I Like Gapers

[billski]

How did this turn into a thread about the virtues of instructors?? Damn hijackers... :roll:

God save the Search Engine....

 

[koreshot]

I guess my concern is the attentive, highly communicative instructor teaching the wrong things.

I guess that is always a risk, but I think if you go to a quality resort with a lot of competition, you will have a hard time finding a technically unsound instructor, even if they are level 1 or 2. The couple of level 3 instructors I had the pleasure of skiing with were simply phenomenal.

 

[billski]

I guess that is always a risk, but I think if you go to a quality resort with a lot of competition, you will have a hard time finding a technically unsound instructor, even if they are level 1 or 2. The couple of level 3 instructors I had the pleasure of skiing with were simply phenomenal.

If newbies don't have a positive/fun first experience, they are not apt to come back. Less than 10% of all first time adults come back. For kids, they are held hostage in their car seat and must go. Problem is, if they get a bad 'tude, it's over...

If they are positive and improving, then it's time for the appropriate instructor ski-skills.

 

[severine]

Yeah, people don't want to admit it, but I bet an attentive Level 1 instructor could give quality pointers to just about every skier on this board, myself included. Great skiers don't necessarily make great instructors.

Well, I can't argue with this and I see your point. I guess my concern is the attentive, highly communicative instructor teaching the wrong things. I agree at the lower levels it's probably not that much of an issue.

That is a definite danger.

I only just discovered today that how I was taught to steer the skis from my lessons is wrong. And that's only because I happened upon a link on epic to a tutorial on carving. No wonder why I've been having problems... my movement was initiating from the wrong area! :idea:

Not to perpetuate this part of the thread... just saying that it's a legitimate concern. My first instructor was a young guy and maybe he just wasn't very good at explaining what I really was supposed to do. But I've been beating myself up over not being able to steer the way he told us to and who knows how much longer I would have continued trying that to no avail. No wonder why Brian would give a "whatever" response when I asked him about the minutiae of these things.

So to bring this around to the topic again, does that make the instructor I had a gaper?

 

[JimG.]

People who bother me are the ones who talk a big game, but can’t back it up. “I remember last season when I was skiing Snowbird, man I was ripping it up”, then you watch them make a few turns and their skills are a joke.

So, then you really don't like gapers?

Because, to me, this is one.

 

[JimG.]

That is a definite danger.

I only just discovered today that how I was taught to steer the skis from my lessons is wrong. And that's only because I happened upon a link on epic to a tutorial on carving. No wonder why I've been having problems... my movement was initiating from the wrong area! :idea:

Not to perpetuate this part of the thread... just saying that it's a legitimate concern. My first instructor was a young guy and maybe he just wasn't very good at explaining what I really was supposed to do. But I've been beating myself up over not being able to steer the way he told us to and who knows how much longer I would have continued trying that to no avail. No wonder why Brian would give a "whatever" response when I asked him about the minutiae of these things.

So to bring this around to the topic again, does that make the instructor I had a gaper?

I think we're all gapers at one point or another in life.

And folks who think otherwise are gapers too.

 

[JimG.]

I guess that is always a risk, but I think if you go to a quality resort with a lot of competition, you will have a hard time finding a technically unsound instructor, even if they are level 1 or 2. The couple of level 3 instructors I had the pleasure of skiing with were simply phenomenal.

All true.

 

[mlctvt]

If newbies don't have a positive/fun first experience, they are not apt to come back. Less than 10% of all first time adults come back. For kids, they are held hostage in their car seat and must go. Problem is, if they get a bad 'tude, it's over...

If they are positive and improving, then it's time for the appropriate instructor ski-skills.

I think this is correct. I did an informal survey in my office - I asked the 5 people I work directly with if they had ever tried skiing . All of them had tried when they were young adults. Four tried skiing for just one day then they gave up. The other just went several times. All of these people are in their 40s or 50s. When I asked why they gave up all indicted they had bad experiences; the wrong clothing and equipment, none or poor instruction. One said she hated the cold and just went to please her boyfriend.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

On days with really bad conditions..gapers still ski open to close..so I give them props for that..and they buy food, rentals, lessons, and gear at the ski area to help subsidize dirtbag season passholders..on the 70 percent of the days that are empty..

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

How did this turn into a thread about the virtues of instructors?? Damn hijackers... :roll:

Lame I just like to ski..I'd rather ski like a Gaper than a robot ski instructer..

 

[catskills]

In 1983 I was definitely a Gaper. I skied once a year taking my two nephews skiing as their Christmas present. In 1983 I wore blue jeans, skied on 1960s gear with run away straps and old leather buckle boots. The skis had edges held on by screws, with some of the earliest pair of step in Tyroli bindings, No ski brakes just safety runaway straps.

Then I had kids. I taught all three kids to skis and now I ski 45 days a year. I don't wear blue jeans anymore and have three pairs of skis in my quiver.

Those gaper days were some of the most memorable days on skis.

I guess once a gaper always a gaper. :beer:

 

[billski]

In 1983 I was definitely a Gaper. I skied once a year taking my two nephews skiing as their Christmas present. In 1983 I wore blue jeans, skied on 1960s gear with run away straps and old leather buckle boots. The skis had edges held on by screws, with some of the earliest pair of step in Tyroli bindings, No ski brakes just safety runaway straps.

Then I had kids. I taught all three kids to skis and now I ski 45 days a year. I don't wear blue jeans anymore and have three pairs of skis in my quiver.

Those gaper days were some of the most memorable days on skis.

I guess once a gaper always a gaper. :beer:

nada. everyone dressed like that back then. negative on the gaper. If you dressed like today back then, y ou'd be a gaper. It's all relative...

BUT.. did you have a SKI TOTE (and how much did you get for it at the yard sale?) Which reminds me, I saw a girl struggling with a ski tote at Mt. snow this week. Musta taken her five minutes to get everything in and set. so much for convenience....

 

[thinnmann]

True...but the best instruction/communication skills don't mean a whole lot if the instructor doesn't have the skiing skills to properly demonstrate a technique or drill.

Here is a herd of instructors skiing bumps at Belleayre. How does their technique look?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJS-CXsgIOE

 

[awf170]

Here is a herd of instructors skiing bumps at Belleayre. How does their technique look?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJS-CXsgIOE

Wow... they suck.

 

[2knees]

Here is a herd of instructors skiing bumps at Belleayre. How does their technique look?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJS-CXsgIOE

hard to tell there were even any bumps there.

little lift stoppage huh?

 

[thinnmann]

Wow... they suck.

In all fairness, the bumpies were a little icy - it was late in the day - and I may have missed the better bumpers who went down first. One fell and slid head first a little ways. When I saw that I decidiced to pull out the cam. They are obviously using carving techniques, not WC mogul technique. One of the instructors gets cooking then goes out of the frame.

I am not trying to put the instructors down - they have been great for my kids, now 10 and 14 and great skiers, and the race program has steadily improved over the years. They do a fantastic job for the kids! I couldn't recommend the alpine development and race programs at Belleayre more highly.

hard to tell there were even any bumps there.

little lift stoppage huh?

Yea, lift 7 stops about once per ride.... I realized how Youtube reduces the quality of vids to save bandwidth, so that makes the bumps hard to see. So I uploaded the original file, if you want to watch it in Quicktime in full 11 MB size. Download here:


http://facebook.mediafire.com/apps/facebook/download.php?4xmf0zn194n

 

[campgottagopee]

This is just MHO, but theat "bump run" really stinks, and it looked to me like their clinic wasn't on skiing bumps. I remeber when I took my full cert exam for PSIA we had to unbuckle our boots and ski big screaming GS turns thru a bump run. Obviously that excersize wasn't on bump skiing, but a rather good test of balance. Try it sometime and you'll see what I mean.

 

[thetrailboss]

Someone PLEASE take back their Gapers...they have been appearing here at Burke and it is driving us nuts!!

Enough said. :roll:

 

[billski]

Someone PLEASE take back their Gapers...they have been appearing here at Burke and it is driving us nuts!!



Enough said. :roll:

HEY, THAT'S ME!:wink:
At first I couldn't find anything wrong with the jacket :dunce: then I thought maybe an SLR while skiing wasn't a good idea :dunce:
Then, I :dunce: finally got it! Looks a wee bit uncomfortable.:-o

Hmm, maybe the photo is upside down, or maybe just the camera? :roll::roll::roll: (sorry, the inner gaper in me is coming out...)

 

[awf170]

In all fairness, the bumpies were a little icy - it was late in the day - and I may have missed the better bumpers who went down first. One fell and slid head first a little ways. When I saw that I decidiced to pull out the cam. They are obviously using carving techniques, not WC mogul technique. One of the instructors gets cooking then goes out of the frame.

I watched it again and they definitely aren't as bad as a first thought. Still not great, but decent and in control for the most part.