11/29/2025
Today a little about owning your equipment. Anyone really wanting to make skiing an important part of their world shoul start with……
Boots! A crrect fit is more comfortable and warmer. An ill fitting boot is likely to hurt, be cold, and hold back progress, especially if the boot’s stiffness doesn’t match weight and ability.
Custom foot beds. I highly encourage these to my clients. A custom footbed will help you feel what’s going on with ski performance. Having your foot supported correctly will decrease muscle tension/tiredness all the way up your leg too. Ski with me here in Aspen, we have access to great shops with knowledgable boot techs to find the right boot. Then we go see my favorite footbed magician Eric Ward at Foot Foundation.
Skis: Rent and demo skis in your ability and preference wheelhouse before buying. A blue groomed run skier will want a ski entirely different than a mogul basher that likes double black. Eastern skiers tend to ski more hardpack (aka east coast powder😬) while western skiers often prefer a ski that works for loose snow conditions as well as groomed. None of this is absolute. I tend to like the skis I have on today lol. (After all I did some demo and research before buying) I will help you during a private series if buying a new ski is a goal. Your preferences, my and our research and several demo skis in a day is the way to go.
Poles: EVERY rental shop will give you poles too long! The old school measure was flip the pole upside down, grab it below the basket and when your arm is parallel to the ground that was the length. NO NO NO! Go shorter by at least your fist width. Really like bumps maybe as much as two fist widths. Also if you get really into carving shorter will get in your way less as you work toward higher edge angles.
Every time I size down I enjoy it. Borrow a friend’s adjustable poles and experiment too!
Yikes! Nuff said for today. Hit the SIGNUP button up top to see my availability or request dates.
Let’s play! Remember this sport is FUN! I will enjoy playing together to make it even more fun! You will too!⛷😉⛷
Here’s Eric’s website for footbeds too!
www.footfoundation.com