Breckenridge Ski Lesson Pictures And Some Food For Thought

Hudson & Hayes Heine – Houston. Getting out of the wedge, matching, tipping, shin pressure, flex, moving skis together, pole plant for Hudson, shoulders more open, trees, some bumps, chicken nuggets and fries.

Jill, Matt, Liam, Alexander, Oliver- Kansas City. Cold day -9F to start. getting rid of wedge, learning to make a wedge- sounds confusing

Bob (Breckenridge), Jack (Toledo), Tim (D.C.). Last lesson of the season, a great finish – just a nice spring day, wind, frozen snow. Keeping both skis on snow, lots of forward pressure, alignment, upper/lower body relation, wind up the ‘body spring’, tipping from ankles and knees to bring knees and hips ‘over the top’, steering with the new inside ski, pivot turns, hockey slides, inside leg retraction and bring it to the inside (will tip and rotate at same time because that is the way the human body is built), bump traverse, turn on top of mogul, pivots and sliding in moguls is ok, go slow – ‘you’ll like it more and more’.

Natalie (Indianapolis), Emily (Atlanta), Jerry (Katy), Amy & Brian (Charlotte), Esther (Merida, Mexico). Now there is a slice of the Americas and Mexico. Cold morning, windy, three inches of new snow (was that ever needed), afternoon almost too hot, up high snow just ok – lots of semi frozen stuff underneath. Staying forward, how flex and extend works in the turn, where is turn highest and lowest pressure points, tipping from ankles and knees to release, strong leg steering with new inside ski, hockey slides, hockey turns, using poles, intro to bumps: balance, where to turn, how to traverse, skidding to find the right mogul.

Don & Barbara (Colorado Springs). Another warm one, but workable, especially on the upper mountain, a lot of ‘good for you snow’ – what the heck, it’s skiing, and therein lies the beauty of it. Easy run this morning on Springmeier, lunch at Ski Hill (we stayed well past our allotted time and there was no pressure to leave, business is dropping off). Afternoon Imperial, Whales, Vertigo, Boundary Chutes, Dukes and Crescendo bumps: cowboy inside leg retraction drill, pivot type turns, pick at target/hold a line, pass poles behind back, poles pulled against back, poles on knees. Skiing still good, this could be the last few days for that until more snow comes.

Natalie (Indianapolis), Emily (Atlanta). 54 degrees, some clouds, snow melting fast, serious frozen stuff until about 10:30, snow up high even getting soft … heh, it’s springtime. How does a turn work: tipping before steering (rotating another word for it), open the knees slightly at initiation to come forward/tip with ankles and knees/brings hips over to other side of skis/steer with femurs rotating in hip sockets, hands on knees drill, how to ‘be strong’, flexed leg much easier to rotate than straight leg, side slips, hockey slides, hockey slide turns on black terrain. Intro to bumps: how to flex/extend like shock absorbers, turn on top of bump, pick the bump that looks the best to initiate a turn.

Fausto & Monica & Fausto Jr. & Montserrat (Mexico City). Rock hard in the morning, rattle your teeth, warm day, 57 in Breckenridge, snow letting go by 10:30 or so … not much teaching, lot of skiing. Hands on knees, where is high pressure point in turn, how does flexing and extending work in the turn, more flex is a powerful position for leg steering and tipping, completing the turn, dropping tips down the trough in moguls, letting CM (Center of Mass) and feet separate to yield edge angle and power in the turn for shaping, CM always tracks inside the arc of the turn.

Alana, Mike, Danny, Kevin, Dillon, Sha, Kate, Maeve (let’s say all from Breckenridge, what the heck). L1, getting started, gliding wedge, turning wedge, a little matching, hands up, flex the knees and ankles, go slow. Hard to keep track of everyone, but don’t think anyone got lost. Happy Easter … almost.