Breckenridge Ski Lesson Pictures And Some Food For Thought

Jennifer – Wauwatosa, WI. Pearl Harbor Day! Balance (hips over feet), pressure on shins and front of heel, early edge change, pressure new outside ski from top of turn, body counterbalance as coming on to the new edge, hip and shoulder facing outside of new turn, alignment of ski/boots/knees/hips/shoulders/hands/arm, pole plant, keep the hips and upper body facing outside the turn (that would be down the mountain at bottom of turn), lots of follow the leader. Peaks 7 & 8, Dukes and Northstar. Good progress Jennifer, you earned the hot tub and a glass of wine … fun day, thank you.

Ashley – Omaha. Getting out of the wedge!

Leg steering, tipping, hops, flex/extend, where is the balance, arms/hands up higher, skidding, lots of skidding, tipping the new inside ski to initiate (don’t think that worked so well), more balance on outside turning ski, bigger turns, shaping and friction for speed control, tipping the inside ski to match, side slips, upper body position for alignment and strength (photographer see the zipper), steering both feet together, letting the tips drift into the all line, every turn has skidding and steering. You are a trooper Ashley, know the energy level at day’s end was low …. practice the side slips and work them into every turn!!!!!! Cheers.

Elyse & Denise- Denver and ‘somewhere back East’ (sorry Denise, can’t remember where you live). Elyse working on matching, Denise a Vail employee working on instructor technique. How a turn is initiated, early tipping, balancing on outside ski (not 100%), leg steering, arm and hand position, position of strength, where is balance area on foot, sliding, ‘smearing’, turn shape and friction to control speed, completing the turn, hip and shoulder rotation (show the photographer the zipper), how much weight on each ski (maybe 80% outside ski, 20% inside ski), initiate turn with new inside ski (this is a hard concept). Well done ladies, good day, Happy Holidays!

Dhruv – Dallas. Now it’s December, wow, winter is racing. Committing to turning ski, early edge change, tip first-then steer, hip and shoulder counter for strength, pressure the outside ski all the way around the turn, tip the old outside ski first to minimize the wedge, pole balance, arm and hand position, use the pole touch to initiate the turn (bringing the hips over the skis to facilitate edge change), checked off all items for L6 on the EMA card, Dukes (black), lots of Crescendo and bumps, pick you bump (don’t take just any one), one ski linked turns (these were hard), be patient with the turn (rushing leads to twisting which leads to loss of edge grip). Good progress Dhruv, see you next year.

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.