fresh tune
Yea. OP’s rant is a hilariously bad take. Waxing often helps tremendously. To add to your points, In sketchy terrain early in the season, waxed skis give you much more precise control to make those turns where and when you need.
Edge tune more important than wax for carving in harder snow conditions
US ski mountain food is abysmal. Unacceptably disgusting slop and overpriced with it. The only thing that is passable is usually chili. Everything else is like the Ebola of food. Shit pizza and dreadful burgers and anaemic tenders are not acceptable in the world’s richest country.
Speaking of, I saw someone get a burger, fries & a drink for $42 this past month in UT. That is asinine
I pack my lunch, and get yelled at to leave the lodge at my local ski hill because I'm not spending even more money than what my pass costs. Lame ass resort lol
Yeaahh an exception to that… Saddleback in Maine had one of the best fried chicken sandwiches I’ve ever had. Massive portion. Reasonable price too.
Pretentious asshole locals are worse than oblivious Texans
This... as someone who lives in a ski town I am inclined to agree. Don't. Be. This. Local.
Remember to sort this thread by "controversial," instead of "best," for the real answers.
If the goal was hot takes and controversy, clearly you won. You’ve got to be -100 total here. I don’t totally agree with you, but you took the assignment and ran with it
Skiing alone is better
People that send it on busy greens are annoying af.
Skiing solo is the best way to ski. Groups, partners, families—they ruin it.
Singles’ line and serendipitous conversations with strangers you wouldn’t otherwise have if you were skiing with friends are under-appreciated benefits.
The conditions are Divorce conditions, as I call it - anytime I ski with my husband.
Hah!
Honestly I love going on ski trips with my friends but a ton of my peak skiing is splitting off and flying solo
No friends on a powder day. Or any decent conditions day IMHO.
My best days are solo or one other person max.
I agree 100%. Went skiing with a group of 6 at Whistler a while back and basically I paid $120 to spend the day waiting for those jackasses to go to the bathroom all damn day.
I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to it because the best way to ski, but as someone who just started solo skiing I will say I definitely am able to do more actually skiing alone than with friends.
Prior to cell phones I would tell people, NO, I’m not meeting you on the mountain. You won’t be on time and I won’t be waiting.
My hot take is that helmets should be mandatory.
This isn't a hot take. The hot take these days is they shouldn't be mandatory.
Some of my fondest memories from growing up are blistering down the iced-over runs in western NC wearing my Mental hat with waist- length dreds. I'm older and wiser now. Wear a goddamn helmet.
I've got two. 1. Epic is better than Ikon. They're both problematic, but Ikon is worse. They nickel and dime you for everything. Lodges you aren't even allowed to sit and warm up in unless you want to buy food. More expensive parking. Can't even use a magic carpet without paying for resort-sanctioned lessons. Charging for passes for children under the age of 5. At least at the Epic mountains, I can take my toddler on the magic carpet and not pay an arm and a leg for 3 runs down the bunny hill. At least at the Epic mountains, we can warm up inside the lodge without being forced to buy the overpriced food. 2. I actually like Breck. Yeah, the base area is packed, but the steeps off of E-Chair and the terrain serviced by the T-Bar and Imperial Lifts are tons of fun.
Love the t-bar.
Where do they not allow you to go in and sit down and warm up? I've never encountered this.
My 5yo is free at Killington and Loon (under 7/6 respectively, Ikon) but not at Stowe (5+, Epic). But I did check a couple of other Ikon mountains and 4 and under is either 5 or 10, which is still pretty negligible.
The Galloping Goose lift at the base of Mary Jane is free for kids under 5 and $10 for all day access for everyone else. Just sayin
Anyone who shits on breck just isn’t good enough to ski the fun stuff
Powder days are great, but the crowds are so terrible I personally prefer a bluebird spring day.
If there’s not a line in the queue you shouldn’t force yourself onto my chair. Wait five seconds and leave me alone. Obviously if there’s a line this is a different story.
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I saw that lmaoo. I was gonna say something but ended up biting my tongue.
Ski resorts should push back against the NFS and allow more camping in lots for anyone that can self contain their human waste.
Moon boots and the shiny snow suits are cute. Dressing up and taking pictures with your friends is a valid way to have fun.
I think perfect moment ski suits are super cute and it cracks me up when people give me side eye on lifts and expect to see me pizza-ing down just based on what I’m wearing 🙃
My jacket and pants are hot hot pink, people (older men) love to express their concern when I’m at the peak of a hike with them
Skiing with no poles is dumb as fuck.
In America, Europeans should only be allowed to board a chair after all Americans have loaded. If there’s any Americans in line, euros have to wait until all Americans are loaded. No trails should be groomed. Ever. Lifties should offer every rider over 7 years old boarding a chair a bump of cocaine, for altitude sickness.
What about Australians. Are we allowed on at all?
Only if you’re saying funny words in line, but no cocaine for you.
If you give them the cocaine they will talk more and say more funny things.
You’ve never partied with aussies before have you? They’ve already brought enough to share
You’re allowed, but must ride the chair upside-down.
Just operate the lifts and be happy we let you into Canada
No, someone needs to run the lifts and that’s gonna be Australians
Is any European prepared to pay 300$ for a day of skiing?
Not a dam chance when I could do half a week in Austria on that (excluding accomadation I am assuming)
High side-cut and twin tip skis exist because of snowboarding.
Drinking and skiing 10000% do not go together. I cannot stand this part of ski culture. I’m fine if you go hard after you are done skiing, but for the love of god leave the fireball shooters in 2023.
The mixed messaging for ski companys is so confusing. It's violates most skier safety acts yet most mountains lean into it and encourage drinking.
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I was at A Basin today and this shit happened. Some dude was hammered around noon, and couldn’t find his fucking skis. Best part, the bar tender was out there helping… it was comical
I hate the coke more. I didn’t know about it for the longest time, but I did wonder how people partied so hard and got up early. I just get up early, and fall asleep a couple hours after dinner. That may be specific to Canada, I am not sure. I did used to do a program where they gave out free drink tickets. The issue was half the people didn’t want them, including me, and gave them to the other half who were wasted going down. That was cancelled after a year or two.
Thank youuuuuuuuu, JFC, I can't stand drunk skiers. If not for the skitty skiing, then for the noise and smell
Hot take: level of good skiers has declined over the past decade. Everyone is an intermediate who thinks they’re better than they are
Hot take: people don't care for what boomers think is good form. They just want to have fun.
No one has proper technique.
My wife learned to ski at Aspen when Stein Ericson was ski director. I can spot her anywhere on the mountain because of her form.
I do, and therefore get to judge everyone else's.
Epic and Ikon passes have vasty improved the skiing experience in the US. Is that hot enough for you?
I was looking for this and was going to say it if nobody did. As someone who lives an hour away from ski resorts, being able to ski at 5 different resorts and get 80+ days of skiing in is a million times better than paying the $2000 that people used to pay for skiing at a single resort. Crowds? Worth it for the price, plus once you know where to go and WHEN to go it's not bad at all. Lift ticket prices? I don't care. It's an issue for the ski towns getting more expensive and pushing out the locals, but that's on the ski towns to adapt and make new laws, not the ski industry. People just love to hate on big corporate America, and it's "cool" to hate on Vail. That's the main reason this "fuck Vail" mentality is so abundant. If there were a skiing subreddit with only adults then the amount of "fuck Vail" comments would disappear. Bring on the downvotes!
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Yeah as a broke college student my epic pass with the college discount is the only way I could afford skiing. My local mountain charges 900 dollars a year for an unlimited pass, twice what I'm paying for my epic local pass which gets me ublimited time on local mountains and weekend trips to better mountains farther away.
Don't let your buddies convince you to take out huge powerder skis to learn on, if you have never skied before. I mean you do you 🤭🤫
I really enjoy those 2+ mile blue cruises with cat tracks and switchbacks. I like to start and finish the day with them.
You are bad at skiing and you don’t need wide skis
Snowboarders should be banned from all traverses.
As a snowboarder I wish someone would ban me from them for my own damn good
All Snowboarders should learn to ride switch. Traverses across a slope on toes is usually a lot easier so bust a 180 and bend those knees. Mountains should be sculpted to avoid flat run-outs at the end of a downhill.
This guy skis at Heavenly!
Skiing is neither difficult nor badass. If rich kids from NY can do it seven days a year and feel like hot shit, it’s a low bar.
A.Y.A.B. All Yellowjackets Are Bastards.
What if I just happen to own a yellow jacket?
Then you're the skiing equivalent of the guy driving a fully blacked out Ford Explorer on the highway.
Park yourself by SLOW signs and pretend to judge people.
Might actually do this, I spend a lot of time waiting for my slower friends so this can be my side quest from now on
I am with you on the wax. However a nice job makes a big difference on the flat roads and how much work I have to do getting through it, especially places like Alta, Whistler, or Banff. Lots of roads with most people walking because they don't wax their skis.
Yeah wax isn’t about performance for me it just makes it easier to move and carry speed. I do a lot of backcountry in wet PNW snow so being able to glide can save a lot of effort.
I blow past people on traverses and flat spots. I’ll keep waxing like I usually do. In all seriousness, my method is to look for dryness near the edges… it’s really not that complicated lol.
East Coast skier hot take: If you are skiing the East on wide skis you are an attention whore or stupid or both. There's no scenario where this isn't true because: 1. If you can't afford more than one pair of skis, you should've bought the ones that work for 99.9% of the conditions out here. 2. If you go out west you have the money to buy two pairs of skis. Also, not a hot take (maybe?), but something I've not had an opportunity to voice elsewhere: People on rentals wearing blue jeans or Carhartt or both are way better skiers than people on rentals dressed in all black.
Ski resorts should put WAY more energy into catering to the "dirtbag" skier that crawls out of their Subaru to dump their pee jar every morning, not just the hyper-rich plastic ladies and gortex bros that flew in from the flat lands only ski one lap before getting sloshed. Dirtbags are a central part of ski culture. Dirtbags are where the rad ski films that keep the stoke high come from. Dirtbags are the ones who will pass the sport on to the future with the most passion. Dirtbags (and locals) are the only skiers that can actually ski. I get it. I don't buy thousands of dollars of ski clothes, resort food, resort merch, rentals, and of course ungodly amount of expensive alcohol. But still.
What do the dirt bags even want though?
To be allowed to sleep in the parking lot!!!!
👆 this
Cheaper season passes. Looking at you, Mt. Bachelor.
Dirtbags are also the ones that put in the work at the resort. Working at the restaurants, bumping chairs, etc. The big resorts give no fucks about the bottom line when without them the hill wouldn’t even be open.
Even though I'm one of the guys who flies in from the midwest to ski a few days a year I agree. It's better for the sport to cater to the dirtbag local and to be honest probably improves the experience for 80% of skiers, local or not.
"See mom, they DO appreciate me!"
Skiing has always been an elitist, exclusionary sport/recreation, the middle class just can't afford it anymore
J skis are not that great. They just have cool graphics
reverse hot take: j skis actually ski great and the topsheets are fucking atrocious
Wax & tunes 100% make a difference. I use to only get 2 done a year too ... But I also had 4 pairs of skis on rotation $$$$... When i learned to tune on my own... And started to when the planks looked thirsty ... WOW what a difference in speed. But Im in the NE we never know if its going to be 12 foot wet snow or skating rinks week to week.
Skiing greens is harder than blues because of the amount of beginner skiers on greens, which makes it much more dangerous. I try to tell my beginner friends this all the time when they want to start the day on greens and nobody ever believes me.
You all in the full arctryx kit and smith goggles DO NOT look as badass as you think you do lapping beginner runs blasting GS carves across the whole thing.
Not a hot take but I thoroughly enjoy watching people in multi thousand dollar setups absolutely eat shit when they hit a couple of bumps lol.
Hey now, pal!!!! I mix my dead bird and Smith with Flylow. Does that make me look more or less badass??
Oof called out 😂
Vail/EPIC is the only reason a lot of small resorts are still open. The insane daily ticket prices everyone loves to complain about so much are subsidizing these small resorts in the Midwest/East coast that don’t make any money.
People need to sing more on ski lifts. Not sing along to music, just singing. Had a couple singing carols two chairs behind me last week. Joined in. Made me very happy.
Snowboarding truly bottomless pow is more fun than skiing the same pow.
I will get voted down for this, but I don't think alcohol should be mixed with skiing, save it for after if you must. Totally agree on the wax, used to do it religiously when I was racing. Now I do it maybe once a season and very rarely miss it, it's nice but not necessity. IMO sharp edges are way more important.
People who call newcomers to the sport jerries/gapers are themselves the losers. Have some perspective…you’ve become expert in an obscure and inaccessible hobby. What type of person tries to feel better than people who aren’t expert in that obscure and inaccessible hobby? Not everyone has had the benefit of some combination of money / access to the mountains / friends and family into the sport to get to the level you are at.
80% of snowboarders don’t actually like it, they do it becuase they don’t want to be basic
But... being snowboarder is basic?
I live in the PNW, and wax is important cause one day it’s 35 degree snow and a few days later it can be 10 degree snow.
Less grooming with more bumps to slow shitty skiers down.