I remember when...

[Karen_skier2.0]

I remember when...

• having a thick stack of tickets on your wickets were a badge of honor
  
• I skied 185 cm in the bumps
  
• I had 3+ pairs of skis and it wasn't called a quiver
  
• People knew what ballet skiing was
• The only spec I cared about on my skis were length (and they were in 5 cm increments)
• Rear entry boots (for ballet)
• Only upright aerials were allowed in competition
• I suffered through boots two sizes too small for the most control
• Mogul competitions were on natural moguls with spontaneous air
• Headbands, Vuarnet, Club A, and CB
• One piece suits and stretch pants with knee pads

 

[DoryBreaux]

I remember when kids kids equipment sucked more than it does now. Like 7 years ago.

 

[James]

I remember when midstations on chairlifts were not unusual. Often sketchy. Not as sketchy as Silverton's unloading station, and you could always just stay on.

 

[chilehed]

I remember when I was growing up in Miami, watching the Winter Olympics thinking "DAMN that looks like fun!!"

 

[crgildart]

I remember when...

• having a thick stack of tickets on your wickets were a badge of honor
  
• I skied 185 cm in the bumps
  
• I had 3+ pairs of skis and it wasn't called a quiver
  
• People knew what ballet skiing was
• The only spec I cared about on my skis were length (and they were in 5 cm increments)
• Rear entry boots (for ballet)
• Only upright aerials were allowed in competition
• I suffered through boots two sizes too small for the most control
• Mogul competitions were on natural moguls with spontaneous air
• Headbands, Vuarnet, Club A, and CB
• One piece suits and stretch pants with knee pads

And helmets were only wore by a few in USSA Freestyle competition events (all age levels). I didn't wear one, did you?

 

[crgildart]

I remember when...

• having a thick stack of tickets on your wickets were a badge of honor
  
• I skied 185 cm in the bumps
  
• I had 3+ pairs of skis and it wasn't called a quiver
  
• People knew what ballet skiing was
• The only spec I cared about on my skis were length (and they were in 5 cm increments)
• Rear entry boots (for ballet)
• Only upright aerials were allowed in competition
• I suffered through boots two sizes too small for the most control
• Mogul competitions were on natural moguls with spontaneous air
• Headbands, Vuarnet, Club A, and CB
• One piece suits and stretch pants with knee pads

And helmets were not required and only wore by a few in USSA competition events (all age levels). I didn't wear one, did you?

 

[dbostedo]

^^^^^
I remember explaining (just a couple of seasons ago) to my friends who hadn't skied in a few years, that if they went skiing with helmets they wouldn't be viewed as overly-cautious dorks - because most people wear them now.

 

[Ken_R]

I remember when there was a lot of snow in Colorado and you could ski powder for days after a storm...in Vail.

 

[Karen_skier2.0]

And helmets were only wore by a few in USSA Freestyle competition events (all age levels). I didn't wear one, did you?

I only started wearing one once it became mandatory for aerials--and I wore a hockey helmet.

 

[Don in Morrison]

I remember skiing at Loveland Thanksgiving week, and all the runs and all the lifts were open, and the nearest snowmaking equipment was at Eldora.

 

[crgildart]

I only started wearing one once it became mandatory for aerials--and I wore a hockey helmet.

I skied my last competitive meets in spring of 1982 and only remember one regular USSA Central guy wore one.. hockey helmet with a pom pom hat under it with the ball sticking out the top. He was also a perennial winner usually in the top 3 for all three disciplines. He moved to Colorado about 1983 and did well there too. His name was HEDley Kerr. We just called him HEAD

 

[Bill Miles]

From my growing up and learning to ski days in the PNW:

90 ski school buses parked beside the highway at Snoqualmie Summit
Skiing in the rain
30 minute liftlines
Instead of wickets, they stapled your ticket to your jacket
As previously mentioned, the stuff you painted on your bases when the facotry base was gone in a season
The 1,2 & 3 ropetows at Stevens Pass that were so fast and steep that a rope tow grip was almost mandatory
First trip to Sun Valley, one of the chairs on the River Run side was still a single
How easy to turn, my first pair of fiberglass skis were (K2 255 Soft?)
When I proved, contrary to what I had heard, that fiberglass skis can be permanently bent
Hart skis with the aluminum oxide base which would not absorb wax and no such thing as structure
Lace up leather boots that got cold and wet
$2 lift tickets for rope tows and $4 for chairs

 

[Karen_skier2.0]

I remember when the Canyons was Park West

 

[Michael Kane]

we use to have to walk 3 miles to school in three feet of snow during a driving blizzard and we liked it.

 

[cantunamunch]

I remember when the Canyons was Park West

but.but.but what about Wolf mountain?

 

[Tim Flanagan]

For fun and for a bit of education for the younger generation and newer skiers, finish the statement with things your remember about skiing or anything ski related.

Examples:
I remember when ... lift tickets at vail were $7.50.

I remember when ... it was cool to wear neon pink.

I remember when ... we carved our ski poles out of stone.

I remember and long for the Swiss high-speed T-Bars at Winter Park, Colorado. And T-Bars in general for that matter. As chairlifts became more and more common, T-Bars were left to the experts and their legs were like iron. It seemed as though cold feet were never an issue back then. The T-Bar ride at Lake Louise is one of my favorites today. The access it provides to the back-side of that ski hill is killer. It also brings back great memories and seldom has a lift line.

 

[Gil]

I remember fiddling with screwed-in edges, trying to replace a blown out section.

I remember when we threw a lever on the shovel of the ski to lock our heels.

I remember when vinyl laceups were the new big thing, as waterproofier than leather.

I remember when herringboning up the slope was the first thing all skiers were taught.

I remember when skis with metal in them were not recommended - because they would *break* on anything other than ice.

I remember when there was a real danger your boots would punch into your honeycomb skis if you even thought about jumping.

Oddly enough, I remember having more fun.

Yep! I remember being 5 yrs old with soaked mittens that froze so hard I could not squeeze the rope toe tight enough to advance up the hill once it got steep. Then, I jammed my elbow into my side to better clamp down on the rope shredding my wool sweater just barely making it to the top. Then after the run doing it all again all night. I remember my parents using barrel slats tied to shoes with leather straps. This was before coil spring bindings, wooden skis with screw on edges. I remember no crowds and many ski lessons. My parents started skiing in the 40’s. I started 60 yrs. ago. Still working on quads strength, angulation and balance. I remember my first metal ski Head Standard’s doing tip rolls atop moguls. I remember skiing zipper lines in icy bumps on 207 PRE’s. I remember hot chocolate and hot wood fired.

 

[Bad Bob]

I remember being carried through the air by some rope tows due to being too short, and hoping the skis were pointed the right way when coming back in contact with the snow.
I remember having to let go of the rope to get by an automobile wheel rim used to keep the rope out of the snow.
I remember snowplowing UP the t-bar to get the ruts out of the track.
I remember skiing down the 5 mile trail from Army Arctic and catching the deuce and a half back up to the base lodge.
I remember when there was one lift in the Bowls at Vail, and no Lion's Head (and parking was close and FREE).
I remember when Alyeska had 1 chairlift.
When Aspen Highlands was NOT part of Aspen, and there was no Snowmass.

 

[crgildart]

I remember when the Canyons was Park West

I remember when it was Purgatory before it was Durango before it was Purgatory..

Looked like this last time I was there..

 

[Bill Miles]

we use to have to walk 3 miles to school in three feet of snow during a driving blizzard and we liked it.

And it was uphill both ways!