History of the
Skishortie
Stage 1 of the
process produced two powder coated Microskis which
were initiated with a welded toe piece and foreign made
clamp at the heel in the winter of 2000. It was
essentially an expanded version of the Michigan Laser
Blade with a more ski-like front and rear curve.
Although increased length of the ski by about 2 inches
improved the ride of the ski, from time to time the
''heel piece'' would break due to the pressure of the
heel clamp (as Matt found out)! Nevertheless, we had
never seen a more effective way to traverse the
icy
Sterling
lift line at Smugglers' Notch, so we knew we were on to
something.
The stage 2 unit
appeared in 2003 as the Whirlwind Rider and maintained a
55 cm. length. It used essentially the same stainless
ski blade, but included a welded-on 12 inch platform to
ride suspended on springs at the center, atop the
original ski. The ski curve needed a slight increase at
the front end as Jon discovered in a wipe out while
approaching the lift line at the base of Madonna
Mountain in Jeffersonville, VT. This error was quickly
corrected and the suspended plate, which was predrilled
and tapped, to accommodate most ''throwaway'' ski blade
plastic bindings, was an improved alternative. It worked
very well with the Elan binding and was said to be a
''Great ride'' according to members of the Jay Peak Ski
School on a trial run early in 2004. Several additional
bindings were obtained for demo use from Richard at
the Jay Peak rental center and further demos in 2005
included a look by Donny at the FIRST TRAX ski shop In a
Montgomery, whose slope test included an auto-spin turn
before he had completed the first run!
The Stage 3 version appeared in 2006 with the
realization that throw away bindings'' may actually get
thrown away thus could never be a reliable source for
the Shorties! The ski was great but how does one get a
handle on throw away bindings!? The Manntek plates at
the toe and heel solved the problem. It provides a
sub-platform assembly to fasten both the heel and the
toe to the tapped screw anchors which attach to the
screw extensions under the upper plate. Not only is
there a secure lockdown, by 3 turns of a thumbscrew, the
assembly allows accommodation of any size adult boot by
simply placing the anchor screw over just one position!
The Mini-shorties are
available for ages up to 10 and have been dutifully and
thoroughly tested by Rees Baker, age 4, who in about 8
runs was able to conquer the mountain without a Scratch!
(View Movie Clip)
Dialup users
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Meanwhile Rees' Dad, Matt, was able
to conquer the casual set with a snazzy skating form and create the Shorties
Whirlwind ''SPIN'' as merely an after-thought! (View
Movie) Dialup users
click here
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