Best Tips for Adv. Intermediate moving from Blue to Black

[spresso81]

Hello All,

I am an advanced intermediate that can handle all blue terrain (well unless it is a sheet of ice - then it may be somewhat challenging). What are some tips for a skier looking to move up?

Thanks

 

[snoseek]

get out as much as possible, challenge yourself for a decent portion of the day, warm up in your comfort zone, and hit the hard stuff before it skies off. Set realistic goals (like skiing natural terrain) but don't dwell on it. Maybe take a lesson?

but really, does it really matter? I'll bet most people ski there best when they don't really think much about what there doing.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

as a wise man once said..."F&ck it, tuck it"

all great advice, practice your quick/short turns on the far edges of trails...stop, pick a spot say 100 yds down and try to do as many turns as you can...work on elephant hops for the really steep stuff....you gain confidence that you can turn on narrower steep blacks.....but a great one is to ski with others that are above your level....

 

[dmc]

You are so lucky... Entering into a new challenging place...
I envy you.. Fear mixed with excitment... It's tough to reproduce that feeling after a while so enjoy it..

I agree with snowseek.... Time on snow... Get out as much as possible... Go someplace thats going to scare the living crap out of you then back down to something at little more mellow.. It'll seem easier... And you can concentrate more on the terrain and how your going to paint your tracks over it...

Be proactive... Look ahead while you ski - there's more terrain features on harder hills and you want to be ready for them... Think about how your going to deal with whats coming up.. My best bump skiing is when I'm lookng really far ahead...

 

[Greg]

You are so lucky... Entering into a new challenging place...
I envy you.. Fear mixed with excitment... It's tough to reproduce that feeling after a while so enjoy it..

Nice post. :beer:

I agree. Get out as much as possible. It's all about the miles. That reminds me. Time to go skiing after this post! :idea:

Three other things:

1 - Work on good hand position
2 - Work on keeping your upper body still & square to the fall line, i.e. separation.
3 - Read this thread:
http://forums.alpinezone.com/7345-terminal-intermediate.html

Welcome to the forums!

 

[dmc]

I always used to say the were three things I concentrated on when skiing..
Hands out front where I can see 'em...
Feel shins on the tongue of the boot...
Stay stacked...

 

[ajl50]

lean forward and keep weight forward.

 

[YardSaleDad]

You are so lucky... Entering into a new challenging place...
I envy you.. Fear mixed with excitment... It's tough to reproduce that feeling after a while so enjoy it..

Try Hang gliding

 

[spresso81]

Hey,

Great advice.

A follow up question:

Hnad position - I would say I keep my arms at a 90 degree angle compared to my body. This is what I learned two years ago on my first lesson, does this fact still apply now that I am doing harder stuff?


P.S. - Greg, you guys run a great site - I am happy I found it!

 

[ajl50]

yes. It still applies. Hands where you can see them.

 

[millerm277]

I used to be there, and honestly....it's really just keep skiing and you'll get better, almost unconsciously. Try tackling some of the groomed blacks, they will help you build up some confidence, and are good for getting you used to the pitch. I wouldn't suggest a mogul run now though.

Usually, the best time of the day for that stuff is between around 10AM and 2PM....gives you time to warm up, and for the snow to soften, but not enough time to get tired, and for it to get icy.

 

[Newpylong]

Pressure always on downhill ski, keep your uphill shoulder higher and always make sure you're facing downhill, hands forward, good to go! Good luck!

 

[JD]

Lean forward. Front of the boot pressure. Commit.

 

[Greg]

Hnad position - I would say I keep my arms at a 90 degree angle compared to my body. This is what I learned two years ago on my first lesson, does this fact still apply now that I am doing harder stuff?


P.S. - Greg, you guys run a great site - I am happy I found it!

Re: Hand position. I've heard the description that it should like you're carrying a lunch try. That works for me.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Birdman829]

Grip it and rip it....



Seriously though, definitely concentrate on keeping your hands up and driving yourself forward. Staying out of the back seat becomes more important as the slop gets steeper.

 

[KevinF]

Staying out of the backseat, keeping your hands forward, etc. -- all the things mentioned in this thread are important, technique wise. But when you drop into a hard-for-you trail, your technique is what it is. You're not suddenly going to jump up a couple ability levels, and your various flaws will not suddenly disappear. Just ski it. Put the feet on auto-pilot and trust them to do their thing.

If I had to suggest one thing to concentrate on: Pick out a spot somewhere down the trail. Whether that's one turn away or the bottom -- pick it out, and do not stop until you get there. You will probably find yourself uncomfortably balanced at some point, which is just fine. Nobody is balanced all the time on scary terrain, but great skiers don't let momentary imbalances bother them. Trust your feet and keep going.

If you want, take note of the things that go wrong -- i.e., what do you think worked well, what areas of your technique fell apart? Pat yourself on the back about the good stuff, but don't beat yourself up too badly about the bad stuff. Take note of the "bad" items though, and see if you can notice the same things going wrong on easier terrain. The problems will be subtle, but will almost certainly be there. Work on fixing them on the easier stuff and go on back to harder terrain.

 

[dmc]

Nice post. :beer:

yeah... those early feelings of tackeling expert terrain are awesome...

 

[Greg]

yeah... those early feelings of tackeling expert terrain are awesome...

Agreed! I'm just entering the advanced category myself so there's plenty of challenging terrain to get excited about for me.

 

[Paul]

Staying out of the backseat, keeping your hands forward, etc. -- all the things mentioned in this thread are important, technique wise. But when you drop into a hard-for-you trail, your technique is what it is. You're not suddenly going to jump up a couple ability levels, and your various flaws will not suddenly disappear. Just ski it. Put the feet on auto-pilot and trust them to do their thing.

If I had to suggest one thing to concentrate on: Pick out a spot somewhere down the trail. Whether that's one turn away or the bottom -- pick it out, and do not stop until you get there. You will probably find yourself uncomfortably balanced at some point, which is just fine. Nobody is balanced all the time on scary terrain, but great skiers don't let momentary imbalances bother them. Trust your feet and keep going.

If you want, take note of the things that go wrong -- i.e., what do you think worked well, what areas of your technique fell apart? Pat yourself on the back about the good stuff, but don't beat yourself up too badly about the bad stuff. Take note of the "bad" items though, and see if you can notice the same things going wrong on easier terrain. The problems will be subtle, but will almost certainly be there. Work on fixing them on the easier stuff and go on back to harder terrain.

Lots of great advise in this thread, but this post is really exceptional. Nice post.

 

[jack97]

I posted this somewhere else in this forum and has been floating in the net for a while;
tips from Miller and McNichols. Good reference material. I luv it when the coach saids "the key is balance, balance and balance".

http://www.sportskool.com/sports.jsp?sportsId=12