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New to freestyle/freeride/park/...

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TheGrudge
Posts: 113 - Karma: 10
Hey guys

Right, so I've decided to give freestyle/freeride/park or whatever you want to call it a shot after 9 or 10 years of skiing, think Ive ski'd for about 10-12 weeks total, 1 with proper lessons (last year) where I learned to carve somewhat properly

Im basically wondering, since Im going to be renting them first, what tips can you give me. I'll be a beginner, 184ish cm tall, 75kg, not extremely athletic at all. What height do I need? Do I want center mounted ski's or more like 60/40 or something? What makes should I try to rent? etc

Also, I'll be buying boots soon as well (already have Volkl carves), any tips in that department? Dont need to be hightec, just very affordable and decent boots... I'll be using them for both my carve ski's and freestyle obviously, but I dont think that matters too much. Pretty sure ill like freestyle a lot more than just piste skiing so if there is in fact a big difference, that'll be most important for me I reckon. Can ofc still sell afterwards.

Reason I'm not buying straight away is simply that I want to try it out first, see if I enjoy myself. Ive also not got a whole lot of money ^^

Oh, one last thing. If any of you would happen to have been to Val Thorens in France, any shops you can recommend there? It's where Im going the first trip this year so I'll most likely rent them there, unless I get a good deal here in Belgium


Thanks!
Dec 2 2008 4:46AM
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mcnamarskiez
Posts: 692 - Karma: 159

hey its awesome to hear you want to start getting into freestyle and park riding! however there are some things i should point out. first of all freestyle skiing is not really something you can try out and see if you like.... i mean of course there is a first time for it but you really can't judge it on that and you have to stick with it and progress with it to really decide if you want to stick with it. next with the way the ski industry is going and the way skis are made now have you considered selling your skis and buying a pair of all mountain skis? something like the line blend, k2 kung fujas, armada arv, 4frnt msp, volkl bridges, or anything else like those  would be awesome for everything park, pow, and groomers.... im not very familiar with your boot but my guess is its a downhill boot and its pretty stiff. if that is the case i wouldnt worry to much about it until you decide you want to stick with freestyle skiing but if you decide you do then you may want to look into replacing it, and if it's more of a flexible boot you should be ok..... so you are approximately 6'0 and 165 pounds, you should probably look at anything from 175cm to 185cm, if you do decide to get an all mountain ski rather than just a park specific ski you should probably not mount at center, rather a couple cm back. if you do get a park specific ski you should probably mount them at center. there are also some good cheap park skis like the line invader for instance....its cheap as hell and holds up especially if your just starting out..... i did some research and found this website http://www.valthorens-skishop.com/indexgb.html it has some shops at val thorens and has links to their websites (might be somewhat useful).

also this is kind of off topic but you might find it useful. when i used to live in garmish partenkirchen, germany a couple years ago they had this shop called Conrad Sport. they had really good prices and gave my dad deals all the time. i looked around and found their website http://www.sport-conrad.com/index.asp i dont know much about the euro anymore and dont really follow currency values but i know belgium uses the euro so it might end up being fairly cheap for you, and depending on where you live in belgium i cant imagine shipping could be that much.

anyways its been a long night for me so i think its about time i go to sleep i hope this helps you out, good luck!

Dec 2 2008 5:21AM
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TheGrudge
Posts: 113 - Karma: 10
As for the boot: I think you misunderstood, I dont actually have boots right now but I plan on buying some

As far as the ski's go: selling is an option but I'm not sure if I'll want to sell those carves as the lessons I take are usually piste skiing and not freeride or whatever so might be good to hang onto them until Im a better skier.

I know "just trying it out" might sound a bit impulsive, but in a way it is. I do realize however that I'll need to practice and keep going, it's not something that'll be thrown into my lap. Nothing is...


Good advice either way, I'll look into all mountain ski's a bit more. Any other tips ?
Dec 2 2008 5:51AM
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Simmo
Posts: 512 - Karma: 28
Freestyle skiing is still skiing, you don't need to make such a conscious decision to move into it.

Keep up the lessons, keep working on your own skiing, play around and work on EVERY area of your skiing ability while your on the mountain. Get your moguls down, play about off-piste, ski some pow/crud/bumps and just hit every little lip or jump you see around the mountain. You need to get a feel for hitting lips and 'popping' off them and get used to being in the air.

Then its time to ski the smaller jumps in the park and from there you just push yourself to go bigger, try grabs, go bigger, learn tricks and work upwards over the season.

As for equipment, don't worry about boots, just get ones that fit.

Ski's - You could do everything I wrote above on your current skis but if you bought/rent an all-mountain twin tip they'd be still fine on the piste and so much more fun and easier to ski everywhere else.
Dec 2 2008 8:20AM
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