Advice on how to read the terrain

[newbieM]

*slightly terrified* )))

I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time. Can’t wait to hear about it.

 

[Jilly]

*slightly terrified* )))

No, you're not!!

 

[liquidfeet]

.... I also get nervous when there are a lot of skiers that skiing across the hill may unintentionally cut someone off. Lots of crowds make me nervous. Essentially my goal is to become less nervous.
...if something feels steep to just ski nice wide turns across it and it takes away the steepness.
...On this trip I’m going to focus on being more adventurous and exploring more green trails and working on confidence alongside my turns, hockey stop, and side stepping.

Have a ton of fun on your upcoming trip! It sounds like you're ready.

You have mentioned these three strategies for dealing with unwanted speed on pitches whose steepness pulls you downhill too fast for comfort: turns that take you across the slope, hockey stops, and side-stepping down the hill.

Traversing across the hill between turns, or making wide turns that reach across the trail while losing elevation, are a classic approach to erasing the pitch. Watch your back!! Incoming traffic from above may not anticipate your line. Do this when there are no crowds above you.

Hockey stops are the perfect emergency stop when we are caught off guard. It's great you can do them!

Side-stepping down definitely works, especially if the steepish pitch is short. Side-slipping down works great when the pitch is long. Side-stepping gets tiring. Doing falling leaf is even better. Have you ever done falling leaf?

When you take your next lesson, you can also work on shortening your hockey stops so you can stop on a dime, on your side-slips, and falling leaf. There's always room for improvement. You can also work on learning the techniques for going more slowly down those scary pitches by making short radius turns. There's a lot involved in a good speed-scrubbing short radius turn. It will take more than one hour lesson to learn how to do these, but they are definitely in your future. Then you won't be needing those three tactics you've listed as often. But we all use them when feeling over-terrained; they are essentials.

Which worries you more, falling, or getting run into by the people you suddenly encounter crowded on the trail around the corner or over the rise?

 

[newbieM]

Thanks @liquidfeet! So last time I was practicing short turns and I’m able to make them. The were like smaller s shape turns, is that what you mean? I don't think I quite understand - do both short and wide turns control speed? I think it mentally I feel like I can be in control of what I approach I’ll naturally relax.

Also when they say complete your turns, what do they mean? I need to learn to ask if I don’t understand but sometimes I’m just really focusing.

 

[liquidfeet]

Short radius turns are smaller, yes. Imagine turns as connected Cs. The short radius ones are smaller Cs.

Completing turns means you make a complete C, not a bunch of connected Ss. Does that make sense? For a completed turn, at the end of it you make your skis point across the hill at the trees. Or across the "fall line," if you want to sound like you're a ski instructor . That part qualifies a turn as "completed."

Not completing turns makes you go fast. At the end of each incompleted turn your skis go diagonal, not horizontal, across the trail. They don't slow down much.

The end of the completed turn, no matter how short your across-the-slope travel is at that point, slows your downhill travel down. If you can get your skis to point the tiniest bit uphill as you complete them, then the skis won't take you very far across the trail. You'll have short C shaped turns. This only works if you are not standing on the backs of your skis. The fronts must must must be pressed down onto the snow.

When a skier makes short radius turns that are completed, they can head straight down the hill in a narrow lane, not using up much left-right real estate with each turn. A narrow lane is usually called a narrow "corridor" because ski instructors want to avoid implying that ski trails have lanes like roads do.

Short radius turns in a narrow corridor are the golden nugget of skiing skill. Every turn then loses speed at its end, and it doesn't take up the whole trail putting you in danger of getting hit from behind.

I kept editing that post you just replied to as you were replying. It may have stuff in it you didn't get to read. I also kept editing this one .

 

[newbieM]

Thank you for that perfect explanation. I’m going to go through all the posts on the long drive out and take notes so I can remind myself what to work on. So excited to get some more time on the slopes and can’t wait to see if what it is like after the insane dumping they got last week.