Month: March 2013

Andrew, Joanna and Rachel – the English flavor to a grand day of skiing. Solid leve 9 all mountain skiers, what a fun day of challenging ourselves and finding new terrain. A few topics of discussion: some pressure on both skis, initiate the next turn with a ‘neutral’ then leading with the new inside ski, narrower stance to enable independent leg steering, everything uphill fowared (especially the hand and arm), the ‘position of power’, tactics in bumps – when and when not to explore the trough, hip position, let the zipper face more down the mountain, keep feet/hips/shoulders alignment to enable leg steering of the femurs in the hip sockets. What ripping fun to know anything on the mountain is the playground. Thank you for our day!

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Morning: Neil, Lisa, Jack – I think the English actually like some of our American skiing. Powder for the first two runs … patience, keep centered on both skis, shape with leg steering, slow is good, Tbar and Upper 4O’clock, position of power, keep hands and arms athletic – not robotic but supple, slight bend at waist but only if hips countered, too much edge creates thigh fatigue, Well done Blokes, been a great two days, thank you. Have a pint of Best Bitters for me when you get home.

 Afternoon: Becky, Sarah, Annie – if these three ladies set the ‘attitide’ for Ohio, then it’s a good place to live. Lots of laughs, what a pleasure. Our focus: kill the wedge (of no use other than in lift line and real tight trees), begin turn with downhill ski (this surely must be the 11th Commandment), soften the edges and let skis dift/skid/slide, shape with femur steering in the hip joints, keep upper body quiet (it is the platform for leg steering, if too much hip and upper body movement the legs don’t have a chance), moderate angle at the waist to help keep center of mass forward (90% of skiers on mountain are too much in the ‘back seat’), keep some shin pressure on boat (assures a more balanced stance). Terrific afternoon, thanks for sharing some of your craziness with me. Say cool!

The WHOLE Latuda entourage … what an event. This day ranged from Springmeire green to Inferno double black and a lot of blues in between. Breakout day for Alexandria and Arianna – they broke the ‘code’ … opened the door to the next level. Linking turns with a rhythm ‘taking it dwon the mountain’ for Alexandria – keeping pressure on both skis at turn initiation to keep the speed under control on steep mogul runs for Arianna. I remember the first day we all met … cold, many ‘issues’, magic carpet and POMA … for some reason that day the bond begin to form. Today skiing down all mountain terrain on a warm sunny day … the bond continues to form.

Morning: Jeff … Ohio … level 7/8 (the east does crank out good skier – that one could get me in trouble). Big focus – hip alignment to create the platform for independent leg steering – and, less edge, more skid and shape, check speed at top of mogul, steer inside ski to it’s new edge (the outside ski will follow), hands and pole touch. Great morning Jeff … think the light bulb is starting to glow with what skiing can really be.

 

Afternoon: Will, James and Charlie … New Jersey … the video game crew (and baseball, soccer, basketball and who knows what else). Sometimes room clean (sometimes not), sometimes fighting amoung brothers (sometimes not). Big focus – less wedge and more matching. Get the hands up, face more down the mountain, ok to go a little faster, slide with both skis parallel, don’t turn so quick (patience), hockey stops, hockey slow downs, hockey slides. Everyone will sleep good tonight … fun afternoon guys, thanks for letting me give you some changes.

Neil and Lisa, the British invasion. Level 7, solid fundamentals, definitely lessons lurking in the past. What another cold day … but no worries, the wind was only 20 knots or so. Tea and hot chocolate at 11:00AM put a warm spin on the morning. Focus: traverse on uphill ski, upper body alignment with skis, hand position, hip counter, pressure on inside ski, inside ski working and leading the turn, turn completion, leg steering from the stable hips, turn initiation with new inside ski. You Brits are hardy lot … and fun, thx for a good morning!

Andy, Tony, Tara – the gang from south Florida. Cold morning, 10F or so to start, 5 inches new snow, good snow and good for you. Level 5/6, focus on more pressure both feet, initiate turn with new inside ski, elbows in front of spine/6 to 8 inches from body/hands wider than elbows/hands about chest high/downhill hand low and back/uphill hand higher and ahead, all this hand stuff facilitates keeping the hips open to the turn allowing freedom of leg steering, ‘show the photographer the jacket zipper’, keep both skis on the snow during turn initiation, steer the skis together (eliminate the wedge). Sounds complicated but not really … pick one thing at a time to play with during a run (or even all day), cherish the small victories … it’s a journey with lots of fun along the way. Thank you for the morning – enjoy spring break!

Morning

: Steve, Dawn and Max – what a diverse morning, early start (8:30am), hard charge until 12:30pm, sunny day in the morning, not too cold, good snow – just a great morning of skiing. Horseshoe bowl, powder on Upper 4O’clock, some bumps on Crescendo (not to fret, they will make more sense as each year goes by … it’s just a journey, no destination), ridge line off Imperial lift, some stuff on Peak 7. Focus: pressure management was main thrust of the morning, good pressure at turn apex, don’t hang onto it too long, side slips on downhill then uphill ski, shuffle turns, one ski turns, Javeline turns, a few trees. Probably a thousand turns in two days … thank you for letting me be a part of your family for just a little slice of time … this skiing thing is a common thread we share.

Afternoon: Margo … starting to tap into your humor lady, it’s fun. Begin a level 2, end at level 3 (skiing down a green slope with wedge turns). This a most memorable afternoon for both of us, don’t know who was happier. Speed control with turn direction, take it slow, soft legs, enjoy the experience of skiing. I like this picture of three generations … how does that happen in just the blink of an eye. You are now a skier! Most proud of you.