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Flying twin tips

>> The new school puts boring old skiing on the comeback trail

by RALUCA STATE

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but this winter they are finally going to be proven wrong. New tricks are what new-school skiing is all about and snow dogs, old and new, are quickly catching on.

“People call it new-school skiing because it is new to a lot of people, but it’s been around for five or six years,” explains Danny Laroche, part owner of D-Structure, one of the only shops in North America and the only one in Montreal entirely devoted to the sport. “They use a new type of ski that is built differently and made differently—twin tips, that lift in the front and the back. The guys are doing pretty much what snowboarders are doing: using pipes, big air, parks, they even do rails down in the city… on twin tips.”

Quickly being considered a brand new sport by skiers and snowboarders alike, this extreme twist on old-school alpine action exploded onto the slopes when athletes like Quebec’s J.F. Cusson and Sweden’s Jon Olsson started to hit the snowboard parks on their skis. “It pretty much started with a bunch of skiers pushing themselves more and more, who saw snowboarding and wanted to do half pipe and big airs and land fakie,” Laroche says.

The twin tips let traditional skiers like Olsson land and take off backwards (fakie), gives them more maneuverability because of their shortened length and brings a new excitement to the slopes. “I liked the idea of being able to ski how and when I wanted and not having a coach telling me what to do,” Olsson says of his initial leap into the sport.

Soon enough new-school skiing (or freeskiing, depending on who you talk to) had found itself a cozy spot on the hills and a great publicity spot on the X-Games. And suddenly the mass exodus towards snowboarding began to slow down. “A lot of kids had stopped skiing and went to snowboarding because they wanted to try something new,” Laroche says. “But they still loved skiing more and now they can play almost the same way as snowboarders, but with a pair of skis,”.

Iannick B., one of Montreal’s star new-school skiers and a member of the D-Structure pro team, agrees. “I got back on skis about three years ago,” he recalls. “When I was younger, skiing was definitely my favourite sport, but I switched to snowboarding at age 15. Now I see my comeback to skis like the resurrection of an old love.”

Culture carving

So does that mean today’s cool winter athletes will all be trading in their boards for skis? “The new-school movement is the revival of skiing. I don’t think it’ll affect the snowboard industry,” Iannick B. says. “It might take away some people who want to switch back to skiing but in the end, I really think both sports can grow together.” And with all their similarities, they should. The new-school phenomenon has not only gained a spot in snowboard friendly competitions like the X-Games and the U.S. Open, it has launched dozens of videos and magazines and is giving birth to its own culture where the people, the style and the clothes can easily intermix with the snowboarding world. “The style in new-school skiing is very popular right now, really skate and snowboard inspired,” Olsson notes.

But that doesn’t mean the two are a perfect mix. The snowboarding industry has a hard time embracing the new-school movement and the new-school skiers have an even harder time embracing the Fédération international de ski (FIS), a traditional corporate entity that many new-schoolers feel doesn’t represent their take on the sport. Which leaves them smack in the middle. “They want to do their own stuff but right now they are caught in between,” Laroche explains.

Quebec’s pioneers

If they have to be stuck anywhere, Quebec would probably be on the top of many new-school skiers’ lists. Many of the sport’s pioneers hail from our belle province and Laroche and co.’s groundbreaking retail venture has kept Montreal in the new-school spotlight. D-Structure, which Laroche opened in March 2000 with partners Serge Maheu and Félix Rioux, carries an entire range of new-school skis and equipment, unlike most other shops in North America.

He boasts that his entire staff rides twin tips, knows the products and will happily offer customized service, which comes in handy when a complete set up can set you back around $1,500. “When you walk in you don’t have to deal with an old guy who doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” says Iannick B. “The only stuff they sell is related to the twin-tip industry.”

But buying twin tips can be a new experience for even the most seasoned downhill skier. Look for something slightly shorter than normal skis and, similar to buying a snowboard, the perfect pair depends on your weight and what you want to do with them (i.e. riding park vs. mountain).

“Quebec is a good place [for new-school skiing] because of the accessibility of snow parks,” Iannick B. notes. “Since our mountains are fairly small and powder skiing only happens once or twice a year, there are lots of park skiers. People who can show they can ride everything will stay on top of the game.” And to these guys, the game won’t be coming to an end anytime soon. “It’s going to stick around for sure. If you asked yourself 10 years ago where snowboarding is going to go and you look at it right now, it’s night and day,” Laroche says. “It’s going to be the same thing with new-school skiing.” :

D-Structure is located at 2043 St-Denis and online at www.d-structure.com.