Breckenridge Ski Lesson Pictures And Some Food For Thought

Thursday Club: Laurel, Rebecca, Olive, Mitzi, Chongie, Paola, Vicki, Deb. Wasn’t all that warm, but workable, early lunch, break in the afternoon for tea (so British, kind of getting into that, along with chocolate). Skiing up high: Whales, Boundary, Brilles, White Crown, Vertigo. Focus: alignment, how the hips align with the skis (same with shoulders, hands, knees), early edge engagement (maintain ‘grip’), tip before rotate at initiation, pole plant bringing the hips crossing over the feet, not squaring (always working on this), soften (flex) the new inside leg (long leg/short leg), flexed with both legs at transition, longer outside leg during shaping to manage pressure. Definitely some ‘good for you’ snow today … suppose that would be the case everyday!

Jonathan, Fiona, Indya, Taz, Isla, Fynn – Sidney, Australia. At last it was warmer, quite comfortable actually, some wind but not significant, snow delightful up high. Imperial Bowl, Snow White, Upper 4 O’clock, Boundary Chute, Bliss on Peak 6. Position of strength, athletic stance, where is pressure on the foot (front of heel, back of arch), shin pressure, initiate the turn with old outside ski, pole touch & hip crossover, pole touch timing, steering both skis together, how to get out of the ‘back seat’ (shin pressure), getting rid of the wedge at turn initiation, skis hip width apart (same as knees, don’t let the knees collapse), arms wider, hips/shoulders/arms open to the outside of the turn (don’t overdue the shoulders, it’s subtle), keep both skis on the snow, less twist at initiation-let the ski start to form the arc. This was a fun day exploring the mountain, talking some technique, learn some stuff about Australia … I would say it was a cracker of a day!

Frank, Leanne, Andrew, Areanna, Alexandria – St. Louis. Another cold one, but only on the upper mountain, winds low calm, winds high ripping. No brownies today, went with pastries, they ok but the brownies best. Five pastries and one hot chocolate at 11:30, that would be the pre-lunch snack. Rhythm, no shopping, pole plant more down the mountain, be aggressive (that one for you Leanne), quiet the pole (no big swings back and forth), don’t over think it, sometimes just turn the brain off and ‘do’, using less real estate (shorter radius, hold a line, less ‘shopping’), bumps under the Falcon. Social time in the Ski Hill Grill … and so the winter break comes to an end … so much fun, hate to see you guys go. Spring time will arrive before we know it – maybe won’t need five layers of clothes, maybe the wind will die and we can start to have some fun on the upper mountain. Safe travels, thanks for everything!

Frank, Leanne, Areanna, Andrew, Alexandria – collectively know as the Latuda skiing group. Not all that warm, 23 high, light snow all day, pretty dang cold by 4:00. Best run of the day: Church with Frank and Areanna, got some fresh tracks on upper Rounder’s trees and

right side of Dukes, 8:31 load (I was one minute late which Areanna so aptly pointed out to me). Family skied together all day – so good, so many hundreds of hours (maybe thousands) to make that happen, worth every penny, every cold snowy day, every Church, every 50mph windy morning, every bit is sunshine. Alignment, inside hip leads, hips and upper body countered to the outside of new turn, what happens at initiation (answer – ‘a lot’), don’t rush – let the arc develop, keep the turns a constant curvature, flex to finish and through transition, outside legs gets longer in the apex (it’s not extended to ‘push’, it’s lengthened to manage the pressure that builds during mid-turn), long leg/short leg, targeting to facilitate hip/feet separation, flex coming up on the bump (extend will take care of its self), engaging the inside tip and edge of the new outside ski, shin/boot pressure, ski grip (can’t say enough about this). Killer day guys, so enjoyable, good progress with staying in the ‘sweet spot’ … and … six really good brownies!

Jen (Scotsdale), Julia (Chicago). Still cold but better, snow off and on, maybe 2 inches in the morning, Ski Hill Grill was an overload, it works but not well. L4, task was to begin matching in earnest: learn to come off the hard edge and slide (an essential still), match in the traverse, not so downhill dominate, ‘go’ instead of ‘brake’, tipping the inside ski to release (start this right at transition), leg rotation, steering, begin the turn with the new inside ski (I realize this is difficult, but both of you were doing in on the last run). Great start to the new year, thank you for the lunch conversation, I now have some knowledge of CBD production and marketing. Happy New Year!

Latuda – St. Louis. Last day of this year, couldn’t think of a better way to close it out. All skied together most of the day … Horseshoe bowl to start (that was interesting) then lower mountain on bumps rest of day. Alignment, staying open to the turn (hips/upper body, arms), feel the tip engage at transition, flex/extend in the bumps (this almost severed the friendship between Leanne and I), skiing virtual bumps, flex in transition/extend around the apes. Great day guys, good to get some humor, oooh, lots of it.

Heather, Anna, Katie – Leawood, KS. Working on the wedge turns, traverses, how to match the inside ski with tipping to the outside then letting it slide in (tip early), where is balance on the foot, more flex in ankle/knee, less bend at the waist, arms more forward (get the weight where it belong). Three times up Rips Ride, down Trygve’s slope. Enjoy your vacation, Happy New Year!

Garrett – Austin. Killer morning, lots of bumps, felt good to be moving around. -9 at 6:30 but made it to a high of 19, no wind (hate to write that too loud). Bump traverse (this is most useful), dropping tips into troughs, engaging the tip of new outside ski early (like right away), ‘keep the grip’ , grip give a platform on which to balance/extend/pressure, keep some counter to outside of turn, pole touch to initiate, CM crossover, Some off piste (same technique), T-bar, White Crown, done by noon. Great two days Garrett, thank you.