Breckenridge Ski Lesson Pictures And Some Food For Thought

Nancy, Judy, Susie, Pam, Donna, Becky, Joelle, Penny – continuing with the early edge change theme … Brill’s thrill, Peerless bumps … was an interesting day … liked the patience with turn initiation allowing for the clean simultaneous edge changes. I see changes in you ladies you probably do not see in yourselves … all of a sudden you wake up one day and bumps just aren’t that big of a deal…the beauty of it all!

Laurel, Olive, Rebecca, Paula, Lisa, Rhonda – some wicked good skiing, some wicked ‘good for you’ skiing. Early edge change on both skis was the focus … come to the new edges before any rotary/twisting input … let the core cross over into the new turn allowing the new edges to engage cleanly and simultaneously – then the shaping can begin with femur rotation for short radius, medium radius, skids, slides, whatever you want. Thank you Paula for the beer at the TBar! Think Breck has some of the best skiing in the Rockies right now.

Laurel, Joe, Peter, Rebecca, Paula, Olive, Pat, Diane, Bob, Mitzi – strong level 8. Alignment/Shape/Coil (counter) that about says it all. Best snow on Imperial Bowl and Way Out … constantly working on early edge, higher edge at finish to manage pressure and complete, facilitate the skis doing their job. Have fun next Sunday, see you in a couple weeks!!!

Michelle – Raleigh, NC – now level 3. Gliding wedge turns, early matching, speed control, balance, hops, arm/hand position, tipping inside ski for early edge angle and matching. Good job Michelle, you are linking turns, skiing faster, in control … keep working on turning both skis together … keep working on having fun!!!

Pam, Joelle, Becky, Nancy, Donna, Susie, Penny – Level 7. Peerless and more Peerless, some chair six, some Crescendo. Lots of technique today concerning alignment and how that facilitates ‘shaping’. Thank you Donna for chocolate and thank you ladies for the willingness to learn. This is a great sport … always demanding, sometimes satisfying … elusive for sure … a bit euphoric when all the pieces click. Don’t hurt MJ next week, see you in two … this was a delightful day!

Laurel, Olive, Paula, Betty, Chong, Mitzi, Rebecca, Jenny – the wild level 8s. Focus on positioning the hip – inside hip forward and ahead with corresponding inside foot under the head of the femur, tipping to initiate, letting the inside ski be the ‘brain’, completing the turn with higher edge angles (to manage pressure) letting the femurs rotate to ‘follow the skis in the arc’- inside leg flexing to allow the hip to drop more inside thus increasing edge angle … patience to let the turn develop (shallow edge angle to progressively steeper edges). Inferno was a steep bumpy one, ay ladies … Stampede almost perfect to try the ‘targeting’ in more challenging terrain. This day was good … seeing positive changes in all .. thank you for stepping out of the comfort zone into the learning zone.

Regan – Arkansas. Good morning … success at last … more soft edge control with ability to skid and shape … more weight on both skis, tip to new shallow edges then leg rotation to change direction, be patient, enjoy the speed, enjoy the slide, enjoy the vacation. Thanks for a fun two days, see you next year!

Regan – Arkansas, first time skiing in four years. Main mission: dissolve the hard ‘wedge to an edge’ turn and replace with both feet working together, more pressure on the inside ski, softer edges, embrace the slide and use it to allow shaping. Almost there, think tomorrow we’ll have it. Don’t stay up too late and party!