Month: November 2019

Morgan – Colorado Springs. This was one wicked weather day, oh boy, -17 wind chill in the morning, most lifts closed due to wind … but skiing was good, learning was good, what the heck – this is a sport to ‘take it as it comes’. Working on matching and being strong in the turn: tipping inside ski, early edge change (both skis), pressure the new ski all the way through the turn, hands and arms wide and out in front of body, hips and upper body facing more down the mountain, think about initiating the turn with the down hill ski (don’t let the wedge form), rhythm, carry some energy from turn to turn. Much progress Morgan, solid L5 now, well done!

Sonia – Chicago. What chaos, 11 in their group, some teenagers, how to make all that work. L3 now, skied Trygvy’s three times, learning to steer the inside foot to let it match, slow turns to control speed, letting the skis ‘slip’ is ok, tipping to allow steering and matching, Poma, Rip’s Ride, hands up and wide, more pressure on the ‘turning’ ski, tip the new inside ski early to keep it from getting hung up. Good progress Sonia, you can now ski greens, well done!

Luis, Amaya, Michael – Weston, Florida. Amazing progress, L2/3 to start L3/5 at end of day. Focus: getting out of the wedge, speed control with direction change, how to match, releasing the inside ski with tipping, initiating turn with new inside ski, skidding, less motion with upper body, slow the hands and arms, short radius turns, trees (a few, not many) … Rips Ride, Chair 5, Colorado Super Connect. Can now ski all blues. Have fun with rest of your vacation, pleasure meeting the family.

Linda, Tracy, Mary – L4 to L5/L6 by end of day. Getting out of the wedge at turn initiation and finish, tipping to new edges to start the turn process, stay flexed (don’t extend and then twist/rotate on the flat ski), speed control with turn shape, turns are arcs (not twists and smears), skis not used as breaks but tools for an arc, enjoy the feel of an arcing ski, pole balance, position of strength, hips and shoulders face outside of the turn, hands and arms wide for balance and pole plant (we didn’t really touch on the pole plant), green and blue slopes (afternoon on Peak 9), static edge change (these are kind of hard, so practice them), pole balance (these are kind of easy, so practice them), hops up the hill, stay flexed at turn initiation (makes the tipping and edge change much easier). Good day ladies, I see changes … happy Thanksgiving.