[Alexandre]

In Europe the Tessier Scarver is becoming very popular. It's not very cheap but when you see how it works... Amazing!!!
You can adjust many things on this frame (seating angle, suspension movement, center of gravity...) so each skier find his best configuration, it's like a custom made one but you can try all adjustments. Also the shock absorber is excellent.
That's what I bought and I have never skied something like this before. It really worth its price.
Many European competitors (from national teams) have changed for it. I heard that in USA a member of the national team (I don't remember his name) has changed for it last season and had good results (podiums I think) with it at the national championship and at the world cup. Maybe someone knows it better than me. (I have never had the chance to ski in USA!).
That's for me the best sitski ever. Try it if you can!

[Pete Anderson]

I committed to and ordered a Praschberger at the end of September 09 and received it 2 weeks ago at the beginning of December. I'm relieved that I've made the right decision in purchasing this.

Although I've only tried out only one other sit ski, the Freedom Factory Mogal Master SP, prior to this, I am definitely more comfortable in the Prash due to the ease of getting on and off the chair lift and how easily it turns. On the Freedom Factory ski, I would sometimes get locked out from committing to a turn and loose my ability to control my speed. With the Prasch, this is no longer a problem.

Now my biggest hurdle is getting a good ski and binding. Within the last 12 months of sit skiing, I've broken 2 skis and one binding. Last weekend I bent a Volkl Mantra 183, on the bumps. I basically skewered the side of a mogul and endoe'd over the top. My first foreward flip on a sit ski!

The weekend prior to this I had washed out on a turn and laid the bucket down. I found myself going over a steep embankment on my new sit ski sliding over rocks, fallen trees, etc, and picking up speed. I finally came to an ubrupt stop after the bottom plate on the sit ski slammed up against a tree. My ski remained on top of the ridge and I literally had to crawl out onto the slope in waist deep snow. I'm really fortunate that my paralysis is below my knees, otherwise the ski patrol would have to hire a tow truck to get me out of there. Later that day my heel piece snapped off. My binding was completely destroyed and the ski patrol, with their snowmobile and tobacan had to rescue me.

As stated by someone else in this forum, I too found out that the Prasch does not release to the lower position after getting off the chair lift. So I will use a rope, as suggested, and rig this to the shock so I can "break" that cantilever position that the shock is in. In doing so I will be more independent. So far, everytime I would get off from the lift I had to look around and "draft" someone to be my little helper to disengage the shock from the upright position.

I also went to the ski shop at Park City, and they gave me 3 sets of Marker M9.2 bindings for a total of $20.00. Max DIN is 14. I will also pin it as well. I think this will work, but the more DIN, the better. The price was right.

Finally, I'm thinking about getting a Elan Quad 1 ski. This ski has a wood core, which is , from what I hear, a good thing. Its also fat.

Thoughts or comments are welcomed. I'm finding this forum very insightful for this topic.

This post has been edited by Pete Anderson: 21 December 2009 - 05:06 AM

[qman]

awesome, love the prach,

By far and away the best bindings i have found and pretty much the only binding i will trust is the Marker 30 race binding,
They have a 30 din and are absolutely bomb proof.

I also have a tyrolia binding with a 20 din which is ok but i prefer the markers,

have also had the unloading problem with the prasch but discovered it depends on chairlift.

the thick padded seats seem to stop the mechanism locking back in place. the plastic slated seats work great and will engage the mechanism 95% of the time.

a friend rigged up a small rope and pulley attached to the knuckle,

i have sort of lived with it. i can hit it down myself but usually get a ski buddy to hit it with a ski pole.

This post has been edited by qman: 22 December 2009 - 10:04 AM

[Pete Anderson]

Yep, the buddy with the pole thing is what I've been do'n the past couple of weeks. The Marker 30's I think are difficult to find. I'm finding that anything above 14 din is difficult to find, but I'm still looking.

I just purchased a pair of Elan Quad 1 skis. Big, fat mammas. They are 184 cm. I will only mount a good binding to this as it was pricey. Anything happens to this ski, like breaking, I'm just going to be buying used after this.

I'm finding that its really easy to brake stuff sit skiing.

Cheers!

Pete

[russ1]

Pete Anderson, on Dec 22 2009, 03:41 PM, said:

Yep, the buddy with the pole thing is what I've been do'n the past couple of weeks. The Marker 30's I think are difficult to find. I'm finding that anything above 14 din is difficult to find, but I'm still looking.

I just purchased a pair of Elan Quad 1 skis. Big, fat mammas. They are 184 cm. I will only mount a good binding to this as it was pricey. Anything happens to this ski, like breaking, I'm just going to be buying used after this.

I'm finding that its really easy to brake stuff sit skiing.

Cheers!

Pete

If you pin the binding does the din setting really matter - I was advised that anything under about 20 din would have to be pinned but to be honest I don't know anyone who sit skis who doesn't pin their binding even though this makes it more likely to break skis.

If you do the string thing properly you'll never ever come off the lift in the raised position. Much more dignified, I attach a key ring to the string at the right point and hook this onto one of the bolts on the frame while I'm on the chair so the knuckle stays broken as you come off.

[Pete Anderson]

I'll have to try that key ring thing. I definitely want to look dignified rather appear to be a turtle on its back!

Pete

[Teralin]

ANY ADVICE? I live in salt lake city utah and work in Park City at the Canyons. My six year old nephew is paralized from the waist down.....I really want to get him started on a sit ski, but I can't find anywhere to rent one??? I tried the National Ability Center, but they require you to have a ton of really expensive days out with one of their instructors. I want to be able to take him on my own. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get a hold of a childs sit ski? Have any of you ever made one yourself???? He is really small (smaller than my 2 year old niece) So I'll have to assist him the whole time---so it doesn't have to be super nice. Thanks so much.

Teralin

[qman]

i cant stress enough that the marker 30s are the way to go. its not just the din settings but the whole construction.
they are bomb proof.

[Ndisc84]

I saw one response saying most ski resorts have sit-ski rentals, such as Breckenridge etc. but does anyone know if much smaller hills and highlands in the midwest for example have them for rent? I honestly can't remember seeing them out of the hundreds of times I went pre-injury, but maybe just didn't notice.

Also, how soon after injury did anyone go skiing? I haven't really asked a doctor yet, but one of my therapist joked that she doubts my butt will be skiing down the mountain this season. That seems a bit ridiculous. I'm thinking she thought I was injured snowboarding, because I talk about it a lot and had been riding the day before my injury, so maybe it was just an innocent comment telling me to slow it down or something. I'm planning on going late February unless they tell me absolutely no.

advice on either topic??

[Pete Anderson]

Regarding the son and wanting to take him out on your own, I suggest being a volunteer at the NAC and incorporate your son into the program. That way you know what types of gear are available, and how to use for free, and you'll be able to later purchase the right gear for your son and teach him accordingly.

About the 30 DIN binding. I agree, the more din, the better. I've been looking on the internet for used, but this type of binding is hard to come by. I may just purchase the real thing new because of the difficulty in finding this binding used at that high of a din.

Finally, regarding the last post, I tried alpine skiing within 6 months of my accident. That was a joke. My feet had to be forced fit into my boot due to my swelling hadn't gone down from my accident. I had a lot of atrophy throughout my body and my body would not follow the directions that my brain was telling it. In the end, I hung up stand up skiing due to my paralysis in my lower legs. It was no fun to ski. I couldn't turn but I could bomb a hill and go really, really fast!

Sit skiing, solo, requires upper body strength, if you have the mobility. Get with a program and take one lesson. It may be very humbling, or it maybe very rewarding, depending how strong and able you are. Just don't damage yourself more than what you already have, like run into trees, go off cliffs, fall off the lift, etc.

The NAC at Park City is/was very helpful for me and got me excited enough to drop a lot of cash in purchasing my own gear. The winter months can be very long without anything to do. I can't say enough about their program. They definitely aren't in for the money! Very good, patient people!

[Pete Anderson]

qman, on Dec 26 2009, 08:18 AM, said:

i cant stress enough that the marker 30s are the way to go. its not just the din settings but the whole construction.
they are bomb proof.

How about the mounting of the binding. Are you centered on the ski where it allows you to roll foreward onto the tip, and backward onto the tail of the ski?

I don't want to be drilling and re-drilling my bindings on a pair of nice skis.

Thanks!

Pete

This post has been edited by Pete Anderson: 27 December 2009 - 09:16 PM

[qman]

mounting is the same as for skiers.

i mounted a ski a bit forward of normal and regreted it.

stick to normal mount positions, and i would be reluctant to go to new school (true ski centre) - (unless you are riding switch ;-))

[Pete Anderson]

qman, on Dec 30 2009, 07:57 AM, said:

mounting is the same as for skiers.

i mounted a ski a bit forward of normal and regreted it.

stick to normal mount positions, and i would be reluctant to go to new school (true ski centre) - (unless you are riding switch ;-))

Thanks! I know how it is when your too far foreward on the ski. You loose control on the tail of the ski, and is especially noticable when skiing down steep terrain. On the other hand, I've had skis mounted too far back and couldn't turn, or had difficulty initiating a turn.

Decisions, decisions...humm.


Cheers!

[qman]

most modern skis have a mounting mark for the centre of the boot. Prach has a 325mm boot plate.
Sit skis are actually very centered in terms of weight and pressure (sometimes to a fault) so there isnt any need to go out of the norm IMHO.

mounting as recommended will give you the best chance of loading the ski evenly. there are more problems going forward or back.

[Pete Anderson]

Well I've started to ski alone, without the help of my friend. Last weekend I skied down a run that took me over 45 minutes to get down the same run two years ago, shortly after my accident (this is the bunny hill). I skied that run the normal alpine way, like I had all my life, but I was really disappointed that I couldn't cordinate any turns, or be stable enough to really enjoy it due to my paralysis below my knees. Last weekend it took me less than 4 minutes in my sit ski and that included taking some bumps along the way! Yeee-Haaaa!!

I still have problems loosing an edge from time to time on the steeper slopes when sit skiing. I find myself sliding all the way down the mountain on my side until I hit something, like a tree, after falling over at the top of the hill. Kinda scary.

I really enjoy it. Its challenging, humbling at times, and a lot of fun!

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This post has been edited by Pete Anderson: 07 January 2010 - 05:19 AM

[outkastsl]

Pete Anderson, on Jan 7 2010, 06:09 AM, said:

Well I've started to ski alone, without the help of my friend. Last weekend I skied down a run that took me over 45 minutes to get down the same run two years ago, shortly after my accident (this is the bunny hill). I skied that run the normal alpine way, like I had all my life, but I was really disappointed that I couldn't cordinate any turns, or be stable enough to really enjoy it due to my paralysis below my knees. Last weekend it took me less than 4 minutes in my sit ski and that included taking some bumps along the way! Yeee-Haaaa!!

I still have problems loosing an edge from time to time on the steeper slopes when sit skiing. I find myself sliding all the way down the mountain on my side until I hit something, like a tree, after falling over at the top of the hill. Kinda scary.

I really enjoy it. Its challenging, humbling at times, and a lot of fun!

That's great Pete, I wish I can ski alone right now. I still have to get strong enough to get myself up after a fall. I have a problem with loosing an edge too like you do on steeper hills, I slid last time and literally hugged a tree, NOT FUN, lol. I totally agree though, I enjoy it because of the challenge and it's humbling at times...BUT I STILL HAVE A BLAST.

[Pete Anderson]

After my experience at the Canyons, in Park City, Utah, I don't think its ever a good idea to ski alone. I actually hated my experience yesterday.

It was icey, rocky and I found out the hard way that there are a lot of flat spots, which I really struggled with just trying to get to a lift, or run. Its funny that I didn't ever recall, or experienced any of these issues when I skied their before my accident. By the time the lifts were closing down for the day my arms were "noodled" to the point that I could no longer function on my sit ski. And the problem with this resort is that skiers have to take a tram half way up the mountain, due to the lack of snow, and find themselves commited to skiing down in order to get back to their car, when really they should not be skiing at all due to fatigue.

At one point I hit a slab of ice and slid for about two to three hundred feet, with my sit ski in tow as I had been jetisoned from it, but leaving my feet still strapped to the foot rest. I finally came to a stop half way down the slope leaving me with a bucket packed with snow and ice. My friend and ski partner was my savior in getting me back into my sit ski. We discovered that it wasn't my lap strap that failed, but rather I failed in properly engaging the snap.

Later that day, my bucket had stuck to the chair lift leaving me hanging as the landing ramp began to fall away. My quick thinking buddy was able to push me off before saving himself. I dropped farther than I'd like, but I landed soft without falling over. My friend on the other hand, dropped even farther, which really spoked him.

Yesterday was definitely a challenge and I found that the Canyons is really not a place for the disabled. Even though there were employees that were happy to help out, I found that there is no parking anywhere close to the ski lift. They designed the resort that caters to their hotel guests. Anyone else that wants to ski there as to park in a lot about a half mile away, climb into a gondola that takes a skier to where the hotels are located. From the drop off point, the skier has to carry their equipment for about a block to get onto another gondola that goes half way up the mountain. Once a person gets off at that point, they have to walk, or traverse over to the ski lift, which is about another 500 feet.

Before my accident, I took it all for granite. Parking, walking to the lift, getting on and off the lift, that was all easy and very little effort. But now, being disabled, my awareness of my surroundings has completely changed. I have found that if I have a lift that drops quickly below me as I'm getting on, or off the chair lift, I find there is very little room for error on my part, or the liftty!

Sit skiing is a blast, but there's more to learn than what meets the eye!

[qman]

i hear you pete, some days it just doesnt work and you need to cut your loses and come back again another day.

and some hills are good for sit skiers and others not for a range of reason. but they are also happy to discuss how to make things easier in my experience.
mostly it is ignorance.

I found i got the liftys to slow the loading down a little for the first week or so and it really helped reduce the loading mistakes. i have never really had dramas getting off at the top except for the loading mech not locking down.

[Pete Anderson]

Its definitely an on-going learning experience for me. The problem that I have is that I've alpine skied all me life up until my accident. So I look at a hill and think no problem, I can ski this, but I find out the hard way and then reality sets in. Nope, its not the same as before and I get spanked!

At times I catch an outside edge and I end of slapping my head on the down hill portion of the slope. Its bad enough seeing stars, but its almost as bad trying to get back up when my legs are on the uphill and my head is on the downward slope. Talk about a turtle being on its back!

To be continued...

This post has been edited by Pete Anderson: 11 January 2010 - 04:44 PM

[qman]

you should never get a downhill edge, if you do you are not leaning. it is like alpine sking you have to commit downhill to force the edge over.

[Pete Anderson]

Yeah, I know. I think that I am sliding at times in icey conditions when I put too much effort in getting the ski turned around. That's when I'm catching the outside edge........Ouch!

[Pete Anderson]

I'm getting my new, Elan Quad 1 ski mounted to my sit ski tonight. This ski is really fat! I'm excited to see how it handles in the fluffy stuff.

I think my past issues regarding skiing on ice is that my ski, Rossignol Cut, 210, are too soft and I'm loosing it on my turns in the tail area of my ski. It flexes, rather than getting an edge into the slope. Washes out, and I wipe out. I get intimedated from the increasing speed and that's when I twist my shoulders away from the fall-line and towards the hill. It gets ugly.

I think a good stiff racing ski would be good for icey conditions. My Rossys would be good for the groomers and rocks. My Elan's would be good in the pow. Well see. I'll leave the bumps alone for now.

Pete

PS: Utah is finally getting some snow!

[outkastsl]

Hi Pete,

I think that's my issue. My ski seems too soft and I'm loosing it on my turns in the tail area as well. It looks like I need to look around for a stiffer ski.

What Bindings are you guys using?

Steve

[Pete Anderson]

I'm finding that there can be many factors that can cause wash out on the tail. If your boot center on the sit ski plate is too far foreward on the boot center of the ski, your turns will be easier to engage, due to your weight being foreward, but your tail would have less weight, and less weight on the ski edge means an increase chance of having it slide out from under you.

On the other hand, if your sit ski boot center is too far back from the boot center on the ski, you will have better edge control on the rear of your ski, but less control in engaging a turn. You might find yourself trying to turn, but the ski doesn't respond, or responds slowly.

Finally, if you have a soft ski, and your heavy on it, which we are due to having only one ski below us, you may do really well on the groomers of the fluffy stuff, but the hard packed snow and ice can be a bitch, especially on a steep incline.

[qman]

Re: bindings. Marker 30 din race bindings are the only way to go.

Generally stiffer skis are good. I find that turn initiation has never been an issue. So mounting forward only has disadvantage. Sit skiers can't shift weight forward or back while skiing as much as normal skiing. Therefore you need the setup well balanced over the ski. Stick to the factory mounting recommendation. Note. That sitting in you rig you should be boot plate center balanced first.

I have a couple of skis. The head monster 88 are great. I also have a k2 apache x which is a bit soft. I have a rossi world cup gs ski also that rips But I broke one.

[Pete Anderson]

qman, on Jan 24 2010, 08:25 PM, said:

Re: bindings. Marker 30 din race bindings are the only way to go.

Generally stiffer skis are good. I find that turn initiation has never been an issue. So mounting forward only has disadvantage. Sit skiers can't shift weight forward or back while skiing as much as normal skiing. Therefore you need the setup well balanced over the ski. Stick to the factory mounting recommendation. Note. That sitting in you rig you should be boot plate center balanced first.

I have a couple of skis. The head monster 88 are great. I also have a k2 apache x which is a bit soft. I have a rossi world cup gs ski also that rips But I broke one.

Yep. This is exactly what I have been reading too. However, when I purchased my Elan Quad 1 ski, a lot of alpine skiers were saying that the factory boot line is too far back. They were saying to mount the boot center 3-4 cm in front of this factory boot line that is drawn on the ski. I went with 3.5 cm foreward and its centered nicely. Other than this particular ski, I tend to believe that plate boot center be mounted as shown on the boot center indicated on the ski, otherwise you might be finding yourself drilling holes all over your ski trying to find that sweet spot.

No such thing as too much din either. A super strong, high din race binding is ideal. No plastic should be used in the release mechanism. I destoyed my Rossy bindings on the 5th run due to this.

[qman]

yeah, i did one 5cm forward after reading a RPC manual and really regret it.

[wheeels]

I just got some Bro 174's from Pm Gear, mounted a tyrollia 20din race binding and set off to Kicking Horse this last weekend, I mounted it 1.5cm forward as recommend by the shop as the top sheet was off.

These are a stiff ski, I they felt really stable and solid.

They skied great, I have some video and photos in my Blog Skiing Videos

[Pete Anderson]

I went night skiing last night. I used my fat powder ski at first on hard pack snow. I found myself going faster and faster, but couldn't turn. I finally found myself intentionally falling over to avoid running into trees. I swapped out my pow ski for my soft grommer ski and that worked best.

After falling over a few times, I found that if there is any snow wedged inside the bucket that it becomes impossible to turn in the direction towards the the side where the snow has accummulated between my ass and inside the bucket. The accummulated snow on that side of the bucket, I have found, actually shifts my weight to the other side of the bucket allowing for turns in one direction only.

Unfortunately I don't have the best feeling in my ass anymore, so it wasn't until I got out of my bucket to swap out my ski that I realized this had occurred. For new sit skiers, this is just a heads up...Or, bottoms up...He, he, he

Okay, so much for humor...

Also, do you guys use the ski school line to get back on the lift, or do you wait in the long lift lines like everyone else?

Pete

[wheeels]

Depending on the hill I will cut in, the only line I don't cut is the patrol line.

Some hills encourage sit skiers to use the short lines, at Kicking horse I had my own entrance my friends loved it no lines just ski down and get right back on the lift.