Anyone going for a new level this year?

[marymack]

I've been a level 1 PSIA for about 5 years now, I got my CS1 2 years ago, I'm thinking this year is the year I start working on Level II. Anyone else going for a new PSIA or CSIA level this year?
I'm shooting to take a pre-req course (since I can't use my child specialist as my pre-req) in January and then the exam the first weekend of March at Pico.
I don't know how this would work, but it would be cool to start a study group/discussion/support group for other women also taking exams this year.

I'll guess I'll start with a discussion topic for now:
What are you doing to prepare?

I've upped by exercise and tried to lose some weight (I'm actually down 26 lbs since last January...actually looking forward to putting on my ski pants this year!)
Last night was the first night of our Level II training group at the local ski bump where I teach. So we have had 1 of 2 dryland meetings, the rest will be Tuesday evenings on snow once the hill opens (in early January...)
I also have a Max pass so I'm planning to get as much milage as possible on bigger mountains. One of the big challenges of being from a small hill is that our runs are super short and I've been warned that we should be able to do the tasks of the exam for significant distances..so I'm hoping to get to some other mountains to really push my limits a bit.

I know I need to start studying for the written portion but I've heard that some of the questions are just crazy...e.g. "who invented sidecut on skis?" ....so how does one study for that?!

 

[Skier31]

Congratulations on the exercise and fitness improvement!

I am working 0n Level 3 but will likely do it in sections. We have to do CS2 for Level 3 so that is my goal this year.

I can't recall the Level 2 written questions specifically (and think the test is the same in all divisions) but it was not too difficult. A lot of generalized ski questions.

 

[Skisailor]

Congrats on your L2 goal! I think a "study group" thread where we can compare notes would be really fun and informative and very worthwhile.

I'm going to start training in earnest for my L3 this season. Unfortunately, in my Division you can't do it in sections. It's all or nothing. Not sure if I will take the exam or not this season but if I do, it will be in the spring. I'll be relying on @Ursula 's expertise as a retired examiner to decide. Come March if she tells me I am ready to take a first shot at it, I will. Otherwise, I will keep training and hope to try next year.

The pass rate for L3 is ridiculously low - especially on the first try, so my expectations are low, but I'm excited about the process. I know that studying and training for my L2 definitely made me a better skier and teacher. I'll take an L3 prep clinic either way sometime in mid season.

As far as L2 goes, I agree with Skier31 - the written exam really wasn't bad. Just be sure to brush up on the material in the source books - Alpine Tech Manual, etc etc.

And the best advice I got for L2 I will pass along from @KatyPerrey - nail the low end demos! - those wedge turns, wedge Christies and basic parallel turns. If you do, it shows the examiners that you understand how to blend the skills which carries over into all the rest of the skiing tasks AND into their perception of your skiing overall. So if you nail the low end stuff, you might get the benefit of the doubt if you don't perform as well as you'd like on one of the skiing tasks.

My other advice is to really pay attention to your teaching, as I think there is a tendency to put too much weight on the skiing skills. If you can wow them during a teaching segment, it's a big boost for your chances.

 

[liquidfeet]

I'm working on LIII skiing here in PSIA-E. This season I am taking a break from teaching to focus exclusively on my skiing. It's a big change for me to not teach, and I'm anxious about it. Making significant improvements requires more time on snow than a teaching life gives me, though, so if I'm ever going to get to LIII, this upcoming free season will allow me to do that.

The following year I'll plan on taking the skiing exam, if it seems like I have a chance of passing. If I do pass it, I'll do the CS2 next. After that comes the LIII teaching exam. If I don't pass the skiing, I'll simply stop trying. I'm getting too old for this (67 now!) I expect the skiing exam will be quite difficult for me to pass.

I'd love to have a mentor like Ursula. But alas, I'll be on my own.

 

[Skisailor]

I'm working on LIII skiing here in PSIA-E. This season I am taking a break from teaching to focus exclusively on my skiing. It's a big change for me to not teach, and I'm anxious about it. Making significant improvements requires more time on snow than a teaching life gives me, though, so if I'm ever going to get to LIII, this upcoming free season will allow me to do that.

The following year I'll plan on taking the skiing exam, if it seems like I have a chance of passing. If I do pass it, I'll do the CS2 next. After that comes the LIII teaching exam. If I don't pass the skiing, I'll simply stop trying. I'm getting too old for this (67 now!) I expect the skiing exam will be quite difficult for me to pass.

I'd love to have a mentor like Ursula. But alas, I'll be on my own.

Well it will be great to compare notes and interesting to note differences between divisions. I'd really value your input and experience as we work through the process.

You're right - I feel amazingly lucky to have a mentor like Ursula. Maybe via our interaction in this thread, you can get some feedback from her - either directly or vicariously.

 

[liquidfeet]

I like the idea of comparing notes here.

Here's a list of who we are so far.
(Please correct this is I'm wrong in the specifics.)

@marymack (MA) working on LII ............................specifically, Skiing Exam
@Skier31 at Snowmass (CO) working on LIII ...........specifically, CS2 Exam
@Skisailor (MT) working on LIII ..............................specifically Skiing & Teaching Exam, which are done together
@liquidfeet (NH) working on LIII skiing...................specifically Skiing Exam

My biggest hurdles are hop turns and two other hoppy turn initiations, one-ski skiing on my right foot (left foot is fine, so probably this is a right boot alignment issue), white pass turns on both feet, and assertively skiing big icy bumps.

Any body else already have a list of what you'll be trying to master this season in prep for that exam?

 

[Skisailor]

The NRM skiing tasks (fundamental versatility) are:

1) Skate to shape to short turns
2) No poles with tempo or lane change
3) White pass turns
4) One legged skiing
5) One leg side hill turns (garlands)
6) Pivot Slips
7) Short swing to short performance
8) Retraction turns
9) Wedge hops
10) Hop turns

They will choose 5 of these on exam day.

We also need to perform the 3 demos (wedge turns, wedge christies, basic parallel). And mountain skiing stuff:(short dynamic, med dynamic, bumps)

Terrain choices for all this stuff are ramped up from the L2.

My nemeses are definitely the hoppy stuff as well. I was starting to get the wedge hops last year but have not worked on hop turns yet at all. The old legs ain't what they used to be!

What will be interesting is the difference between the Divisions - not only which tasks they choose (I get the need for flexibility here), but the fact that the same task can be described differently! So what might pass in one Division will fail in another. That aspect drives me nuts.

 

[liquidfeet]

Yup. Hopping in boots with all that weight down there on my feet, without ankle flexing to help out, is a biggie for me. I'll do pivot slips (I'm good with pivot slips) and add some flex-extend to them, then make them bouncier, then stop with each pivot, then see if I can put some air in those bounces. That's the progression I'll try first, and I hope by the middle of the season I may be doing hop turns without any travel. I expect I'll get out of breath fast, and perform every option of sequential ski movement. However, I may lose some pounds doing all that hopping, so ... two birds with one stone.

 

[Skisailor]

Yup. Hopping in boots with all that weight down there on my feet, without ankle flexing to help out, is a biggie for me. I'll do pivot slips (I'm good with pivot slips) and add some flex-extend to them, then make them bouncier, then stop with each pivot, then see if I can put some air in those bounces. That's the progression I'll try first, and I hope by the middle of the season I may be doing hop turns without any travel. I expect I'll get out of breath fast, and perform every option of sequential ski movement. However, I may lose some pounds doing all that hopping, so ... two birds with one stone.

Sounds like a great progression. I'll try that as well. And as I found when learning to do leapers for the L2, it really helps to practice on steep slopes. Find a nice groomed steep pitch, then, if you are moving your center of mass downslope as you should be, each "hop"
is fighting gravity less than trying to hop straight "up" from flatter ground.

 

[liquidfeet]

Thanks Skisailor for that suggestion on the hoppy tasks.

Here's what I have found that LIII candidates are expected to be able to do here in NE.
There are three sections to the exam. Examiners get together on exam day and choose which tasks to have the candidates do for each of those three sections. The exam takes two days.

The ones in red are what I'll be paying special attention to.

Drills
Examiners choose 8 from this list on exam day given the conditions du jour.
They have been known to come up with other tasks not on any list:
pivot slips, and maybe backwards pivot slips
flat 360s in both directions
one-ski skiing, on each foot, both skidded and carved
leapers (change edges in air)
hop to shape (change edges and rotate skis in air)
hop turns
pain-in-the-S turns
white pass turns
funnel
lane change
rhythm change
speed change while maintaining rhythm
maintain consistent speed when pitch changes
how slow can you go, slow down to failure
most turns in a given distance
medium/long radius turns through bumps
bump/groomer turns: medium radius, half in bumps & other half on the groomed
rr tracks
1000 steps, big steps and small steps
skate to shape
skate across the hill, between turns, any place and time
any combinations of all the above, with or without poles, on groomed or off

Personal skiing
on Level III terrain/conditions
I expect all of these will be required:
bumps; show off your stuff
dynamic short radius turns on hard-snow black groomer (bread-and-butter of LIII skiing)
retraction turns (not sure how these are different from dynamic short radius turns)
"free run;" show off your stuff

Lower level demos
on low pitch terrain at slow speed:
wedge turns
wedge christie turns
stem turns
basic/open parallel turns
sideslip, diagonal sideslip, falling leaf
school house bumps

 

[Skisailor]

Wow - lots of stuff! Some of those things are part of our lower level exams (and don't need to be repeated for L3) and some I have practiced on my own but are not part of NRM exams (how slow can you go, most turns in a given distance).

We can definitely talk through retraction turns if you want. It refers to the method of changing edges (turn initiation) and is not related to turn size or shape.

It's one of the things Ursula teaches her students and has worked a lot with me on. In her framework, there are only 3 ways to change edge (initiate a turn) - extend both legs, retract both legs, extend one leg and retract the other.

For what it's worth, I remember an old EPIC thread where Bob Barnes posed the turn initiation question. The guys all came on and posted long treatises that were all over the map. Ursula popped in and posted one sentence listing the 3 ways I just mentioned above. Bob's response? Bingo!

Most skiers use extension (of both legs) to start a turn, so doing just the opposite can take some getting used to. But retraction turns are a bomb proof way to start a turn and are Ursula's "go to" way of initiating turns in powder.

 

[liquidfeet]

The way I understand retraction turns sounds similar but slightly different than yours.
My three ways of starting a turn are:

1. Extend-to-Release
Extend the new outside leg first, then a slight moment afterwards shorten the new inside leg - you get tall in transition. The speed at which you shorten the new inside leg decides whether you drift on flat skis into the fall line or tip onto new edges above it. This may be your "extend both legs." One leg is already extended in the old turn.

2. Flex-to-Release
Shorten the new inside leg first, then a slight moment afterwards lengthen the new outside leg - you stay short in transition, but how short depends on how soon you lengthen the new outside leg. The lengthening of the new outside leg is done to send it out to the side so that it is longest when the skis are pointing down the fall line. This might be your "extend one leg and retract the other." Not sure.

3. Retraction Turns
Shorten both legs, fast, to pick them up and put them down on the other side, so to speak. You'll not necessarily be airborne between turns, but you will be light, and you'll feel the rebound from your skis as you float through transition. With this release, you'll stay lower during transition than in the other two options. Rebound is an important part of retraction turns, so those turns will have to be short to enact and feel the rebound. These turns are quite athletic, and tiring. Retraction turns are frequently used in slalom gates. Not super-G or downhill. Maybe some in GS.

Because of that #3 working definition of mine, you can probably see why I wonder if that's what they are looking for in dynamic short radius turns.

 

[Skisailor]

For me, the timing issues you describe are independent of the 3 turn initiation methods. So in my retraction turns, the flex (of both legs simultaneously) can happen at a fast, medium or slow pace (which will affect the turn radius).

Similarly, my dynamic short radius turns (or medium or long radius turns for that matter) can all be initiated with extension, or with flexion or with long leg/short leg.

I personally find long leg/short leg to be the easiest and most efficient way to initiate short radius turns.

For our discussion purposes, whenever I use the words extension or flexion, I mean that both legs are moving together and doing the same thing (understanding that on an inclined surface, the relative amount of flexion or extension will be different for each leg). But the legs are still making the same movement. This is different from long leg/short leg where one leg is flexing while the other extends. i.e they are doing different things.

 

[liquidfeet]

So a quick question, if you are in a long radius turn and your inside leg is short as you start your new turn with flexion, you shorten it even more as you shorten the outside leg?

Not that it really matters all that much when you're moving so fast....

 

[Skisailor]

Yes. The relative amount of leg flexion will be different for each leg depending on the pitch. But both legs flex to flatten the skis and start the turn.

 

[marymack]

Any body else already have a list of what you'll be trying to master this season in prep for that exam?

From what I've seen of the assessment criteria, probably most concerned about leapers. I know officially you don't need to be able to ski on one foot, but I know its also something I need to work on. I think I probably meet the criteria for able to ski intermediate bumps but I would still like to improve my flow and consistency.

 

[Skisailor]

From what I've seen of the assessment criteria, probably most concerned about leapers. I know officially you don't need to be able to ski on one foot, but I know its also something I need to work on. I think I probably meet the criteria for able to ski intermediate bumps but I would still like to improve my flow and consistency.

For the Level 2 in NRM, you have to be able to do "outside ski turns" where the inside ski is lifted throughout the turn.

 

[liquidfeet]

You know what? I bet the difference between your flexion turns and mine, SkiSailor, has to do with the snow surfaces we ski on. I have to do what I do on impenetrable hardpack most of the time, and I expect that for my exam. You are skiing on soft snow that fell from the sky. Maybe the differences stem from that. Anyway.....

Let's do compare our on-snow training regimens, our successes and roadblocks. It will be interesting to see how we approach things differently, and what works differently in Montana and New Hampshire. @marymack, would you like to do this too, since you are going for a skiing exam as well?

 

[Skisailor]

We have about 3 weeks until opening day. So for now, I am working on dry land training for the hop turn stuff.

I've been using some ankle weights with my tennis shoes on and have been practicing the timing and flow of the hopping movement. Since hop turns require a blocking pole plant, which has different timing than what I'm used to in a normal turn, I've been doing the hops with my poles to get the rhythm and timing of the pole swing and pole plant down.

At this point, I'm concentrating on the pole stuff, and also on trying to do all the rotation with my legs - minimizing hip rotation, and keeping a quiet upper body. I try to do 30 at a time - several reps.

Tomorrow I'm going to start doing this in my ski boots. Since the boots don't allow as much ankle flexion as tennis shoes I know it's going to be harder to get up into the air. But it will be great practice for the real thing. Because I normally ski with a relatively loose cuff (power strap and top buckle) I think I have a little more available ankle range of motion, which will be helpful for the hoppy stuff. And on exam day, I will try to quickly loosen my upper cuff buckles even more if it looks like we are going to do these.

 

[liquidfeet]

Skisailor, that's a great way to get ready for those darn hop turns. I will try it too. I really appreciate the description.

Will you be taking the ski exam this season? How long do you have to get ready for it?