We at Radventures work hard at developing the BEST monoski. In 1995, it became apparent to us that in order to do that, we had to start from the ski, or "board" and work up. The ski and binding manufacturers have invested a great deal of time and money in research to perfect their product over the years. We now have shaped skis which allow us to turn with less physical effort, and bindings that allow for greater flex in the ski than ever before. They have developed good products - why not use them?

Monoskis had always relied on adapted binding systems which not only created flat areas in the ski and restricted flexibility, but also were positioned over "cord center" of the ski which placed most of the weight on the tip. While this made turn initiation easier, it resulted in skidding during the completion phase of the turn. Beginning skiers were over turning, racers were adding precious seconds to their times, and skis were being routinely broken because of restriction of flexibility.

First we set out to replicate the ski boot. We needed a "ski foot" with the same rigidity as a boot to click into the toe and heel of a conventional binding. We determined that our ski foot must also allow for adjustment of the monoski forward and back so that the skier can fine tune his weight position to his particular "sweet spot" on the ski. Just like a stand up skier, our monoskiers' weight can now be placed over "boot center" of the ski to take advantage of the built in flexibility of the board and to better enable the skier to pressure both the tip and the tail to achieve a completely CARVED turn and to set up for the next turn.

The second challenge was to eliminate the release feature of the conventional binding. Some have argued that this is not necessary, but years of seeing European skiers (who have used unpinned bindings for some time,) experience horrific falls when their bindings failed to hold, told us otherwise. Our arguments for pinning bindings are as follows: 1. The idea of independently retreaving your ski and reattaching it on the hill while strapped into a monoski is ridiculous. 2. Safety is very important. A ski firmly attached to the monoski will provide a braking element to help stop the unit from skidding after a fall. 3. The ski is the longest extension off the monoski followed by the skier's head and shoulders. After falling, which would you rather have contact objects on the hill first?

What followed was the development of several pinning methods to keep the toe and heel pieces from moving and to hold the ski foot securely in the binding. After two years of testing prior to marketing them last season, we are confident in the systems we now use. In addition to pinning, however, we still use a quality all metal binding with a high din setting. Considering the amount of leverage generated between the monoski frame and the ski, we feel that it's better to have a good strong binding under you. Please note that even with pinning, we recommend setting the din on the binding at its highest point, which we feel should be no lower than 14 for an adult.

The use of conventional bindings is a giant step forward for monoskiing. It should be noted, however, that "perfect turns," while now possible, are a learned technique which many of us are still working to achieve! To date, there just isn't any piece of equipment that will do it ALL for us, but it's nice to know that it IS within our grasp!

BY CHRIS WADDELL 1999 

As a ski racer I have always felt that monoskiers could and should be among the best skiers on the mountain. Some might argue that we've already attained this lofty status; claiming they won't ski some of the runs we shred regularly or approach what we consider to be normal speeds. Comments from A Joe Public are flattering and even sometimes humorous, but they do not take into account our training. Many of us ski over 100 days a year and pursue our sport as relentlessly as the top able-bodied skiers in the world. Like all highly
motivated athletes, we monoskiers don't seek competence and parity, we seek perfection and superiority.

Will there ever come a day when monoskiers win disabled races? Who knows for sure, but there are two significant factors in our favor. One, we are symetrically stronger than the other classes (generally monoskiers don't have imbalances as a result of missing limbs.) And two, we have a mechanical advantage. Unlike someone's legs, the monoski does not get tired - the shock is as strong at the bottom as the top. The question remains- how can we take advantage of the monoski's mechanical advantage? Simply by efficiently directing the skier's weight into the snow ski , making it bend and thus turn.

Easier said than done. A precise blend of pressure and timing is needed to efficiently direct the skier's weight into the ski. Technically the monoskier must continue to progress, more closely approaching the movements (from the waist up,) of the best able-bodied skiers and the technology of the monoski must improve. The ski needs to stay in contact with the snow throughout the turn; the monoskier needs to move freely from side to side; and the geometry of the monoski needs to direct the skier's weight and pressure into the ski. Working with monoskiers will always be an incomplete science because of inherent lacks of function and sensation. Not only are our movements limited, but often our feedback is as well, because we simply don't always feel what is going on.

The answer for monoski manufacturers is exhaustive testing and extreme patience. For the past four years I've been fortunate to be a member of Team Yetti. As a group we've realized that it's not how the monoski looks on the computer or in the shop that matters,
it's how it skis. Since we monoskiers cannot feel everything, video analysis has helped complete the picture. Combining how the ski felt with how it looked has helped approach greater efficiency. Time testing and wind tunnel testing are being undertaken to complete
the picture. Empirical testing is paramount.

Yetti has always made a huge commitment to this testing and to the monoski. By extension they've also made a huge commitment to the future of the sport. Through the testing we're doing today, and through dogged determination, we believe that someday monoskiers will truly be the best skiers on the mountain!

TECH TALK # 3

THE PURSUIT OF THE PERFECT LOADER

An important consideration for any skier is loading onto the chairlift. Let's face it, all of us are, in some form, intimidated by the chairlift! For a monoskier this is an especially important issue.

At Radventures, Inc. We have always believed that an individual's independence is important. For this reason, we have made it a point to have a loader system that will reach enough height to access the
chair and to seat the monoskier on the chair in a secure and stable position. Even though we've done very well with achieving successful loads, the critique is made that it's not a perfect load.

While we are continually seeking to better our equipment is every way, this one in particular, we steadfastly maintain that one should not compromise their ability to ski correctly just to make the loading easier. To us, having enough room in a seat so that the skier's legs can separate to allow room for a loader handle, is counterproductive. To ski well and easily in a monoski, every movement should translate to the ski. This is difficult to do unless you
are tight in your seat, (have a tight boot fit.) Additionally, if a monoski frame separates, but it does not somehow lock together while skiing, it is possible to spring up into the load position when you fall, or go over a series of deep bumps. This radical a movement made with enough force has, in the past, been responsible for some very serious injuries.

We have observed and worked with many of the best monoskiers in the world. The one thing they all agree on is that they are striving to SKI better. The skiing takes priority over the loading every time! These people have convinced us to remove the loading mechanism and the frame separation from our high performance units entirely. Some of the advantages are: lighter weight monoskis, fewer parts to worry about maintaining, fewer parts to contact the snow when
angulating, and most important to skiing technique- torsional stiffness in the frame of the monoski.

We believe that with the help of the ANSI/RESNA Committee on Standardization in raising the awareness of the resort people so that chairlift heights are maintained at 18 inches, one day there will be very few monoskis with loaders. We do realize that this may not suit the needs of everyone. Therefore we are always exploring new ways
to enable ALL our monoskiers to load on to the chairlift with grace, ease, and without sacrificing performance.

14/11/2000