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Doug Bryce


Posts: 1373
Joined: Jan 2003
Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 16.12hrs on Wed 15 Jan 03
Anyone done any exciting gullies in Scotland ?
If so then would be interested to hear !

Got "peer pressured" into skiing tower gully on Ben Nevis last April by some other members of the Glencoe ski club.

Although I wasnt there I know that #2,#3 & #4 gullies were also skied a couple of weeks later. I think the descent of #2 was perhaps a first on skis ?

Ben Lui / Northern Corries / Creag Megaidh / Ben Nevis......
Theres loads out there !
Jeff Roberts


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 04.26hrs on Fri 17 Jan 03
I'm up for getting first descents on skis!!! Am interested in finding out more about back-country skiing in Scotland if anyone has any suggestions. Particularly routes that are fairly easy to get to but are challenging to ski.

Have heard about skiing in the corries of Braeriach, is it worth the hike?
No Carvers Please


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 15.06hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
"There's not such a thing as peer pressure. just skiers who don't know how to say no"

As Doug has said above, the king of all Scottish mountains Ben Nevis has had a fair amount of coverage in the last year. #2 was skied on 3rd June last year (apparently another 'bad' season). If I don't get skiing in May or June this year, then that will be a bad season.

Lastly, can someone start a debate about these damn carver skies? I and the majority of people I ski with think they're overrated, uncontrollable at high speeds, useless in steep gullies, less fun, and all in all, pretty crap.
Mark Pickles


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 16.06hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
Ok sure thing.

....either your not skiing carvers right, or your not on the right boards for the terrain your skiing. Try changing your technique.
Most World Cup skiers seem to be coping alright with shorty slaloms.
And I can't remember the last time I saw an extreme skier on 210 DH boards.
Doug Bryce


Posts: 1373
Joined: Jan 2003
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 16.16hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
FYI - Glen Plake still uses 210cm K2 skis - and hes "alright".

Personally I prefer carvers
- however I know others who would disagree.
GP


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 16.23hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
I can't see the problem with them, I swapped over last season and noticed huge improvments, maybe your not going fast enough?
I first went sking with a guide in france in '96 and he seemed to be coping with couliours (sp) fine on carvers back then, & I reckon todays carvers are better. Are you all using slalom carvers? if so try a go on one of the "freeride" type skis, much more fun
(Can you get 1/2 decent non-carvers anymore anyway?)
Admin


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 17.47hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
Yeah, I'm not the only person who prefers the preformance and feel or PROPER planks! lol!

Though I'm looking out for a pair of Atomic 120cm Blades atm!

Alan
Mark Pickles


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 19.22hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
Ah ha! I knew Plake was still on long boards. Just seeing if anyones was awake...
In any case he doesn't count. He could ski on anything. Pure Genius.
Think I might go home and watch Blizzard of Aaah's again.

GP - Some of the mogul specific ski's have a minimal sidecut. But still more shape than of old.
Andy Willcock


Posts: 74
Joined: Jan 2003
Last Visited: 04:09
15th Dec 2012
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 22.22hrs on Fri 24 Jan 03
Alan,
My son has a pair of Atomic FreeZone 120cm bought from Ski Road Ski's late last season. He loves them!! He used to ski 170 carvers, but he hasnt had those out since he got the atomics.
I got a pair of Atomic 9.10 150cm at the same time and i have never looked back. I now prefer these short carver ski's to the longer ski. The longest i have is a Salomon X-Scream 163 when i used to ski 190 to 210cm's!!
Carvers Rule!!!
No Carvers Please


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 10.42hrs on Mon 27 Jan 03
Tch, well well. I would suggest that changing my technique (and for the rest of my pals to change theirs) would lead to a lack of control even if it is on carvers. And a lack of fun, which to us is the most important thing about skiing.

The comments about slalom racers above (Mr Pickles) are not relevant in this case. Fair enough, skiing at 30mph through gates all the time and carvers may be the way, but if you had Ivica Kostelic standing beside you with his 155s at the top of a 50o slope he'd sooner be standing on our 205s and find out that his wide tipped and tailed skis could not cope with that sort of slope. I would also suggest that skiing in excess of 50/60 mph and he'd soon be switching to some 210s.

We've all tried various kinds of carvers, but why change if we find that losing control is a by-product of the change? The only place where I see carvers as an advantage are slalom (and maybe giant slalom) racing. In all other snow conditions (including deep powder, which many folk say long skis are not for) long and straight skis are the way. Last year I watched many skiers trying (and failing) to master deep snow in carvers....skiing in deep snow is not about the skis you have, it's about the technique.

I'm glad that people in general feel this way about carvers anyway. Last year I picked up three pairs (two of them new) of 200m plus slalom skis for £130. The best pair of skis I ever had were K2 SL Comp USA (and the predecessor, the classic K2 KVC Comp). The worst I ever tried would have to be either Salomon Scream or Rossignol Bandit.

In the words of the greatest steep skier there ever has been:

"This fat-ski, short-ski stuff is crazy. It's a fad. Skiing is about paying your dues. Learning how to master your gear. It's not about grabbing a pair of fatties and slip-slapping around the mountain."

Mr Plake, if you're reading this, we'll all sacrifice our current dodgy haircuts and get mohawks if you can get yourself over here to ski.
Mark Pickles


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 15.06hrs on Mon 27 Jan 03
My point about changing technique was that if your skiing them right you won't BE out of control.
Its each to his own I guess. If you can't make them work, you can't make them work.
And obviously you wouldn't take slalom carvers off piste. Thats where a nice mid-fat or fat ski would come in handy. winking smiley
These people who were having trouble in deep snow, did you know for a fact they could ski powder anyway?
Anyway don't take offence, I'm just offering another perspective on the matter.
Your right that the most important thing is fun. I'm having fun on modern ski's, Your having fun on old ski's. Its all the same.
Doug Bryce


Posts: 1373
Joined: Jan 2003
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 15.21hrs on Mon 27 Jan 03
So - getting back on track.

"Has anyone skied any gullies in Scotland" ?

Please indicate wither it was on "straight" or "bent " skis.....
or even perhaps on a snowboard/monoboard/sledge/inflatable bannana !
whatever your choosen mode of transport :-)

Wheres good in Northern Corries / Braerich ?
Anyone done Ben Lui / An Tellach / Creag Megaidh / Lochnagar ?

Doug.
Doug (another one)


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 21.55hrs on Mon 27 Jan 03
Surprised no one's mentioned the piece by Martin Burrows-Smith in the SMC guide to Scottish Ski mountainering, bit dated now but gives a list of some of the gullies he'd skied by then. Think he may have written something a bit later for the SMCJ as well
Andy Ash


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 23.00hrs on Mon 27 Jan 03
Ok, back to the carver thing. I was so surprised to see this line! Skiing has moved on leaps and bounds in the past 3 years, with the introduction of slightly fatter and shaped skis that have changed the style and increased the fun of skiing no ends. No longer do you have to "bunny hop" your way through the powder when you can carve it up at high speed! Ok, glen plake does rock, but what about the undisputed modern kings of free-ride? Seth morrison and Aaron McGovern just to name a couple. The new-school movement has taken, and is still taking, the skiing world by storm, it's no fad, it's a revolution. Skiing has changed and I say GREAT!!!!! I Ride a pait of 1080s and they're amazing all mountain free-ride skis.

Andy
Winterhighland


Guest
Re: Scottish gullies
Date Posted: 00.56hrs on Tue 28 Jan 03
As far as gullies and serious steeps go, blades are the best! You can carve in stupidly narrow spaces/strips of snow and stay in control.
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