Yes we can change...skiing
Imagine that your ski can "skate" down hard slopes
and "surf" on powder like a surfboard with rear fins.
Very first prototypes of the strange "ski with fin-control"
emerged on ski forums in USA, GB and Germany in October 2007.
We called them "Rax skis" to honor their Austrian birth place.
The difference between a normal ski and the Rax ski is
..vertical metal fins for high grip on snow surface
They support you when you are executing carve turns on piste
and give you better control and more security when riding off-piste terrain.
Free discussions and test reports on leading Internet forums
US forum TetonGravity
GB forum Natives
DE magazine Freeskiers
US forum TetonGravity
Video
Click here to get a short video from YouTube
Video: freeriding on Rax skis off piste
Die ganze Geschichte mit Fotos als pdf (german version)
Video: Rax skis on piste
Video s ceskym textem od ski-akrobatu ze Sumavy
The birth of world`s 1st high-grip ski
A new alpine ski emerged on extreme Austrian slopes in 2006.
We were trying to improve the security and the stability of ski turns in Steeps.
The state-of-the-art "jump turn" on traditional long skis seemed too dangerous and unefficient.
Heavy jump landings could trigger an avalanche.
We felt that a freeride ski had to get "something" to cut in the hard snow
but that this "something" had to be very short to allow for easy turning.
This was how the ski with metal fins was born as a freeride ski for extreme conditions.
Metal fins secure a high-grip in rough and bumpy snow, unknown with any other ski and snowboard .
All this happened on Mt.Rax and that is why we started calling our invention "The Rax Ski".
Extreme freeride ski goes piste
After a year of lonely testing in the wilderness, the Rax Ski dropped all but one pair of its awesome fins,
downsized and rounded them and finally entered the civilization on the ski piste.
New features aimed at skier`s comfort:
- a single coaxial fin was mounted 5 - 7cm behind the heels to carve effortless on hard groomed runs,
- the ski base grew wider and smoother for better gliding on powder and other soft snow surface
- the steep and long tail (the pride of first Rax skis) was trimmed to pure functionality.
- Rax skis got shaped to support carve turns
Metal fins control the ski's direction
Small vertical fins are positioned behind the ski boots and above the ski base.
The skier must be able to glide and turn as he is used to on a traditional ski.
Raising ski tips presses the metal fins in the snow and activates the new direction control
- the fin control.
The fins carving in the snow operate like skate skids when the ski is running on hard pack and ice
or like surfboard fins when skiing powder and other soft snow arts.
The ski can then be turned by simple twisting the feet to the right or to the left.
The new ski has a higher tail or a diagonal carrier to hold the fins.
Ski technique
The new ski supports carve turns and other edge-controlled turns as well as a new turn "on the fins".
Parallel and carve turns can be assisted by metal fins fixed on both sides of the ski tail.
This makes carving more efficient (the rear fin acts as the last section of ski edge)
and prevents ski tail from turning over the new driving direction.
A slalom turn can be initiated with sharp angulation while the weight is extremely forward
and then executed "on the fins" as fins carve deeper and hardly skid away.
Raising ski tips is a prerequisite for any pure turn "on the fins".
Initiated by the skier leaning backwards or "jetting" his feet forwards,
this operation activates (presses) the fins and deactivates (lifts) the ski edges.
The ski turn "on the fins" is the easiest turn in the whole ski history,
provided that fins are very close to each other such forming a virtual pivot.
It's like an ice-skater turning.
While running "on the fins" the skier controls the direction by simple twisting his feet to the right or to the left
Unlike a carve turn, the turn "on the fins" can be abrupted or corrected immediately without any weight transfer or angulation.
Pivoting on rear fins allows for the fastest series of two or more connected parallel turns per second (on well-groomed piste).
And ... after a hunderd of such turns "on the fins" you are not feeling tired.
Skiing damaged piste with soft moguls
The worse the snow conditions on the piste, the more you will love your Rax ski.
The bumpy and sticky terrain makes carve turns nearly impossible
and classical parallel turns very dangerous for knee ligaments.
With a Rax ski, you are "turning on the fins" while avoiding any pressure on ski tips.
Surfing down the churned run on soft moguls like a surfboard, no danger for your legs.
Surfing down the slopes in powder and heavy snow
Adrenaline as a goal, we have developed a very fat (15/13/14cm) Rax model.
Streamlined fins operate in powder snow like rear fins of a surfboard in water.
Surfing down the powder has become the reality.
Other Rax models are also excellent in all soft snow arts provided that the slope is steep enough.
Skiing trees
and cliffs on Mt. Rax in Eastern Alps has inspired this invention. The vertical drop of 1000m
is comparable with famous trees' sections worldwide. Metal fins offer unknown high grip in changing snow conditions.
Rax Ski is still under control on hard bumps where other skis are already jumping and skidding away.
In fact, metal fins under the heels cut a rail in bumps.
Hitting a submerged rock with a rear fin kicks the ski tail high, making ski tip dash against the surface and absorb the kick.
Such incidents show how important is it to mount fins at the ski tail and above the gliding surface.
Do not use fins with steep front edges on rocks, stones and twigs. Steel and titanal fins are preferable here.
Skiing steeps
In very rough and steep terrain the ski offers a new radical turn.
The skier starts this turn by powerful jetting/raising the ski tips,
such forcing the skis to “ride on rear fins” for a moment before both skis drop downhill and complete the turn.
Rear fins do not lose their grip during the whole turn, giving skier the possibility of a turn-correction
or -interruption,
e.g. on an unexpected ice spot or a submerged rock.
Let us call this turn „The Jet Parallel Turn on Fins“.
The alternative is the "Jump Turn": a vigorous take off to release both skis from the snow,
a rotation of skis in the air by 180 degrees and a heavy landing in an unknown terrain.
Reportedly the avalanche trigger No 1.
Test reports
Test report on American ski forum tetongravity.com
Ski-akrobati ze Sumavy testovali Rax-ski
Test report on British ski forum snowheads.com
Model "Combat Tank"
Like a combat tank, this armored, 2cm-thick ski breaks thru all obstacles on difficult slopes
and brings you down safely. If this model could not make it, no other ski has any chance.
Controlling the speed like a „Firngleiter“
Some Rax models have their ski bases "cut off" just behind the ski boots.
The gliding surface is terminated with a steel edge and then continues 1 to 3 cm higher as the ski tail such forming a "step".
Sawing off skis behind the boots convert any ski to „Firngleiter“= the glider on corn snow fields in the springtime,
a secret Tyrol underground ski since 1930s, still riding down steep couloirs in the fall line.
The „Firngleiter“ got something no other ski has: a brake activated by skier's leaning back.
The cut-off edge is then scratching the ice or pressing the soft snow.
Some Rax models are successors of „Firngleiter“
All Rax models having ski bases "cut off" just behind the heels can "firngleiten" or "figln".
This feature can be crucial when riding down extreme Steeps in or near the fall line.
The skier can lean back very abruptly without any danger of falling back.
Other Rax models can tilt back in soft snow as a result of careless leaning backwards.
In ice and hard snow, leaning back makes rear fins of all Rax skis wedge and brake like a „Firngleiter“.
We have improved the Tyrol original by the invention of metal fins as the new direction control.
Rax skis with „Firngleiter“ feature are the best choice in difficult conditions.
Ski security
Unlike shaped “carving” skis, the new ski (*) offers no handle
at the ski tip section to get skewed by bumpy terrain,
provided that ski tips have been slightly lifted and rear fins are carving.
The position of fins (center of dynamic friction) behind the ski boot (it projects skier's weight on ski)
forces skis to automatically stabilize in the driving direction and therefore parallel
to each other. The frequency of falls and accidents has been minimized
by this feature of self-stabilization in driving direction.
* = except for shaped “carving” skis converted to Rax
New lifestyle in snow
Rax skis can ride down narrow strips of any snow.
Excessively wide piste, grooming machine and artificial snow to cover large areas:
shut them down and make way for more ecological skiing!
Very short Rax models make you free. You turn as you ride, you ride as you turn.
If you can safely ride straight off-piste then you can automatically turn there.
There is no difference between turning and not turning except for centrifugal forces.
(We are not talking about special turns for extreme slopes or slalom competitions.)
With Rax skis, the expert gets the gear to descend couloirs he was dreaming of.
Warning: the new ski is a pure heresy, it can trigger a raxolution... hm.. revolution.
It favors funny maneuvers over raw speed. Sell the grooming machines and build hills,
crests, couloirs, lofty paths, stairs, bridges, trampolines and ladders on your piste !
"Dancing in the snow" could become a new paradigm, in contrast to "Frozen statue passing long carved turn".
Though there are long Rax skis for freeride racing, we are recommending short or even very short Rax skis
for backcountry and piste. They let you enjoy easy skiing, minimize accidents and avoid shin bang
(injury of foot or shin caused by the leverage effect of long ski on them).
Click here to get a short video from YouTube
Recycling old skis to Rax models
Skis with fins can be assembled of millions of recycled skis and bindings.
Original bindings cause no security problems provided that old skis were cut off to the length of about 1m.
History of this invention
The first prototype emerged from experiments with short skis for extreme freeriding.
Easy-to-turn shorties beat other skis and snowboards in narrow couloirs
but they wobble rather than track
if snow gets harder and speed increases.
In January 2006 we happened to fix vertical metal fins on the ski tail,
positioned above the gliding surface.
Raising ski tips should press the metal fins in the snow and make them carve.
The ski could then turn like a skate, a water ski or a surfboard, controlled by rear fins.
We were not sure, whether our prototype would turn at all.
It did, and its successors developed very efficient direction- and speed-control.
Both ski design and technique utilize a niche in the physics of skiing
which remained undiscovered
as it was useless or even harmful for ski-establishment.
With this invention, varying the size, the shape, the location and the number of fins
as well as the length
and the angle of the slant ski tail
results in specialized models for hard, soft, corn and heavy snow,
for specific speed range and terrain steepness.
History of parallel turn
At the very beginning of down-hill skiing (1892-1905), the technique of "releasing ski tips"
was invented to initiate parallel (!) turns on soft and heavy snow.
Pioneers like Zdarsky were "sitting" on a long pole scratching the snow between ski tails
and preventing the skier's body from falling back.
Modern equipment such as firm ski boots, bindings and elastic ski tails
makes Zdarsky's technique possible without ridiculous single pole between the legs.
This invention just introduced vertical metal fins to amplify the steering effect of plain ski tails,
especially on hard snow or ice and at higher speeds.
Physics of ski movement
The location of metal fins above the gliding surface lets the ski glide and turn like any downhill ski.
Due to its reduced length, the ski can be turned by simple twisting the feet to the right or to the left (direct parallel turn).
When the skier raises ski tips and puts the pressure on ski tails, the metal fins start carving and steering the movement
while traditional control elements (ski edges between tip and binding) lose their snow grip and function.
The new ski is then running on (typically) 3 fins over hard snow surface. A torsional momentum generated by pushing off ski pole,
the other ski or by antirotation of arms and poles turns the ski along an virtual axis located somewhere between those 3 fins.
As a result the ski and its fins deviate from actual driving direction.
The fins then start acting as "fins", i.e. they gradually divert the skier's course. Having the angular momentum ceased, fins keep on
stabilizing the new course.
This demonstrates the dual function of fins: as a virtual pivot point and as a direction stabilizing fin.
The lower the distance between fins, the easier will the ski turn. We locate the fins 6 to 15cm from each other.
However, a fair distance between fins located on one edge is essential for course stabilization.
This complex process appears to skier as "twisting feet to the left brings the left turn, etc", provided that his fins are really carving.
The position of fins (the friction point) behind the ski boot (the acceleration point)
forces skis to automatically stabilize in the driving direction and therefore parallel to each other.
If the form and size of the metal fins fit the snow condition, the new ski “carves” without skidding.
History of metal fins on skis
Many experiments have been carried with vertical metal fins on skis in the last 100 years.
Some of them were even patented.
Because their fins were located below the gliding surface
they all had a heavy problem on the ice or the hard pack snow
as the fins wedged and the skis got stuck like a blunt saw in hard wood.
With the new ski the pressure on fins is controlled
by skier’s weight transfer.
The starting wedge of the fins in a sudden ice spot causes a torsional moment
which in turn lifts the fins from the ice, making the skis glide and avoiding potential deadlock.
Contact address EMail: info@raxski.com
Company name: Rax Skidesign Gmbh
Site: Vienna, Austria