Month: December 2020

Richard, Erin, Rachael, Joseph – Tarpon Springs, FL. Sunny, kinda warm, no wind, what a difference a day makes. Focus: balance. Shin pressure, foot pressure, sweet spot under foot (same as sweet spot of ski), hockey stops, power position, get lower but don’t break at waist – let it come from ankles and knees (and a little from the waist), hip rotation, butt up the mountain not back, long leg/short leg, body alignment (‘everything’ on the outside of the turn lower and back compared to corresponding body part on inside of turn), shaping with leg steering, line drill (three short turns, one long turn, no traversing to change lanes), pole touch, don’t get lazy with arms and hands – they are important!

Sunil & Sabeena (Ft. Wayne), Gia (Houston), Mikey (Austin). This was a serious cold day, maybe 7 deg. or so for a high, but no fear, there was lots of wind with that … two runs and in for a warm. Sticky snow, about four inches new over night. Focus: getting rid of the high edge angle and riding the ski across the fall line, how to tip to a lower edge, skidding, shaping, uphill arcs, leg steering at finish of turn to complete the turn and control speed, more athletic, rhythm with flex/extend through the turn, arms up/forward/wide (this shows up almost every night), tighter line, speed control with friction (use more of the ski bottom) and the line that we ski (completing the turn is huge here, the last 5% is the hard part), releasing both skis together to new edges, THEN, begin to steer and shape, CM cross over, hip rotation for position of strength.

Mathew, Suman – Atlanta, Austin. Focus: coming off the hard edge, flatter skis (the hill supplies plenty of edge, don’t need more), more ‘up and down’ with the knees and ankles, how to get strong, letting the CM cross over at initiation, tip both skis simultaneously to new edges at transition, steer (leg rotation) both feet (skis together), lot more slide and skid – much less ‘ride the edge’, shaping the turn, turn tips more uphill at finish, use friction and shaping to control speed, lots of friction when more of ski base on the snow, hands on knees drill, uphill arch drill, 80% of weight on inside ski drill (this was a drill, not skiing as such), wider arms and hands, lower the CM for stability. patience when the turn starts (ok to come through the fall line slowly), larger radius turns, be smooth!

Frank & Andrew – St. Louis. Guess the focus of today would be how to complete the last 5% of the turn (and such is not all that easy). As the skis come around the bottom of the turn with high pressure, strong leg steering is needed to finish the turn out … and for that to happen the hips need to be open to the outside of the turn, the inside leg flexed up toward the chest, the core dropping to the inside of the turn -with that, the femurs are allowed to rotate aggressively and bring the turn across (and sometimes up) the hill for speed control. Uphill arcs with inside leg tipping, line drill, hockey stops, how to deal with icy spots (prayer maybe best option), lots of bumps (keep skis on the snow, edges maintaining grip), short radius/long radius/fast/slow turns, engage the inside edge of the new outside ski (feel that edge), start to pressure the ski as the new inside leg flexes and the hips progressively rotate and open to the outside of the turn and the skis and CM (center of mass) quickly begin to separate in the lateral plain.

PS. Clemson was tough, they are on a roll, not sure they are up to Alabama.

Bertha, Argelia, Aden – somewhere in Texas, somewhere in Mexico. Level 1, boot work, one ski slide around, two skis slide around, side step, make a wedge, sliding wedge, wedge changeups, wedge direction change, stable upper body, arms up and out, look down the slope (not at your ski tips), wedge turns around the brushes.

Amir – Duluth, MN (son of Yelena). Not much talking, lots of skiing, more activity with the ankles and knees, getting lower and aggressive, skis closer (same width as hips), not collapsing the knees to the inside (each knee over each foot), absorbing the bump, keep head at constant height in uneven terrain (aka, bumps), both skis on the snow, always maintain edge grip, let the tips drop toward the fall line as edge change occurs/pressure both skis around the turn as the legs extend when the bump falls away, tip and steer both skis together (no wedging at transition in the bumps), it’s ok (very ok) to let the inside leg shorten as the hip rotates to face the outside of the turn (this a must to enable leg steering through the finish phase of turn).

Yelena (think I finally got the spelling right) – Duluth, MN. Ramping up the intensity, this is starting to look like ‘real skiing’! Hands on knees, getting lower in a more athletic stance/position, arms wider and lower, no more standing tall, active flex/extend with the legs, hockey stops (cant’ do these standing tall, need edge control and the ability to slide), side slips (this seems to show up in every lesson, wonder why), varying radius turns, hip rotation and inside leg flexion (got to have this for steering through the finish of the turn), introduction to pole touch.

Yelana – Duluth, MN. Coming off a hard edge to finish the turn, tipping to a more flat ski which can be steered and creates friction with the snow, turning hips (not always facing the trees), ‘show the tattoo’ for releasing new inside ski, what is leg rotation, pivot turns on top of bump, steering both feet together, bump traverse with lots of leg absorption (flex into the bump, extend down the back side), short radius turns, arm and hand position (get ready for that pole plant), long radius turns in the bumps (first bump lesson), tighter corridor with rhythm turns (use the energy from turn to turn), knees separated same a feet (no knee collapse), hops, more dynamic range of up & down with leg joints.