bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
haha! All of my examples were taken directly from personal experience ;-) I haven't been to the Ice Coast in a looong time, and it shows.
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Skiing Well and Skiing Bumps
- Thread starter SallyCat
- Start date
haha! All of my examples were taken directly from personal experience ;-) I haven't been to the Ice Coast in a looong time, and it shows.
Fluffy Kitty
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was thinking they all applied to me, too, when I read them.
Kind of reminds me of the discussion not too long ago about whether we can call ourselves "skiers". Deep philosophical questions about what it means to "know how to ski"...
SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Anyone who skis the mid Atlantic knows that one group of snowboarders can ruin an entire trail in a single run. Boarders in the Poconos are like stoned, foul-mouthed Zambonis.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yeah ... but ... if you're really trying to learn to ski bumps, how do you learn without having side slipping as an option??
newboots
Angel Diva
I think I'm going to need to learn to side-slip before I tackle the bumps. Lots on the agenda this winter!
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It'll be a revelation!
SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What I meant was that if you ski in the mid Atlantic, it is the height of absurdity to worry about "ruining" the snow for others. There are eleventy-thousand other people on the hill with you and half of them are snowboarders who don't know how to carve, so they scrape their rad selves down the trails like human squeegees. Unless there's been fresh snowfall recently, the snow will be compromised 60 minutes after the first chair starts to spin, and ruined by lunchtime. Side slip to your heart's content; you're not preserving anything for very long by trying not to.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
To be fair, this was more than 20 years ago, and snowboarders were not a big factor.
And the instructor's suggestion to side-slip was close to 15 years ago.
SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I suspected as much, but can never pass up an opportunity to insult, condemn, and demean Poconos snowboarders.
mustski
Angel Diva
Side slipping is a necessary survival skill! My rule of thumb- don't drop into anything not wide enough to side slip! As for the bumps quote ... I think the point was that harder terrain requires precision movement and points out flaws in our technique. It wasn't - "Don't ski bumps" (choice) but "can't ski bumps" (ability). I can't really argue with that premise. Bumps require more precision and are less forgiving are error.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
LOL! That should not be too hard a rule to follow.
mustski
Angel Diva
Of course my definition of "wide enough" is plenty wide!
marzNC
Angel Diva
This! Back when I learned to ski long again on straight skis as a teen, learning to side slip was part of what beginners were taught early on. So even though I only skied two seasons back then and wasn't more than an low intermediate, I could side slip without thinking about it. It was a skill that came back easily when I started skiing as an adult after a 10 year hiatus. Enough muscle memory so it was like riding a bike. These days, it seems as if even intermediates are not taught side slipping that consistently but it's certainly considered a skill required for advanced skiers. Or perhaps it's that they don't practice after being taught.
As a survival skill, I think side slipping is very important. Way easier than taking off skis and walking down a short section that feels too steep to ski . . . on a blue trail. Definitely makes it easier to go exploring challenging terrain, whether blue or black, at a new mountain.
Learning to get a feel for edges is what side slipping is all about. Need to practice on both sides. Also need to know what to do with your upper body while practicing. I'm not an instructor, so not going to get into a description here.
I read this quote word for word, including the commas as the bumps will prove your skill level. It's a little blunt, but we all know that person that doesn't get it unless it's told to their face. I've had similar things said to me over my years of taking CSIA lessons. And I've had to say something similar to friends or students. I don't like to be that blunt but sometimes being political correct doesn't cut it.
Even this past season Lady Salina threw me the top of WB. She was right. I couldn't handle it. She wasn't really polite about either. But she was right. And my left big toe is still black from it.
santacruz skier
Angel Diva
Curious - Where were you at WB?
I'm planning on taking some lessons (for a change). I need to be ready for the blunt wake up call....
SnowHot
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
That's her style. That woman is awesome!
I recall skiing the "back door" with your intermediate group at Whistler/Blackhomb, there were several times when we'd get to a Y with two options, one groomers and one bumps. Many of the people in the group just didn't want to ski bumps, some couldn't ski bumps, and some of us were seeking low angle bumps. It was nice to have you and me working together so that we could go both ways and meet at the bottom.
That was a fun time!!
Skier31
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Side slipping is a critical skill. I teach it to beginners. It helps them develop edging and unedging movements. It also gives them a tool to use if they end up on something too steep.
Flattening the downhill ski with weight over the downhill ski is critical for turn intitiation. This is something people can practice on their own and have instant feedback. Learning to control fore/aft balance and stay in a corridor is very helpful.
Flattening the downhill ski with weight over the downhill ski is critical for turn intitiation. This is something people can practice on their own and have instant feedback. Learning to control fore/aft balance and stay in a corridor is very helpful.
SnowHot
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The one year that I taught skiing, my mentor was a 69 year old women who was one of the first women to have a full cert(now known as a L3) in this region, over 50 years ago.
I remember shadowing her to learn how to teach. She took every intermediate class to a good intermediate slope with a side area that was steepish, and said, "I'm going to teach you how to side slip, because some day this skill will save your life"
Its amazing what a person can learn about their balance and edging skills from doing that.
I need to call her and see if she's up for a day at the museum and cup of tea.
bounceswoosh
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I assume you're not posting from the top of WB, so at least you did make it down eventually!
Sounds like sort of that "red zone" thing. Huh, found the link quickly - it looks like the images are no longer available, but the text is still there: https://mysnowpro.com/zones_of_comfort_and_fear_-_pe/
Funny thing - the instructor who wrote that post accidentally red zone / TF'd half my group many years ago ...
@santacruz skier We were in Whistler bowl on a clear day too. I was having boot issues and got toe bang really bad that week. Add in demo skis that I just didn't like.....bad day all around. Glad to say that boots are fixed. Toe not yet but it's coming. And I didn't order the Solomon's either. But those are excuses. I couldn't keep up as I've been skiing too many groomers with my buddies at Tremblant.
I have a plan for this coming season that involves more time OFF the groomers.
I have a plan for this coming season that involves more time OFF the groomers.
