-
Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.
Anyone have a "breakthrough" moment this season ('07/'08)?
- Thread starter ski diva
- Start date
MaineSkiLady
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Finally got the bump line right! 
(and it "only" took 30+ years! 
)
(and it "only" took 30+ years! )
atlantiqueen
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My breakthrough came in a women's only clinic - it gave me the confidence to ski runs I thought were beyond my reach. I found myself seeking out steeps to play on and looking for bumps instead of avoiding them.
After that, I skied a couple double diamonds in Utah (totally unaware, just blithely following our group) and didn't pee my pants! Didn't even know I had skied doubles until the end of the day when we reviewed the trail map!!
While I'm not ready to hit the scratchy, blue ice on the doubles at home, I am much more confident and know I'll tackle them next season.
After that, I skied a couple double diamonds in Utah (totally unaware, just blithely following our group) and didn't pee my pants! Didn't even know I had skied doubles until the end of the day when we reviewed the trail map!!
While I'm not ready to hit the scratchy, blue ice on the doubles at home, I am much more confident and know I'll tackle them next season.
snowsparkle2
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My breakthrough was overcoming my psychological skiing fears and suddenly being able to ski crud, bumps, white-out (not ice!) like a true diva for the first time in my life....... then was defeated by fears again.... then overcame them....... then was defeated and so on !
But still, now I KNOW what it feels like to ski well & without fear & I know I can do it again !!!
But still, now I KNOW what it feels like to ski well & without fear & I know I can do it again !!!
Mine was in endurance and strength. Finally feel like I'm coming off 10 years of spaced out pregnancies and extreme weight gains during them (definitely not another one, and my youngest is ONLY 2.5yo lol). My new more flexible skis and added strength helped me turn through big hard bumps quicker, and I can ski a much longer before needing to stop. Made huge leaps in this from November to last weekend. My 12yo is as fast as me now, but since she never needs to stop or rest, I hold her up lol. Next year I hope to improve - start an 8 week woman's "boot camp" next week to help jump start my summer and keeping whatever fitness I gained this winter.
persee
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So breakthroughs... Mostly related to my new gear - Attiva AC3's and my new Salomon Idol 8 boots which gave me so much better feel for (and reaction to) the snow under my feet. I can now ski confidently on some blacks (assuming they aren't a complete sheet of ice). I can also now deal with some powder and I can ski in the trees - not too tight yet, but I think that's mental. So I'm not sure if that all counts as "breakthrough" but it was huge for me to start skiing stuff I wasn't sure if I could/would and to realize that I can ski most things. This was a great year!
IntheClouds
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I learned a "Proper" pole plant. Sure is effective in off-piste & steeper terrain. Now, if I could just be quicker & 100% with it, that would be great.
C
CMCM
Guest
For me, this was a breakthrough year for a lot of reasons....it was a series of small things, I guess. The most major thing is that I finally became really comfortable skiing any type of hill....nothing really freaks me out any more. I can try runs that I'm not sure I can do well, but the important thing is that I can/will/don't mind trying these hills. I finally learned to do my turns right, I got out of my habit of very quick tight turns and learned to do medium and wide carved turns, and to be comfortable with that, just following the ski around and not worrying about speed. I learned crossover pretty well. I realized I can ski in any type of condition....in the past I avoided ice, I hated slush in spring, I just wanted to ski on nice hardpack with some fluff on top. This year I found I can ski it all competently, although I still have my preferences! I have mostly lost my fear of falling, which was a previous fear that I know held me back. I've learned to like a certain amount of speed because of how much better I can turn! I finally got new skis this year....longer and wider, and liked the new skiing sensation and stability they gave me....although I have to be more attentive since they don't appear to have as big a "sweet spot" as my previous skis. On my new ones, I still find myself either too forward or too back on them, I'm having to learn to stay balanced right in the center. And through all this, I learned I actually am good enough to finally discern the differences in skis! Maybe my biggest breakthrough this year was discovering that I really really really love skiing. I skied more this year than I ever thought I'd manage to do (my goal was 30+, and today I'm at 47 and still counting). I was determined this year to get a lot of mileage, and I have! Next year will be even better!
skigrl27
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My breakthrough came this season in early March (maybe late February) on Trainor's at Ajax. It was my 2nd time down the run. The first run, I scoped out a rock drop & landing for my friends to hit. It was a "hero powder day" (so much snow it don't matter where/how you land, so you can be a hero) Anyway...on the second run down my sweetie said "you're going to hit it this time"...and I said "oh yeah right...suuure"
So they went off it and there I was. I skied to the ledge & peeked over. Andy calls to me "come on, do it!!" So I say "no way!" then for some unknown reason, I must have finally grew a pair.
I backed up a bit and hucked the rock. The landing was super soft. I'd say it was about a 7' drop. From THAT DAY FORWARD I've been hittin kickers & cornice drops & rock drops whenever I see them. It's awesome!! My fear of the air is gone. I cannot WAIT until next season to really get better.
I also shocked the crap out of the boys waiting for me below who thought I was traversing back up to take a different line.
So they went off it and there I was. I skied to the ledge & peeked over. Andy calls to me "come on, do it!!" So I say "no way!" then for some unknown reason, I must have finally grew a pair.
I backed up a bit and hucked the rock. The landing was super soft. I'd say it was about a 7' drop. From THAT DAY FORWARD I've been hittin kickers & cornice drops & rock drops whenever I see them. It's awesome!! My fear of the air is gone. I cannot WAIT until next season to really get better.
I also shocked the crap out of the boys waiting for me below who thought I was traversing back up to take a different line.
Daria
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Had a few breakthroughs this year. First of all I bought some new boots - stiffer that I had before and wow what a difference. I feel much more stable at speed! They are the Solomon Idol Origins and I love them!
Then I bought a pair of the K2 BLs (yeah I got spoiled this year ) and was amazed with how they handled in the hardpack and bumps - love them too
And somewhere in the middle my DH and I had our annual ski lesson day with our favorite instructor and he taught how to nail jumps
Overall I would say agressive level went up several notches this season and can't wait until next year 
Then I bought a pair of the K2 BLs (yeah I got spoiled this year
) and was amazed with how they handled in the hardpack and bumps - love them tooAnd somewhere in the middle my DH and I had our annual ski lesson day with our favorite instructor and he taught how to nail jumps
Overall I would say agressive level went up several notches this season
and can't wait until next year Musta been a breakthrough or five.
Season opened -- I was a groomed only, blue, run skier, at slow to moderate speeds.
I finished the season skiing blacks, FAST! I finished the season okay with people screaming past me in what I feel are tight spaces. I'd still like to feel more controlled in these situations, but I'm there. I finished my season comfortable off piste, and in trees. I can even ski when I can't see where I'm going now -- I'll still avoid the "miz-viz" if I can, but I can ski there!
I can't say for sure what did it. Boots? Being smaller? That off trail lesson at Grand Targhee? Or some little switch finally fired in my brain?
Don't know, don't care, but I like it!
Kano
Season opened -- I was a groomed only, blue, run skier, at slow to moderate speeds.
I finished the season skiing blacks, FAST! I finished the season okay with people screaming past me in what I feel are tight spaces. I'd still like to feel more controlled in these situations, but I'm there. I finished my season comfortable off piste, and in trees. I can even ski when I can't see where I'm going now -- I'll still avoid the "miz-viz" if I can, but I can ski there!
I can't say for sure what did it. Boots? Being smaller? That off trail lesson at Grand Targhee? Or some little switch finally fired in my brain?
Don't know, don't care, but I like it!
Kano
joycemocha
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Well, I'm still working on it, but--
At the beginning of the season I was definitely still not quite comfortable on the blues cruisers. All the new stuff at Timberline, though, really helped me work through my confidence levels--and now I'm skiing blacks! Not the nasty blacks with the double fall lines yet, though--but today I went up with an instructor and skied Palmer, up on the glacier! (although it was still pretty snow-covered, considering all the snow we've had this year!).
What was also rewarding was the comments from the instructor, basically telling me that the skills I needed to work on would transition me from the intermediate level to the expert level.
Wow. Three years of hard work skiing (especially this year) and it's paying off. At the beginning of the season, I kinda set skiing Palmer as a goal. Other than looking around at the top, I don't remember much of it because the instructor had me working so hard on various skills that I kept getting tired and having to catch my breath. It was very tiring--but I did it, and now I know I can do it!
(But dang, that's a long run! Especially when you're stopping every few turns for coaching!)
At the beginning of the season I was definitely still not quite comfortable on the blues cruisers. All the new stuff at Timberline, though, really helped me work through my confidence levels--and now I'm skiing blacks! Not the nasty blacks with the double fall lines yet, though--but today I went up with an instructor and skied Palmer, up on the glacier! (although it was still pretty snow-covered, considering all the snow we've had this year!).
What was also rewarding was the comments from the instructor, basically telling me that the skills I needed to work on would transition me from the intermediate level to the expert level.
Wow. Three years of hard work skiing (especially this year) and it's paying off. At the beginning of the season, I kinda set skiing Palmer as a goal. Other than looking around at the top, I don't remember much of it because the instructor had me working so hard on various skills that I kept getting tired and having to catch my breath. It was very tiring--but I did it, and now I know I can do it!
(But dang, that's a long run! Especially when you're stopping every few turns for coaching!)
