Month: December 2020

Parv & Rashmi – Chicago. Level 1, first time on skis: ski shuffle, riding the magic carpet, wedge slides, more wedge slides, still more wedge slides, shin pressure, stay forward, arms up and out, look downhill, don’t cross the ski tips, wedge change ups, wedge slow downs, wedge stops, just a little wedge change direction.

Richard – Breck and Denver. Matt club member from the good old days, lots of fast skiing, once a downhiller, always a downhiller, bumps on North Star, American, Hi A, just a little tech talk: flex the inside leg with hip rotation to the outside of the turn to let the hips drops inside the arc and increase edge angle, ski width = hip width. Lunch outside in the sun at 10 Mile Station talking about various life subjects.

Frank, Leanne, Andrew, Areanna, Alexandria – St. Louis. Warmer today, that was a treat, could actually think of something besides cold feet. Church at 8:30, bumps on Dukes and North Star, flex into the bump/pressure down the back side to maintain grip and shape the turn, don’t turn on every bump/pick your bump, balance in bumps is the key, simultaneous flexing the inside leg while rotating the hip to face outside the turn/creates higher edge angle and allows the inside edge of the outside ski to be pressured, count to 10 and turn on every count/rhythm/carry some energy from turn to turn, pole touch/let the hips cross over bringing both skis to their new edges (tipping with ankles helps), the taught are now becoming the teacher … the old teacher is just getting older. Six brownies from the Grab ‘n Go line, now that put a lunch time smile.

Frank, Leanne, Andrew, Areanna, Alex, Ryan, Cami (and lord knows how many others) – St. Louis. So the whole Latuda clan has arrived, and it will only continue to increase in numbers (mark my words on that one). Now this is a class split: level 1 to level 9, how hard can it be. Well done to all: church with a couple inches of new (worth getting up for), rounder turns, less edge more skid and shape, hands on knees, hands on thighs, lower stance with ankle and knee flexion, wider and lower hands, hip rotation to ‘sit in the chair uphill’ and keep the butt from dropping and bringing the CM too far aft (this is a big deal, skis work when loaded forward), completing the turn with strong steering using shorter inside leg and hips open to outside of the turn (that would be downhill at finish), don’t let the arms float too close to the body -up and out, wedge slides, wedge turns, matching from a wedge turn, steering both feet/skis together, how to release to a flatter ski and skid which facilitates shaping with leg steering, speed control from friction and turn shape (maybe call that the direction in which we want to ski).

Kevin & JoAnne – Chicago. Coming off the hard edge with tight turns and hips too far back (or feet too far forward, however you want to look at it), tipping to a flatter ski, wider radius turns, sequential ski slides, simultaneous ski slides (these are hard at first, every one tries too hard), skidding and shaping, leg steering, feet pivot, using more of the bottom of the ski for friction, uphill arcs, tighter line, more pressure on downhill ski, shin AND bottom of foot pressure, looser boots, leg steering, at turn initiation – tip to new edges then begin to steer both feet (skis), what are two elements of speed control?, hockey stops (practice these, you will get better), using more of the front part of ski, how to stand strong, arm position.

Ann Marie, Kate,Edward, Natasha – not all in same family, all from Chicago. The level 6 hurdle – get out of the hard turn on an edge with no balance control, direction control, speed control. Wider turns, tipping skis flatter, skidding more around the turn, tip then turn (leg steer), uphill arcs, pole balance, ski separation = hip width, be patient at top of turn, turns are a semi-circle, inside ski always has ‘some’ pressure, ski a tighter line, when skis are skidding they can be shaped with leg steering, what are the two elements of speed control.

Sadaq, Saika, Shama – Houston. Lots of Houstonians this week, the airlines must be loving you guys. Level 4s, same focus as above morning lesson: enjoy skiing be getting out of the wedge (the wicked wedge), balance on outside ski more, less reliance on inside ski, tip and steer both feet together, learning to slide, friction is good, balancing on sliding skis, shaping at end of turn to control speed, relax, arms up, flex the ankles and knees, hips more forward.

Larry, Presley, Avery, Wyatt – Houston. Sure makes the posting easier when it’s one family from the same place. Focus: getting ride of the wedge which entails: traversing with parallel skis, starting to match after a wedge turn, weight distribution more on downhill ski, tipping and steering to match the inside ski (the one that gets hung up), how to release and slide both skis together, balance more forward (knees over toes, hips over feet), steer the turn to a finish (need parallel skis for this one), speed control with friction and turning.