St. Bear
New member
This warrants a smiley. :grin:
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I want to ski better damn it! How can I?
- Thread starter Bostonian
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This warrants a smiley. :grin:
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This might be some of the best mogul advice I've ever read. SO true.
Puck it
Well-known member
One thing to remember, double metal!!! So do not get in the back seat, they will throw you. Forward pressure!!!
St. Bear
New member
Expected delivery Thurs 3/8. Drop them off at the shop to get waxed and the bindings adjusted, and they'll be good to go for the spring snow at Whiteface!
drjeff
Well-known member
One of my kids regular instructors calls being in the back seat "skiing on the potty"
I now have 2 kids cruising around the hill either asking me or my wife if any of us were "in the potty" on the last run. It can get some interesting looks when asked in a crowded liftline :lol: 
legalskier
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One of my kids regular instructors calls being in the back seat "skiing on the potty"
I've heard a different version- "Ski like you hump, not like you dump"
Ski the Moguls
Member
Best deal I found for lessons were the specialty programs at Killington:
http://www.killington.com/winter/lessons/specialty_programs
They include the price of a lift ticket and are a tremendous value. I did the race weekend with them and thought it was great.
http://www.killington.com/winter/lessons/specialty_programs
They include the price of a lift ticket and are a tremendous value. I did the race weekend with them and thought it was great.
Abubob
Well-known member
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
THIS.
At the level you're describing (getting to the next level after stagnation), lesson(s) would be greatly helpful.
AND THIS.
Maybe not empty, but it wouldn't be unusual to have only 3 or 4 (still small) in a group.
billski
Active member
I see a lot of dead on advice. Here is how I amalgamated all of this into something that works for me.
1. Take a lesson. Tell them what you'd like to accomplish. S/he may find thing more fundamental that need to be fixed. Check your ego. Private or virtually private work best. Get your head knowledge first, then work on it.
2. Ask your instructor for 1,2 or 3 take-aways you can focus on. Too much just gets confusing.
3. Bigger is not better. Training can be done anywhere: no need to pay big bucks on a skill that can be practiced anywhere. National teams do this often. Going smaller can also get you to a closer mountain more often.
4. Break up your ski day. Practice half day, have fun and let it go the second half.
5. Following those more skilled will be challenging, but may not necessarily make you better. I've followed higher skilled skiers for years, to some benefit.
6. Friends don't teach friends to ski. Corollary: Men never, never, never should teach their S.O. to ski. Unless you are interested in ending the relationship.
Go get 'em!
1. Take a lesson. Tell them what you'd like to accomplish. S/he may find thing more fundamental that need to be fixed. Check your ego. Private or virtually private work best. Get your head knowledge first, then work on it.
2. Ask your instructor for 1,2 or 3 take-aways you can focus on. Too much just gets confusing.
3. Bigger is not better. Training can be done anywhere: no need to pay big bucks on a skill that can be practiced anywhere. National teams do this often. Going smaller can also get you to a closer mountain more often.
4. Break up your ski day. Practice half day, have fun and let it go the second half.
5. Following those more skilled will be challenging, but may not necessarily make you better. I've followed higher skilled skiers for years, to some benefit.
6. Friends don't teach friends to ski. Corollary: Men never, never, never should teach their S.O. to ski. Unless you are interested in ending the relationship.
Go get 'em!
hammer
Active member
Is it worth it to take a lesson at this point in the season?
gmcunni
Active member
i'd go with YES but it depends on what you want to learn. this would be a great time to get some bump instruction as the conditions soften it makes for fun and easier skiing.
same applies to carving (at least the way i do it), soft snow is fun to ski in, you can work on technique with less fear of failure/falling and then carry the knowledge into next season.
wtcobb
New member
In addition to skiing with better skiers and forcing yourself into different terrain, ask for their advice. I know the common "Skiers don't teach their friends to ski," but you're not asking for a full lesson.
I ski with a good group and feel plenty comfortable on almost anything we hit, but I'm still towards the back of the group most of the time. I occasionally ask one person to hang back and check my form - how would they hit the same line, and did I do it as they would?
Getting feedback like this along the way while challenging myself to keep up definitely helped me. Again, it's not a constant thing, but 2-3 tips per day can make a big difference.
I ski with a good group and feel plenty comfortable on almost anything we hit, but I'm still towards the back of the group most of the time. I occasionally ask one person to hang back and check my form - how would they hit the same line, and did I do it as they would?
Getting feedback like this along the way while challenging myself to keep up definitely helped me. Again, it's not a constant thing, but 2-3 tips per day can make a big difference.
x10003q
Active member
In addition to all the good advice in the thread - make sure you are physically able to handle what you want to accomplish. Lessons and equipment can not overcome being out of shape (only you know how fit you are). The less skiing I do in a season means more gym time during ski season.
My biggest improvements came when I skied with a bunch of fast, agressive guys when I was in college. These guys were masters at picking lines anywhere on the mountain and were pretty fearless. I just had to follow and try to keep up. A couple of questions here and there and many hours eyeballing their technique made me much happier with my skiing.
My biggest improvements came when I skied with a bunch of fast, agressive guys when I was in college. These guys were masters at picking lines anywhere on the mountain and were pretty fearless. I just had to follow and try to keep up. A couple of questions here and there and many hours eyeballing their technique made me much happier with my skiing.
SkiFanE
New member
Core strength - you need it or you won't last long in the bumps. You need mileage on skis to help get this. And 20 days on fast groomers won't help, you need bump mileage.
I finally 'got' bumps on a nice spring day when there was nothing but soft bumps all around and I was determined to have fun like everyone else. I just forced myself down bump fields (they are all over green and blue trails on a spring aft'noon), every run I'd try to adjust my stance/balance/weighting (much different feel than a groomer) until I finally figured it out, took that one day of hard work to get the basic, a lifetime of refinement haha. IMO, getting that right is most important. Also...can you separate you lower/upper body? If not, gotta get that going on groomer turns first.
Watching others is great for technique, but I cannot follow others when I'm trying to ski, cannot lose focus on bumps in front of me or I wipe out. So I have usually sorta crazy lines lol. I look for soft places to land and turn, which is often not where everyone else turns...so having 155 SL skis means I can make my own lines on better snow.
Good luck...cannot emphasize enough how time/practice on the snow is most important.
I finally 'got' bumps on a nice spring day when there was nothing but soft bumps all around and I was determined to have fun like everyone else. I just forced myself down bump fields (they are all over green and blue trails on a spring aft'noon), every run I'd try to adjust my stance/balance/weighting (much different feel than a groomer) until I finally figured it out, took that one day of hard work to get the basic, a lifetime of refinement haha. IMO, getting that right is most important. Also...can you separate you lower/upper body? If not, gotta get that going on groomer turns first.
Watching others is great for technique, but I cannot follow others when I'm trying to ski, cannot lose focus on bumps in front of me or I wipe out. So I have usually sorta crazy lines lol. I look for soft places to land and turn, which is often not where everyone else turns...so having 155 SL skis means I can make my own lines on better snow.
Good luck...cannot emphasize enough how time/practice on the snow is most important.
This
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/new-hartford-ct/06057/month/2208322?view=table
will lead to this
which leads to this
tWo KnEe$
madriverjack lettin' the gold flow
bvibert down!
Acton is probably 2 hours from us. Pick a day and come get some. It's easy soft and fun. I cant promise you'll get better but you'll leave with a huge effin smile on your face.
http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/new-hartford-ct/06057/month/2208322?view=table
will lead to this
which leads to this
tWo KnEe$
madriverjack lettin' the gold flow
bvibert down!
Acton is probably 2 hours from us. Pick a day and come get some. It's easy soft and fun. I cant promise you'll get better but you'll leave with a huge effin smile on your face.
MadMadWorld
Active member
I just want to thank everyone for their comments. I will definitely take a lesson to improve on some core areas. Also in terms of skiing the bumps, are 178's too long of a ski to hit them (that's what I am skiing on right now)? I hope to get out a few more times this year, but overall, I just got to make more time for skiing it sounds
Length is not as important as the flex of the ski. A nice soft or rockered ski is going to be a lot more forgiving in the bumps than a stiff racing ski. And forgiveness is probably the most important thing for someone learning the bumps.
A great drill to practice is "dolphin turns"! You might get a few weird looks and stares but if you practice this consistently, you will be well ready to ski moguls before you can say Johnny Moseley! There is a few good YouTube videos out there that give a good demo...check it out
oakapple
New member
There's nothing wrong with asking a friend or companion for informal advice. That's done all the time, in all sports. Where it fails, is if there is a vast disparity in abilities, with the ultimate example being an expert skier trying to teach a complete newbie.
drjeff
Well-known member
The true mark of a good instructor isn't just the ability to realize what the student is/isn't doing, but being able to realize what the student is/isn't doing and then articulate to them, IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN GRASP, what they need to do to improve. Most good instructors will have 3 or 4 ways to explain the concept that they're trying to convey, which gives them the ability to adapt to the learning styles of many different skier types.
Many good skiers might be able to see what the person is doing, but might only have the ability to convey it to the "student" in a way that just they themselves understand. That is great if the student and the "instructor" have the same learning style. Not so great if they have different learning styles
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