Various things got resolved today.
Talked out issues of frustration.
And ended up buying new ski boots. It was a gorgeous stormy day at Timberline. Good soft powder, lovely ol’ Cascade concrete, stuff I usually gobble up and enjoy the heck out of.
But I was fighting it and frustrated halfway through my first run down Kruser.
Why?
I had no control over my tips. Or my tails. It felt like my first fighting sessions on skis. It felt wrong. I was breaking into tears halfway down the first run.
“Rent boots,” DH said on our way back up.
“Maybe I just need to warm up,” I said back. I’ve already put money into fixing these damn boots.
We pushed off from the chair, and I ended up falling halfway down a simple baby cat track. Ski popped off, I plopped down. Nothing bad or spectacular this time, just going down.
“Rent boots,” DH repeated as I stomped back uphill to retrieve my ski, sinking 18 inches down with each step.
“Damn right I’m renting boots,” I grumbled back.
Long story short, it took a while and trials of two pairs plus a binding release test before I was back on the slope. But it didn’t take but three turns to tell the issue. The boots I owned were a half size too big–and it was enough to affect my control. I didn’t like those rental boots–but the difference in effort and control was obvious.
DH and I talked about the possibilities of renting vs buying on the way down the hill. We stopped by the ski shop I prefer because he had a boot issue, and I tried on what they had in my preferred size–a high end version of the boot I didn’t like, and a beginner boot that the boot fitter looked at me and said “You won’t like it. It’s a beginner boot that is way below what you’re doing now.”
I didn’t like the high end boot any better than the rental, so when we got home, I called two other shops. Long story short, I got new boots for just a little over what it would cost me to rent boots for the rest of this season. It’s a brand I’ve skied before and I like. Problem is, from calling around, I’m in a size that’s fairly popular so there’s not much left at the end of the season. So this should work out well..and it’s from my second favorite local shop.
Yay. Maybe if I can ski again…..
