Bad Habits?

[lizzibell]

I'm new to skiing, and I'm HOPING to go out this weekend...IFthe snow doesn't melt. (the temps have been above the freezing point) Question...after I quit rambling...what are some bad habits I should avoid developing? I've got the snow plow down, still have to work on turning left...can't seem to do it, but no problem turning right. Anyways, any suggestions on what notto do? Thanks Divas!

 

[Lynn]

Well, I am sorry to hear you got the plow down. I also was taught this way of steering and 14 years later am still struggling to get rid of its vestiges. There are direct- to- parallet ski programs , but they are few and far between, unfortunately.
It sounds like your boot alignment may be way off resulting in your not being able to turn to that side. Look over at the Epic site for reputable boot fitters. AVOID anyone who will recommend cork footbeds. This is not the kind of footbed that will enhance your skiing. These rigid footbeds keep you from utilizing your feet muscles. You want a footbed that allows for some mobility.

Have a fun time and watch your back! Remember that you will probably be spending time on the easier slopes with other new skiers/boarders who may have even less control than you.

 

[lizzibell]

I was on the bunny slopes with a whole bunch of kids last Sun. lol Sometimes I envy the kids...the have no fear what so ever. I did sign up for the Chixs on Stixs (did I spell that right?) program here. :D

 

[Grace]

Having been in a similar position in the not too distant past....

one bad habit I picked up when on the snow plough - parallel turn transition was not thinking about my arm position. I spent so much energy thinking about my legs that I forgot about my arms -- am not really sure what they were doing! So now I have had to make a lot of effort to unlearn my lazy arm positions (and it has made quite a difference to my skiing). When you are new to this whole thing it is so easy to concentrate on one thing at the expense of the others. Just my tip!

and I agree about the snow plough being difficult to lose. If I had my time again I would think about trying to find 'straight to parallel lessons'.

Grace

 

[tcarey]

Hey Lizzibell,
Welcome to the sport of skiing? Back here in the states we no longer call it a snowplow but instead a gliding wedge.Without seeing you slide it would be hard to determine why turning left is a problem-lynn has a good thought though with proper boot alignment.
In my teaching experience I have found that the biggest issue with new skiers is balance.Font and back and side to side.A centered stance is the key component when learning to ski.Some exercises I have people do- With the skis off rock far forward on your toes-then rock back on to your heels- then return to standing on the whole foot.Which seems more balanced to you? Try the same thing on some very gentle terrain with your skis on.Which is more effective?

Keep taking some lessons so you can recieved positive re-inforcement of your fundamental skills! pratice practice pratice!!

Regards,
terry

 

[lizzibell]

Oh, I intend to practice...a lot! :D Thanks!

 

[Lori_K]

I spent so much energy thinking about my legs that I forgot about my arms -- am not really sure what they were doing!

Ditto the arm position. When I was starting out, my husband had to keep reminding me not to drop my uphill shoulder. Keeping the upper half of the body focused downhill while the legs move beneath you is key. Keeping the arms in front will help your upper body stay "quiet".

(I'm not an instructor, just passing on information I've gleaned from lessons I've taken.)

 

[eng_ch]

Just to go against teh flow here.... there have been a couple of discussions on snowHeads in the last few days that counter a couple of things said above. Firstly the snowplough is a perfectly valid technique and there are places (such as narrow cat tracks) where it is not just the best but indeed the only way to control speed. Slightly stemmed turns can also be a useful technique if you inadvertently find yourself on something that's a bit too steep for you but yon don't have to just side slip it. So I would say that straight-to-parallel teaching potentially omits a very useful tool.

Secondly Smallzookeeper - who should know what he's talking about with bootfitting - just put cork footbeds in WTFH's new boots. The key, imo, is to get someone to do the job right and not go in with preconceptions

Just my two penneth

 

[Jilly]

llizzibell. You will have so much fun with Chicks on Stix's. It's run by CSIA instructors throughout Canada. In Quebec it's' Elle Ski. I'm also an instructor and without seeing you ski I really can't say anymore than what's been said about your left turn problem. Needless to say the goal is to get your feet together as soon a possible. That should happen with the "fast track to parallel" program we run in the CSIA. Hope you get Laurie K. But I think she's back in Ontario.

 

[Shellski]

My two cents worth -

Arms and upper body - couldn't agree more - always keep your hands in front where you can see them.
Weight forward and down the hill - it goes completely against instinct, but always remember - keep forward to keep control.
Keep your knees soft - pushing out with a stiff downhill leg to make a turn is a very, very bad habit.

 

[lizzibell]

Thanks for the advices Divas!!! I knew this place was a great resource! Plus ALL the Divas on here are pretty dern cool too!

 

[Jilly]

I forgot to ask which resort?? Sunshine or Louise?? I think Heather Bilodeau is stilling running one at Panorama.

 

[lizzibell]

It's not a resort. It's at Snow Valley in Edmonton. Nice little hill for me to learn on.

 

[volklgirl]

AVOID anyone who will recommend cork footbeds. This is not the kind of footbed that will enhance your skiing. These rigid footbeds keep you from utilizing your feet muscles. You want a footbed that allows for some mobility.

Huhn?? Second on what eng_ch says!

I also had a professional fitting done last week - they went over everything about my equipment and stance. They said my 12 year old cork Superfeet (also made by vacuum fitting) were still perfectly servicable - they wouldn't change a thing there. I guess the mobility issue depends on how pronated your are to start with. For those that pronate absurdly (like me), the lack of mobility in a footbed is a great thing.

Otherwisw, Lizzibell;

There's nothing wrong with learning a wedge - it has it's place in your arsenal of techniques. As said above, though, be aware of your arm position. Take a bunch of lessons this year!!

 

[liquidfeet]

Lizzybell,

Welcome to SkiDiva!

In the last three years I've gone from beginner (multiple falls daily, skidding-braking-all the time) to much much better skiing. The key for me was lots of reading, lots of asking, and doing my own designed drills with each run.

For instance, ski down a slope and work on only one thing, maybe "cafeteria tray" hands. Concentrate on keeping your hands in the cafeteria tray position. (Or some other hands mantra besides the cafeteria one....) Don't think about anything else. Recite "hands, hands, hands, hands" with each turn. Doing one thing well repeatedly gets it into muscle memory.

Next run, concentrate on something else.

There are so many parts to skiing well -- just do one thing at a time, and keep concentrating on it until it's embedded and becomes subconscious. As your bag of tricks increases, you will move to ever higher skills.

It's work --- glorious work --- and so fulfilling.

 

[volklgirl]

Lizzibell - check this out!

Lizzibell,

Check out this link. Lokks like some really good info!

https://youcanski.com/en/instruction/instruction_index.htm

 

[BatGirl]

Lizzibell:

When you have a problem turning to the left, is it because you can't get the edge to engage? I had a similar problem when I first started skiing. Once I got my boots fitted correctly, it improved on its own, but I still needed some work.

One drill I was shown was a side-slip drill. You turn yourself perpendicular to the hill and engage your uphill edges to keep yourself from sliding. Then, ever so slowly, you ease off them and allow yourself to slide down the hill a bit. Then re-engage the edges to stop. This gets you accustomed to engaging the edges at will which can then translate to when you want to make turns.

Now, this is coming from another noobie, so if any of the more experienced Divas think this isn't a good drill for this issue, please speak up and correct me!

BatGirl