Month: February 2019

Gregg, Sam, Chuck, Matt, Drew, Toph – ‘frat’ friends that now live all over the country, get together once a year to ski, drink beer and probably relive a few of the glory days. This was a bugger of a cold day, strong wind, little sun, low temp … but, was the skiing ever good. Peak 9 to get Matt and Drew going in the right direction, Peak 8 in PM with some steep off piste stuff … have skied at Breck for 51 years, never seen the top of T-bar so brutal, a memorable ride for sure. Bringing the skis closer together, pivoting/steering/leg rotation, let the new inside ski have some weight and be a ‘player’, weighted release (keep some weight on the new inside ski, no lifting), vertical alignment, shaping with less edge, side slips (the bread and butter of skiing), turn shape and friction, how to get going on the steeps, no need to use the whole width of run – 1/4 will do, dropping the arms/hands leads to hopping in the ‘back seat’ and finishing the turn squared up with a down hill ski tail push (some great ‘shopping’ traverses have resulted). One of the highlights of the season hanging with you guys … thanks for the beer and some social!!

Treenah – Level 1, there were some real nerves at start of lesson (think that actually happens a lot at this level), Magic Carpet was our home for the afternoon. Moving on one ski, moving on two skis, making a wedge, up the carpet, gliding wedge, gliding wedge with a direction change, wedge change ups, straight run to a wedge slow down and stop, edge control, turning both skis together, arm position (no ‘chicken wings’ ok), where to look, where not to look, getting rid of the ‘wobbly wedge’. Your best and most stable wedge was skiing down to the lodge. I do believe you ended the day with no nerves! Thanks for the afternoon, it’s a great sport, wholesome endeavor for your children.

Audra – Denver, CO – now this was a nice day, warm, sun, wind up high (but we weren’t there), 4″ of new that was quite ski-able. Audra not have her skis on in five years, right out of the bat skiing to a high level 7 (low 8 on a good run), Dukes, North Star and a few runs on Peak 7. Finding the balance, coming off a ‘too aggressive’ edge, how do short radius turns really work, getting some discipline in the arms, CM and base of support (feet) crossing over at turn initiation to facilitate edge change, leading with the new inside ski,  keeping’some’ weight on that new inside ski (no lifting) as it transitions from the old outside ski, hip counter, leg steering, shaping the turn, finishing the turn, where does speed control really come from, side slips and how this develops skill for ‘smearing’ a shorter radius turn. Your next mission Audra (if you are willing to accept it) is start to use the wide ‘athletic’ arms for a pole touch to ‘kick off’ the new turn by letting the CM follow that pole touch down the mountain. Hummm, that was a lot of stuff, no wonder we were hungry at lunch, fun morning of skiing and learning about Luhta.

 

John – Canton, OH. An hour (more like two after we looked at a little Josh Foster video in the Vista Haus) in the afternoon: how to control speed on steeper terrain/bumps/off piste/ice. Well John, think I gave you a new mantra and enough to keep the mind and skis busy for awhile. Counter, what is really going on with the hips, how do turns initiate, how does pressure shift from ski to ski, what is leg steering, rounder turn shape, ski grip (this is good stuff to never lose, even at initiation), coming off the hard edge, more skidding and shaping, use more of the ski bottoms (good friction here), skiing a narrower corridor (make yourself do this John, it will help with the shorter radius turns that are more slidee (don’t think that’s a real word but it is descriptive) that have a nice semi-circle shape). Lot of stuff in an hour, huh … it all ties together as you will slowly but continually realize. Hey, if was easy they would call it basketball!!

Nelson, Jessica, Eva – Elk Grove, CA – Level 1 (but somewhere in their past skis had been put on), nice day all and all, mid 30s, not too much wind on lower mountain, 4″ new, kind of sticky on for first 30 minutes. Some single ski push and glide, gliding wedges, how to find and keep balance, some flexion in ankles/knees/hip is good, butt back and upper body too far forward is bad, relaxed, wedge turns for speed control (and see more of the terrain than what’s right in front of the tips), matching in the traverse, weight distribution ski to ski, leg rotation and turning the skis, how tipping controls the edge, turning both skis together. Riding Rip’s Ride chairlift and skiing down from Poma practice area. You are level 3s now, well done, enjoy tomorrow … this is a cool sport, hope you get hooked!

Tina, Annette, Amy, Catharine – Sunday Club (Club classes have been small, some travelling, some broken), not a cloud in the sky, not too cold, the ever present wind was present, upper mountain closed again. Started on something steep and slick, finished on something steep and bumpy … Rustler, Outlaw, Devil’s Crotch, Inferno. Hop pivots without skis (a good warm up exercise), when to edge more aggressive/when to be more skiddy, how to ‘get going’ on a steep pitch with moguls, holding a tighter line (getting easier isn’t it), staying open to the downhill to initiate and finish those turns on challenging terrain (getting easier isn’t it), using the pole plant for a real purpose, rhythm (never really starting, never really finishing). Much fun, good laughs at lunch, you ladies are skiing well, a pleasure to watch!

Brenda, Meow, Nick, Elaine – Saturday Club, not too cold, not too warm, but definitely many skiers on the mountain … and they were all in Ten Mile Station at 11:45. Peak 10, Peak 8 – some steep slick stuff, some steep bump stuff, some stuff in between that was good for practice. Lots of pivot type practice, pressuring the new outside ski early, what does it feel like to rotate in the new inside ski (what are the muscles doing), pressuring both skis (keep doing that Brenda, it’s working), getting the skis away from the body early, where is ‘neutral’ – wherever it is it’s not there long, pole plant more down the fall line, commit the CM to cross over (not up) to facilitate finding the new edges, eliminating the ‘shop’ in bump, skis closer, how to handle steep/narrow/icy/bumps, how do pressure turns and pivot turns mesh.

Laurel, Jenny, Rebecca, Diane, Olive – the Thursday hardy lot, and this was a hardy day … wow, it was cold, temp around 5 degrees or so, wind a howler, two runs and warm up. No real teaching today (well, maybe just a little), bumps on every run … Dukes, High A, Little Johnny, Crescendo, with Rounders thrown in for good measure. If there was a focus: ‘commit to the new turn with CM/feet crossing over/under, pressure the new outside ski edge right at transition (maybe even before), steer the new inside ski (the outside ski will follow – always!), flexion at ankles/knees/hip, stay countered to the outside of the turn, skid and shape, slipping good to adjust line in bumps, the pole plant helps stabilize the upper body and commits the CM down the mountain’. Thanks for coming out to play! We are skiers – some days it’s just COLD.