Nathan will be making a trip to Rossignol's Ogden warehouse to hand-select 

X-ium skis for customers and fill out our inventory for the season.  This is our fourth year working with Rossi and each year as we learn more about the skis, Rossi has been busy improving their production and putting out better and better skis.  The skis we picked last year got rave reviews both from customers and in our tests on snow.  We'll be at the warehouse on Friday, so if you want us to pick you a pair, give us a call Thursday and we can discuss the options.  Here is a quick overview of the Rossignol X-ium line.

Rossignol X-ium World Cup Skate (WCS)

The WCS first came out two years ago mid-season as an upgrade to their existing X-ium line.  The new model lightened the skis up and shifted the bridge of the ski forward by altering the shape of the core.  WCS comes in two models, the WCS1 and WCS2.  The WCS2 is the primary, universal ski for most snow conditions and racing scenarios.  This ski has a high camber and is very active, giving the ski a lively feel and solid stability.  The WCS2 is a solid all-around performer, but it really excels on the flats.  Quick acceleration and stability make these really fun at high speed and while V2'ing.  The WCS1 is a niche ski that is designed for sprinting and extremely hard track conditions.  The WCS1 is very stiff and active, more like previous Rossi skis (think red top sheet) where the skis were more like a leaf spring.  The WCS1 can be very fast on hard conditions for very fit athletes, but even the best World Cup Sprinters are cautious with the WCS1 as it can take the energy out of your legs very quickly.

Rossignol X-ium World Cup Classic

The X-ium classic skis have three models that all use the same materials, core and base, but with different mold settings to produce camber profiles that work in different conditions.  The tip shape of the X-ium classic keeps the front of the ski very light and makes the ski feel very quick.  While the Rossi skating ski is super-stable, the classic ski is stable, but at high speeds, can be a little exciting in corners relative to the Fischer and Madshus classic skis.  A proficient skier will not have trouble, but beginners should be aware that there will be a little more of a learning curve on the downhills as a tradeoff for the quick acceleration these skis provide. 

Nathan picking Rossignols

The C1 model is the lowest camber with generally a very soft kick, the C2 has medium camberand stiffness, and the C3 is a higher camber with more abrupt ends to the kick zone.  The C1 is for s

oft track hard wax conditions.  The C1 is sort of a niche ski for soft conditions because the camber is so low that they are tough to make fast unless there is fresh falling snow and basically no track.  The C2 is much more of a universal hard wax ski that can be suited for all hard wax conditions.  The C3 is a specialty klister ski.

In our work with Rossignol athletes and customers, we have examined the skis that are best on the snow and identified the characteristics that make great skis.  First, this allows us to find the highest overall quality skis, and second, pick the right flex and shape to fit specific skiers and conditions.  Unfortunately, Rossi has had to claw back their reputation after a couple of issues in the past and we don't get a lot of customers beating down the door for Rossi skis.  But I've been impressed with the quality and improvements they've made since introducing their new line of skate skis (orange color) 4 years ago, and I know that we are slowly impressing more and more people with our Rossi demo skis.

In addition to the normal production skis made in Spain, we have a very limited supply of special construction French skis that are truly exceptional.  Give us a call and we can help you figure out if a Rossi might be a good choice for you.

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Even though your first on-snow skiing may be well over a month away, it's never too early to begin thinking about your technique. Fall rollerskiing is not only a great opportunity to start making technical improvements to your skiing but also the perfect time to get into good training habits for the rest of the season.

First off, there are two very important things to keep in mind whenever you are skiing:

• Be constantly mindful of your technique. Whenever you are out skiing, be aware of what your body is doing. Just because you are not doing a time trial, interval workout or nobody is looking; doesn't make an excuse to let technique slip your mind. Being mindful of your skiing and your body is the fastest way to improve your technique.

• Keep it simple! Only focus on one thing at a time. Working on too much at once will often lead to frustration, confusion, and/or  falling on one's face. In short, having too many technique points to deal with at once can severely limit the effectiveness of your training session. Instead, try setting a singular technique goal for yourself every day you go out and stick to it.

You may be asking yourself at this point, "but what if I don't have a coach to guide me?" Don't worry, you might be surprised at how much self-coaching you can do. It is important to learn what it 'feels' like to ski with proper technique. This can be accomplished by working drills into your workout. Give yourself a good warm up and then practice a drill or two that help you isolate the part of your technique that you are working on for a given day.

Spend at least ten to fifteen minutes on these drills and pay very close attention to how it FEELS to do it right. Once you've finished with your drills, try to find that feeling again as you ski. If it doesn't feel right, make some adjustments and experiment. Take small bites. Maybe ten minutes or so of strong technique focus. If you get frustrated, stop worrying about your technique for a bit and come back to it later. You might be surprised how much easier technique work is even after a short break.