The Owners' Manual Newsletter | Issue 23 | Winter 2022

skiing

Robert Burke, Charlotte I would go for freestyle skiing. I love to snow ski and I am a bit of an odd duck on the slopes. I use ski blades on the slopes aka Big Foot skis, and I am often the only person using them when on the slopes. Ski blades are kind of like trick skis since it is so easy to maneuver them, they can turn on a dime (unless there is deep powder), which we very rarely have in North Carolina or even in West Virginia. I don’t use any poles but they are super easy to use and to learn. They are way easier to use than normal skis so when I do tricks that look hard, they really aren’t difficult. I can do multiple 360s down the steepest of slopes and ski backwards, turning around whenever I want. You can’t go quite as fast on them since they are short you can not get top speeds but if I tuck I can keep up with average skiers that I may be with. Ski blades are so much fun! My buddy tried them years ago as a rental option and he quickly begged me to try them. I traded my rental skis in that day that one time and afterward I went right out and bought a new pair. I have been enjoying them ever since, except for when I hit a pile of snow, the skis don’t glide over the pile so you can from time to time be stopped cold at your feet and get body slammed to the ground. That has happened pretty dramatically to me a couple of time, but not too often, it can knock the wind out of you… Ski blades are so much fun and easy that I would win a medal!

Rebecca Ford, Meriden A medal in skiing! (Practicing with family near Bristol, NH)