They go by a variety of names (you'll find 'carving toys'
and 'Big Feet' in there too!). Generally these new gadgets are
80 - 90cm long (less than half as long as traditional skis) and
you can choose to use ski poles or not. They are great on groomed
runs, in snow adventure parks (at Cypress Bowl, Grouse Mountain,
Mt.Seymour and Whistler/Blackcomb), in moguls, on steeps and
up to 6 inches of powder. Because of their limited floating surface
they start to nose-dive or submarine with a lot of powder! Riding them is a blend of
in line skating and downhill skiing.
A
Mini-History of Mini-Skis
Mini-Skis are not something all that new.
For the past decade plus, you've seen the odd eccentric rider
show up on the hill with gadgets that were short on the tail
and a little longer in the shovel ('Big Feet' being on of them).
They were fun to goof around on, but they had little control,
didn't carve and riders spent a lot of time on their butt!!
Then there were the old 'Head-way' short
way learning skis (90cm - 130cm) that many Vancouverites learned
to ski on (up at Grouse Mtn.). They had no side-cut, were great
for pivoting and skidding turns but couldn't carve worth a *?!*.
Those of us who were taught skiing on those shorties were glad
to see them go (as we had spent so much time repairing our own
skiing technique when we stepped back into our own long carving
skis).
The most recent and 'soon-to-be-ill-fated'
product on the market were Sled-Dogs (this company repeatedly
ends up in the red in each of their fiscal quarters and bankruptcy
must be lurking around the corner). These gadgets were basically
a ski boot with a ski (boot length only) built into them, designed
to go after the inline skate market. Sled-Dog finally realized
they should build in metal edges and they did decide to make
the running surface a tad longer on their 'K-9' model but there
was very limited snow conditions (perfectly groomed and packed
and 'not-too soft') that allowed them to function well. The only
rider in town who really has them wired is Mark
Fogel (Level 1 Inline Skating Association instructor).
Wearing his helmet, flashing night lights on his wrists and pulling
off his fantastic continuous 360 degree spins down Cypress Bowl's
night runs, 'Mr. Spin' is definitely
some-one to watch! Mark is also available to give lessons (684-7072)
on these inventions which are only rented out at Outa-Line Inline
Skate shop on Pacific Boulevard.
So much for the historic devices. What makes
these things work- the new snow-blades ('Snow-Blade' is actually
a copyrighted name for Salomon's 90cm product) and ski-boards
(the generic name the overall industry is trying to use...especially
since Salomon grabbed the 'Snow-Blades' term), is 'shaped-ski
technology'. Yes these are mini 'shaped', 'parabolic' or 'hour-glass'
skis. The wide shovels and tails with a narrow waist and mono-cap
construction gives them 'tip-to-tail' flexibility and torsional
rigidity! Put that all together and you get carving
ability!!
How
To Ride These Puppies
--> Get snow and stay low!
Flex your ankles forward and bend your knees until you just go
past the point where you can't see your boot toes any longer.
Get your butt cheeks lowered (like on a heel-side carving turn
on your snowboard).
--> Get wide and glide!
For lateral stability have your feet wider apart than you would
for downhill skiing or in-line skating. Generally you check out
the width of your shoulders and hips and match your foot stance
width with the wider of the 2 (in traditional skiing you match
your foot stance with the narrower of the 2).
--> Get
your hands out front and you won't dump!
Due to the short length you have to adjust your fore and aft
balance. Bring your centre of balance farther back to your heels
than you would in downhill skis. Also keep your tips up so you
don't hook them in snow clumps and fall on your face. With your
tips up and your weight back you need to counter-balance by having
your hands out front more (OK...you might look a bit like a zombie
or Frankenstein, but it's better than 'crashing and burning'!).
--> Scissor
your Snow-Blades and slice up the slopes!
In regular snow-skis you might have your lead ski (your ski on
the inside of your turn or your uphill ski) about half boot length
of the other. On your ski-boards you need to exaggerate this
scissoring action and have the inside ski father ahead to provide
you with a longer running length for high speed riding.
--> Take
a lesson and spend less time on your butt!
If you thought learning to snow-board was quick wait until you
try this sport. I recently gave a lesson to a friend of mine,
Randy Dahlquist. He had only skied once in his life and inline
skated twice. Admittedly he had been a skate boarder back in
the 70's and generally had some good balance skills...but snow
knowledge was something new to him! In a 2 hour snow-blading
lesson he learned 'stance and balance', how to snow-plow, how
to do 'yo-yo' snow-plows, how to ride-a-frame, how to swizzle
and how to ride parallel, how to pivot his snow-blades for parallel
turns, how to ride green circle and blue square difficulty runs,
how to carve turns and how to ride backwards on gentle grades.
I've found my other students have done just as successfully!
As the sport is new this season there is a shortage of qualified
instructors (instructor qualification requires both down-hill
skiing and inline skating instructor certification as both techniques
are utilised). Presently there are 2 instructors
at Whistler/Blackcomb and then myself at Cypress Bowl.
Phone several days ahead to request lessons with any of these
folks.
P.S. You'll see
articles in magazines like Snow-Country or Snow-Blading Tips
written by dual certified instructors (Down-Hill Skiing and International
Inline Skating Association).
Who
is a Candidate to Become a Snow-Blader?
People who don't have
the time or patience to acquire mastery. (like the years
required in down-hill skiing). Instead become a novice in a day,
an intermediate within a week, advanced within a month and an
expert within a season! (P.S. Riding them will improve your downhill
skiing huge!)
Inline Skaters.
Missing the opportunity to get out on your roller-blades during
the winter? Transfer your skills over and keep your skating muscles
happening.
You can actually skate up-hill in these babies. If there's
snow on top of your Burnaby Mountain or on a hill in your neighbourhood
park, you don't need a chairlift! Just grab your ski boards and
go!
Downhill skiers
who ski less than 15 times a year. Tired of starting over each
year? Improve each time you get up with less hassle.
The typical Vancouverite
with a storage room full of wind-surfers, skis, skates, mountain
skies, golf clubs, tennis rackets etc!!! Snow blades are small,
don't take up much storage room, don't need a roof rack (just
throw them in your back-pack) and you only need one pair for
the family. They come with adjustable bindings and one size fits
all!
Those looking for a
good deal! (Isn't that all of us?). They're only half
the length of down-hill skis and the bindings come with them,
so they are only half the price. Any ski boots will work with
them and because they are shorter with less resistance from the
edges running length, lower tech, less expensive ski boots work
great!
Lorne Milne is a Snowboard Instructor with the Canadian Association
of Snowboard Instructors (C.A.S.I Level 1 + 2, C.A.S.I. Certified
Examiner); a Ski Instructor with the Canadian Ski Instructors
Alliance (C.S.I.A. Level 1+ 2); a Ski-Racing Coach (Canadian
Ski Coaching Federation Level 1); and
a Snowblading Instructor on Cypress.
Lorne is also a certified In-line Skating Instructor (International
Inline Skating Association certified Level 1 + 2) and has instructional
articles on 'englishbay.com' outlining 'blading in Vancouver.
He has also appeared in over a dozen TV shoots, a dozen print
articles and if you are flying to Hong Kong on Canadian Airlines,
you may see him doing blading tricks on their promotional ad!!
For more information about anything you see in these articles
or about instruction in inline skating, snow-blading, boarding,
skiing or racing, contact Lorne at 604-708-1055 or fax
at 604-708-1062.
