Breaking News: Rottefella Introduces the Move Switch for Enhanced XC Ski Performance
New, Adjustable XC Binding Concept Hits The Trails.
Rottefella Move Switch allows for adjustable weight distribution. Credit: Rottefells
The Rottefella company has created the binding solution for waxless and skin cross country skis. The Move Switch is a dial on the front of the binding that will allow skiers to slide the binding forward or backwards without releasing the ski from the boots. That’s right, while you are on the ski trail, you can just bend over and turn the switch for the binding to slide and adjust to the desired weight distribution on each of the skis.
The intention of the Move Switch is for quick adjustment and better performance on flat or hilly terrain for recreational skiers who use waxless skis and particularly the quiet skin skis that have a mohair-type strip embedded in the ski base. If you want to glide better on a slow snow day on the flat trail, then stop and slide the bindings backwards to distribute your weight on the ski to provide more glide. If you need more grip to go up a hill, then slide the bindings forward to attain an enhanced grip to prevent slipping backwards on the snow.
Rottefella has created a moveable binding system that will be available for and can adapt to work with major existing ski plate systems at the other binding manufacturers including Rottefella NIS, Fischer, Rossignol, Salomon, and Atomic. There is also a binding, Rottefella Classic or Skate Quicklock plate that is moveable when skis are removed for those not expecting to move the bindings while skiing.
The Move Switch will make it easier to adjust the ski bindings as necessary correlating to the snow conditions or terrain. In the olden days, such changing required applying different waxes but with the new products, those days should be in the past for recreational cross country skiers. Using waxless skis eliminated the need for waxing the bases, but they worked differently in varying conditions or terrain – some grip well but are slow on the flats, while others glided well but did not hold when going up a hill. The retail price for a system or plate package will run between $69.99 and $149. Currently, the skin waxless skis may comprise about 25 percent of the new XC ski market as skiers are opting for the quiet base that provides good grip and glide in various ski conditions.
Spike Clayton at Skirack, a retail outlet in Burlington, VT, commented that he’s impressed that a Nordic company came out with a product that can be used universally on any ski brand for the ever expanding skin ski market. “The product will give our customer a true choice to improve the performance of the skis easily. The great thing about The Move system is it simple and effective for the skier to use.”
Rottefella Move Switch adapts to many brands of bindings. Credit: Rottefella
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Aug. 24)
Weather Perplexes, Forecasts Of El Nino, Conditioning Ideas, Interesting Articles.
Ok, cut to the chase. This has been a weird summer, weather-wise. In the Northeast, unrelenting hot, humid, stormy, rainy, not just a little but a lot. Out West, dry, fires. In Europe, heat waves and drought. Big hurricanes in the Central Pacific. (Hurricane Lane is the latest taking aim at Hawaii. A few weeks ago, Hurricane Hector was a near-miss.) [Editor Note: In the Central, North, and Eastern Pacific, cyclonic storms are called “Hurricanes”. In the Western Pacific, they are “Typhoons,” and in South East Asia and the Indian Ocean, they are “Cyclones”.]
Some say that we are in the change that was forecast when the CO2 levels in the atmosphere started topping the charts. Others say it’s just part of a cycle. Well, it’s not a cycle we remember. Our friends took their cruising sailboats down east to Maine and found unusual amounts of fog and rain. It happens, but plain old odd weather seems to be happening in a lot of places.
In any case, we’ve been paying close attention to what’s been going on the the Eastern Pacific all summer long. Whether those ocean waters warm up or cool down has a lot to do with the weather we will experience this winter. Right now, the waters are predicted to warm up which means an El Nino condition setting in. Depending on how hot the sea water gets can determine whether it will be an average year or a below average year for snow. To see an excellent discussion of this, go to OpenSnow.com, Joel Gratz’s weather and snow conditions website.
Time To Get Into Shape For Snow Sports
Physical Therapist Rick Silverman starts us off with a basic leg lift.
Meanwhile, as we near the end of August, it would be wise for readers to consider a conditioning strategy for this coming winter. Even if you’ve been active all summer, that doesn’t mean you are totally ready for alpine or nordic skiing, snow-shoeing, or winter hiking. Consider the kayaker: Great upper body strength. If your technique is right, you probably have some great abs, too. But what about those quads and hamstrings? Cyclist? Marvelous gam strength, but is your upper body and ab section ready to support your legs’ movements?
In any case, think over what’s missing in your conditioning and get started. You need at least two months to get back to where you want to be.
SeniorsSkiing.com’s Health>Conditioning menu has a number of suggestions for you. We have a graded series of exercises from easy starters to most challenging from Rick Silverman, a professional physical therapist and exercise consultant. It really is a good place to start.
In addition, we’ve found that some simple Yoga positions scan be enormously helpful in loosing hips and hamstrings, two frequent culprits that cause mischief in lower backs. We have articles on how to do Down Dog, Plank, Squats We also have an overview of Tai Chi, a slow-mo moving form derived from an ancient Asian marital art that is really useful in practicing balance and building strength.
Let us know what you do for winter snow sports conditioning.
This Week
Harriet Wallis reports on the therapeutic nature of tea and an entrepreneurial company that sells a wide array of different and exotic blends with the prosaic name, The Tea Spot. We met some of the enthusiastic staff of this woman-owned and operated company at this year’s Outdoor Recreation show in Denver. Might want to think about replacing that cup of java.
Roger Lohr, publisher of XCSkiResorts.com and SeniorsSkiing.com’s Nordic Editor, has a review of a book senior skiers and outdoorsy types would be interested in. It’s The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams and it presents scientific data on why it is a good thing to spend time outside.
Roger also writes about how golf courses can turn their gently rolling hills into cross-country ski trails when the snow flies. In fact, a consulting company that transforms links to ski terrain for the winter is offering a $500 referral fee to readers who can steer it to a qualified prospect. Read details here.
Finally, correspondent Tamsin Venn reports on a series of downhill-oriented mountain bike trails in the White Mountains that can make a late summer-early autumn weekend vacation a truly magic experience.
Next Time
On to September and more news about our Trailmasters, skis and boots for seniors, where you can ski for free or almost free, and our great, big anniversary issue coming up.
And remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.
Short Swings!
My wife and I have a long-running gag. She’ll say, “Life is short,” to which I’ll respond, “So are you.”
Life IS short. A brief opinion piece last week in The New York Times makes the point that we should squeeze as much out of our time as possible. The author writes: “…the appreciation of our own lives has much to do with the ever-increasing awareness of its relative brevity. It is this — an awareness and acceptance of our own mortality — that makes us human. And it is the impetus, I’d argue, for living our lives to the fullest.”
Those of us pursuing our passions live life to the fullest. Skiing is my passion and has been since I got the bug 65 years ago. As I’ll explain this week when presenting at the annual meeting of the National Ski Council Federation—the organizing body of ski club councils—older skiers are able to stay with their passion, in part, because of modern technology. Ski and boot technology make it easier to do more with good technique and less effort. Snow-making, grooming, and lift technology improve the process of getting up and down mountains. Medical advances—replacement joints included—give many of us the opportunity to continue to play in the snow.
Last season, I experienced a drop in stamina. I’m working at turning that around. I take a daily brisk 3-mile walk, half of it up a steady incline. I’m into a gym routine, guided by Dominick Juliano, my 85-year-old friend who in 1953 won the professional Mr. America competition. Around the same time, he appeared on stage as part of Mae West’s show in Vegas . For all his years and in the face of many challenges, Dominick has retained his good health, great physique, and his remarkably positive outlook. For seven years, he and wife, Carol, sailed with Carol’s then young son from the West Coast, through the Panama Canal, across the Caribbean and the Atlantic and around the Mediterranean. They met as croupiers in Vegas. His tells his story in The Essence of Being(Balboa Press, 2015).
At the end of next month we’ll return to our normal publishing schedule.
Helmet Tech: Worth the Cost
Helmet-wearing skiers/boarders have fewer head and other injuries according to a paper published in the June issue of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. The research found that helmets protect more against cuts and bruises than concussions and that those wearing helmets are less likely to be injured. The authors mention three helmet technologies with brain-protecting technologies. They are D3O, MIPS, and EPS 4D. We at SeniorsSkiing.com believe the additional cost for a helmet with one of these technologies is worthwhile.
Rent Vermont’s Pico Peak for the Day
Pico Peak is available for private rental Tuesdays and Wednesdays January 8 – April 4. The cost is $6,500 for up to 250 guests. Food and beverage services are available for an additional fee. In recent years, other areas, including Utah’s remote Eagle Point, have introduced similar offers. If interested, contact groups@picomountain.com.
New York’s Hunter Mountain Expands
Hunter Mountain is investing $9 million to increase its skiable acreage by 25%. The expansion includes five new trails separated by four large glades. The areas will be accessed by a new high-speed six person chair. The upgrade includes an entrance, parking lots and lodge for Hunter North.
Deer Valley, Squaw Get New Management
- Deer Valley‘s long time president and COO, Bob Wheaton, is stepping down following 38 years at the resort. He’ll take on an advisory role at Alterra Mountain Company, which recently acquired the resort. His replacement is Todd Shallan, a seasoned resort, hospitality and recreation executive. One of his earlier positions was Director of Asset Management for KSL Capital Partners, one of Alterra’s organizing entities.
- Ron Cohen is the new President and Chief Operating Officer of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, another Alterra-owned resort. Cohen has been interim President & COO since April. An attorney, Cohen previously was Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of Mammoth Mountain.
Clever Device to Save Your Phone
Recently stumbled across this superb and inexpensive product. The Gear Beast is a smartphone lanyard with a pocket for cash and/or cards. Worn around the neck, it prevents losing or dropping your phone. Gear Beast fits all size phones and retails for $9.99 direct from the company or from Amazon, Walmart, BestBuy and other online sources.
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