Month: March 2013

Snowing like crazy, this is good! A good 6 inches on Upper 4O’clock – now that was fun. Solid all mountain skiers: Dawn, Max and Steve – focus on ‘position of strength’, upper body alignment (hands and hips), more pressure on the inside ski, initiate turn with:

1. release pressure on the old downhill ski,

2. transition (center of mass begins to cross over the skis and new edgies begin to engage,

3. weight, tip and steer the new inside ski (the new outside ski will always follow),

slow beginning of turn to allow ‘things’ to happen, turn shape is circular, complete the last 10% of turn for speed control (must have some hip counter to make this happen), a little roll in the back and shoulders to bring center of mass forward, skis hip width apart (not letting skis ‘collapse’ at bottom of turn. A productive and fun morning, thank you.

Margo, level 2, working on relaxing and having flatter skis to facilitate direction change. Slower breathing, lower heart rate, think pleasant thoughts, go with the skis, use direction change to control speed … being edgie with stiff legs just not meant for those from Oklahoma. Thank you for sharing some details about your family, I enjoyed our afternoon.

The escapees from Norht Carolina: Brad, Mike, Todd. Terrific day, snow, wind, not too cold, 5 minutes of sun, at least 5 inches new snow. Level 7 working on upper body position (more countered to facilitate steering), hands more out in front and introduction to pole touch, inside ski release and tipping at turn initiation, more pressure on inside ski throughout turn, keep both skis ‘grounded’ (ALWAYS), speed control with turn completion vs. outside ski edge pushing. Vail tomorrow, rip it up. Moonshine this summer, one hit for me. Thank you for being willing students … good changes!

MORNING: Rachael, level6/7, cold morning with crunchy snow. Core position, counter with the hips, hands not lazy, more pressure on inside ski (let it work), initiate turn with tipping new inside ski, more shaping, skid with less edge. Toured Peak 8 and Peak 9 – great progress, eager student – thank you for the laughs!

AFTERNOON: Katie and Carthic, snowing hard, a bit warmer than morning – level 1. Wedge glides and change ups, slowing with a wedge. Up Rips Ride to the Poma, one run down with wedge turns. Katie turned on to skiing … Carthic still in the ‘to be determined’ catagory. A good afternoon, a pleasure meeting both of you.

Level 8: Michelle, John, Kathleen, Renate, Theo, Scott – nothing but fun and laughs today. Best run … Windows #5 hands down. High level skiing: steeps, trees, bumps … and a cruise down Crescendo. Chocolate for lunch, Scott’s birthday, how appropriate. Good changes, thank you for experimenting with your technique … ‘if it doesn’t feel wierd, it’s not change’.

Level 7, warmest day this spring, no wind, 50F in Breckenridge, sun, cloudless … this was good. Sally, Michael, Martin, Lori, Becky, Elsa, Joelle, Donna, Pam. White Crown, Amen, Pica, West Snowshoe (think that was the name), Crescendo … different focus for everyone. Late lunch, no chocolate today (I’ll bring chocolate tomorrow), lots of technique talk … there were changes today, hope they stick!

Morning: Level 3/4/5 (figure that one out), San Antonio: Roger, Artie, Hector, Jaoquin. Working on less wedge and more parallel, keep hands up, tip inside ski to flatten and steer, speed control with more turn and less pushing on a hard edge. Most enjoyable morning, thanks guys, have a great two days.

Afternoon: Level 5 going on 6: Lauren, Katherine, Marc, Michael, Ben. Dad, daughters and boyfriends, good humor, some laughs, lots of turns, Focus: no lazy hands, hips more countered (facing down the mountain), initiate turns with new inside ski, slow inititation with less twisting, more patience, side slips (practice these at least one each day), less edgie, a bit more angle at the waist. Pleasure meeting all of you, have fun on this vacation, come back again!

Level 3, Austin, Stacy, Mathew, Kristin – 1/2 day, warmer, mild wind, 8″ new. Stacy and Kristin: matching, skidding, shaping, speed control with friction and direction. Mathew: gliding wedge, wedge turns, flatter skis to allow both skis to turn together. Finished morning with ski down to bottom of Snowflake lift.