Author: bbooker99

Elaine, Bob, Paul, Violeta, Sophie – Friday Club … and we had so much chocolate it exceeded the consumption (and that’s hard to do). Violeta’s 78th birthday, she skied Rustlers for first time (thought it was hard, she has a point), we bought her two muffins for a cake and divided them up so all could share, next year she gets a candle (we put reminders on our phones). Peak 8 bowl, Rustlers, Whales, Vertigo, Dukes, more Dukes, High A, Crescendo. Focus was on stuff that that helped ski the steeps and bumps … it’s coming together!!! One of these days another instructor will look at this class ski the steeps and say: ‘they know what there doing’ … and that day is not too far away.

Laurel, Mitzi, Rebecca, Diane, Olive – Thursday Club minus a few of the players. Good day, no wind (need to be careful writing that too loud), workable cold. Focus on leading with the new inside hip in a diagonal direction (forward and down), sets the hips to open early to the outside of the new turn, ‘upside down’ right after turn initiation, facilitates carving the round turn with ski grip right for the ‘get go’. Stayed high most of the day, CJs was worth the effort to get there. Baklava from Romania for lunch (thank you Mitzi), how cool is that – not sure that could even be had at the Ritz in Beaver Creek.

Michael & Emily – Atlanta, GA. Another delightfully cold day, 5 to 16 degrees with a healthy dose of wind, sticky grabby snow, good day for the Magic Carpet and Rip’s Ride. Gliding wedge, wedge change ups, straight run to a wed slow down/stop, easy direction change, what happens when skis are not weighted equally or steered equally, on to the Poma, how to keep the new inside foot ‘flatter’ so it doesn’t drag, matching skis in the traverse, slipping on the berm (this was the break out maneuver), two laps on Rip’s, speed control with turns and friction. Great morning, you (plural) are off and running, enjoy the vacation and hot pools.

Eugene, Johanna, Ronia – Cambridge, MA. Started out 6 degrees, maybe made it to 16 degrees, snow squall about 1:00pm that dumped 1.5 inches, did that ever make the skiing good, no wind today (not sure how that happened). Ronia was a level 4 last year, low level 7 now, this kid is rocking, dad a level 7, mom a level 8 … couple of years from now will have a hard time keeping up with them. Race course (one silver and a couple of bronze), leading with the hip, initiating with the hip, come to the new edges then anything is possible, how to steer and shape a turn, skis working together, side slips, coming off the hard edge (this is definitely a recurring theme in teaching), where is balance and how to stay there, finishing the last 10% of the turn, how each leg needs a fulcrum, some bumps, keeping the skis more parallel, Ronia first time up T-bar. This was a killer good day progress day for all, so fun to see advancement, that’s what makes teaching the passion.

Michelle – Wolverine Lake, MI … a cold day but nothing like yesterday, much less wind, a little sun, mountain most busy. Michelle no ski in five years, like riding a bicycle, no problem. What is leg steering, boot work practice, how do tipping and steering play together (been volumes of material written on this subject), not so ‘one ski’ dependent, initiating with the new inside ski (or at least not initiating with the new outside ski), how and when does the weight transfer, how to make shorter radius turns, flexion of the ankles/knees/hip, what is a balanced stance and how to maintain it throughout the turn. It was not an issue free day – husband damaged his knee, Alex had no lunch money, daughter rocked it and embraced children’s ski school. Thank you for an enjoyable day, may your week be completely hassle free … no overthinking this stuff, ok, just go out and have fun, the pieces will start to fall in place.

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.