Month: January 2016

Marlee – level 3 – 11 inches of new snow, cold, snow sticky, started out on Poma, last run on Colorado Super Chair. Gliding wedge, turning wedge, matching in the traverse, skidding with softer edges, skidding and shaping for speed control from friction and turn shape, hops, arms forward and wide for balance, Springmeire. Good job Marlee, now you can practice and starting having some of the fun skiing offers. 

Linda, Brenda, Don, Meow, Nick – good snow, kind of windy (that’s a relative term for Breckenridge), not too cold. Peak 6 & 7 … early edge change, never lose pressure from either ski, less rotation at turn initiation, more flex at turn completion/initiation, extend into the shaping phase, 5 concepts of good skiing (manage pressure, foot to foot, fore/aft, rotation, tipping), initiate on top of the bump while flexed then extend into the next flank for shaping. Picnic at Grand Lodge (thanks Meow) with everyone sharing what food was in pocket, plenty of chocolate. 

Pam, Joelle, Kay, Donna – this was one windy morning (some lifts closed, maybe up to 35kts, but not too cold, afternoon delightful) …. working on bumps, keeping both skis on the snow and pressured, initiate on top of bump, shape on the sides, early edge changed, never lose pressure from old outside to new inside, complete each turn (sometimes turning up the hill), more flexed in ankles and knees, standing tall on the top of bump is a recipe for ‘step and lift’. Good days lady, you are a hardy bunch.

Olive, Paola, Chris, Jenny, Mitzi, Betty, Theresa  -upper level 8. Skiing all upper mountain, steeps, some bumps (but not big), tour from Peak 6 back to Peak 8 through the upper gate, Brilles, Rustler, Joker, Beyond Bowl, Imperial Bowl, Whales, Y Chutes, White Crown – every run off piste. Keeping both skis ‘grounded’, maintain pressure at all times, early edge change, complete the turn, pressure early in the turn, lead with the inside 1/2 through the finish phase. Great day, sunny, not too cold, wind on the T-bar, chocolate for lunch (thank you Mitzi).

Richard, Justin, Katie, Ashley, Lauren – levels 7-9. Letting the inside 1/2 of the body lead (especially the hips), wider arms (get the hands in position to pole plant, stabilize the upper body), side slips, pivot turns, early edge change (as opposed to early rotation which results in more of a Z turn), shaping with some skidding, pole balance, mono mark tele turns, one ski turns, maintain ski/snow contact all the time, pressure through the apex, flex/extend in bumps. Fun meeting all of you, a most enjoyable day!

Linda, Brenda, Don, Meow, Nick – perfect size class, warm, little wind (don’t think it’s ever zero), mountain skiing good except 6 chair early morning (that was a mistake). Imperial Bowl, Whales, Vertigo, Debs Alley (that would be Death Alley for Meow), White Crown, Rustle, Outlaw … steep terrain with some bumps. Balance, completing each turn, not too twisty in the spine, don’t give up on the ‘inside half’ in the later phase of the turn, flex at turn initiation-extend into the apex, rebalance at turn initiation with ankle/knee flexion. This was a good day … some changes and skiing lots of terrain.

Pam, Donna, Kay, Joelle, Nancy – balance, fear, turn completion, early edge change, how to generate pressure, where to INITIATE on the bump, where to TURN on the bump, speed control, hip counter. Warm, delightful day, better if we had had chocolate, my fault. 

Olive, Paola, Chonge, Chirs, Mitzi, Jenny,  – Crazy 8s. First run right inlto Way Out with fresh tracks, set the tone for the day, all off piste, lots of vertical with untracked and cutup powder, White Crown, Ptarmigan, Boundary Chutes, Whales Tale, Y Chutes, Rustler … hard charge all day … now this is level 8 skiing. Leading with the inside half, holding onto that lead and not squaring up, let the inside hip start to face the outside of the new turn early and above the fall line, keep the hip/knee/foot aligned (both inside and outside side of the body). Truly and amazing day, good times!