Wednesday, December 8, 2010

2010 / 2011 Season Starts

Had my first few days of instructing this past week. While the weekdays matter little, it's the weekend where the majority of our clients arrive. This past weekend gave a clue as to how the rest of the season will go.

Clients wise, we still seem to have no end to younger 4 and 5 year old children. Every season I'm more convinced that some how they magically end up here. The return of the 1970s and 1980s gear also took root. I watched one woman who proudly displayed her recently purchased used equipment (recently was 2 days ago) for $100 (boots, poles, skis) that was last used in 1982. First run, said skis disintegrated on the slide down.

Snow conditions, if they continue like this will be pretty epic. Not all the lifts and trails are open yet. Nor is the coverage all complete. But that's not important. The snow itself feels different this year. It's feeling a little lighter than usual, which makes for some excellent gliding.

My skiing skills have slacked off in the off season. The entire first day on the snow I spent trying to recover from lost edges, a crossed tip, or sitting back and using too much body to turn. I spent most of the summer cycling around the states and have built up some great leg conditioning for skiing. What I didn't expect with this was a change in calf muscle shape, which has resulted in some seriously painful boot pinch going on. Right now I'm debating if it's worth trying to reshape the boot or wait until the calf muscle atrophies a bit.

Skis are now showing the signs of needing to be replaced. This is my 6th season on them and it's clear their rebound is disappearing. Looks like I'll be investigating some new gear and hope that the end of season deals will be kind.

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