If you are totally content with your skiing, able to master any condition with grace and style, this Revelation isn’t for you. Perhaps in the spirit of giving you can forward this message to the neediest case you know in your skiing entourage.
If you’re still reading, we both know you have issues. What you may not know is that the root cause of your woes isn’t an absence of raw talent, an innate satisfaction with mediocrity or even your nearly obsolescent skis; chances are better than 99% that the anchor holding you down is your boots.
Skiing is a sport of balance. If your foundation is fundamentally flawed, you haven’t got a chance of maximizing your abilities. The flip side of this coin is that once your foundation is repaired and secured, skiing becomes as effortless and unconscious as walking.
No matter how you look at it, taking the leap of faith begins with bare feet.
The currently conscious mind may be wondering, why are so many people in the wrong boots? Surely every boot-buying customer tries hard to find a boot that feels pretty terrific, at least in the store. Everyone has been counseled by their nearest and dearest, “Whatever you do, make sure your boots are comfortable!”
You may be surprised to hear I have absolutely no issues with this admonition. Any great boot fitting exercise should conclude with an immaculate, comfortable fit. But a great fit is a destination, which implies a journey, which means that instantaneous assessments are rarely accurate.
Your bootfitter knows you want comfort. It’s a given. So listen to him carefully when he informs you that when you first put the proffered boot on your toes will touch the end. It will seem uncomfortably short. See if you can summon 60 seconds of patience while your bootfitter buckles you in and guides you into a flexed stance.
As important as this moment is for the future of your skiing enjoyment, we need to hit the pause button because we’re getting ahead of ourselves. No one is putting on any boots until your bootfitter has seen your bare feet. Not your stocking feet; your bare feet. To the veteran of this arcane trade, your naked tootsies and the structure connected thereto – ankles, shins, knees, hips and all other parts – reveal the path ahead.
Now is the time for trust. Now comes the leap of faith. You must set ego and its mania for control aside. If you’re truly seeking deliverance, you must first surrender. Only when you give up control to your bootfitter will you find the nirvana you seek.
If this advice sounds as much metaphysical as practical, I plead mea culpa. It’s what happens when you mix a lifetime of experience on both the practical and theoretical planes with a degree in philosophy.
But while this advice attempts to ring with ecclesiastic authority, I cannot argue strenuously enough that bootfitters must never impose an inflexible belief system on the practice of their art. The only absolute is that every skier deserves to be comfortable and in dynamic balance. How these goals are best achieved can and will vary from skier to skier.
While these eternal verities live outside of time, we frail beings do not. We must choose our moments, in this instance the moment when we take that leap of faith and try on some new ski boots.
That moment is now, or at least, soon. America’s ski shops are currently stocking 2017 models, so selection is at its peak. Once it snows, the competition for the best bootfitter near you will be fierce; as you read this, chances are his appointment book is wide open. As they say in France, c’est le bon moment.
Remember dear boot shopper, you’re not looking for a boot but for a bootfitter, someone with the experience to hold your hand as you leap into a bright new future as a competent, confident, all-condition skier.
How do I know this is the best time for you to take this critical leap of faith?
Because it’s a leap year, duh.
To find the best bootfitters in your area, visit a Realskiers Test Center or member of America’s Best Bootfitters.