Ever had an unexplained loss of confidence?

[Liquid Yellow]

I returned from a week at my beloved Val d'Isere in France just before Christmas (hope all the Divas had a lovely Christmas BTW), and I feel a little bit ... down.

Last time I was there in March, I had the best week's skiing of my life; I was on my new Idylls, I was skiing like a demon, better than I've ever skied. Nothing seemed steep to me, everything was easy and my confidence was absolutely sky high. I LOVED the famous black La Face, and was excited to ski it, not nervous at all.

Yet last week, something had changed. For the first two days it was snowing heavily, the visibility was terrible and .. I found it a struggle! My boots were also extremely uncomfortable, and I couldn't figure out why, until it dawned on me that maybe my new moulded footbeds could be to blame. I put my old ones back in, and the boots slowly became comfortable again, but by then my confidence was already slipping away. My thighs were burning and I knew I was leaning back.

The third day was a bluebird day - yay, a chance to speed up at last! I chose to ski with a fast group from the hotel, and found I was sadly lacking. They were VERY fast and I just couldn't keep up, which was rather demoralising, so I ducked out.

On the Thursday it was the ski hosts' day off, so I pottered about with my mum. While she was on the beginner slopes, I thought I'd grab the Bellevarde Express lift and do the bottom half of La Face, the black I loved so much in March. I started it down it and began to feel uncomfortable, then nervous .. then rather scared. This was STEEP. Where had my confidence gone? I blasted down it in March.

Nothing had changed, my skis were great, I was fitter than I've ever been after months in the gym, yet for some reason I'd lost my self-assurance.

Divas, please reassure me that this was just a blip and my confidence will return?

I'm going to Saalbach in Austria with friends in four week's time and I don't want to be rubbish!

 

[pinto]

I'd keep figuring out your boots. I have had some horrific (ok not quite) days in the past couple of weeks because my liners packed out. Just like that, boom, skiing became a struggle. Tried to patch the problem with some shims, but that didn't help. They made it even worse (even though they took up room, they changed my stance by just a teensy bit, and I felt off -- once I took them out, I was back right in my boot, but I had to buckle so tight I was getting nerve pain up and down the peroneal/sciatic; that sucked.)

I was hoping the short-term fix would work a few weeks, but it didn't work at all, really. I threw in the towel and bought new liners last night, getting them baked today.

But it took a day of skiing with those shims in to realize that I just wasn't in the boot where I should be iin the boot. I don't know what you've had done, besides footbeds, but you might focus on that a little more and try to figure it out starting there.

 

[Liquid Yellow]

I think you're right. I think the liners changed my stance, I really felt it - and that combined with the poor weather got me off to a really bad start.

I was better once I put the old boot liners back in, but that wasn't until lunchtime after the morning I spent desperately trying to keep up with the fast group with my feet in pain. But by then, the confidence damage was done. Hmmm.

The feeling in the toes on my left foot still hasn't fully come back!

(And pinto, you're a FAR better skier than I'll ever be, so if it can affect you, I feel a bit better)

 

[NZfarmgirl]

Was it your first skiing of the season? Some times I think we expect too much of ourselves on the first day and it can be demoralising. You can't really get that end of season well practised awesome feeling straight away.
Also I find any foot pain causes hesitation and stance issues which leads to second guessing, and unbalance etc. - A huge confidence buster.

 

[Pequenita]

All equipment issues aside, our expectations often mess with our heads the most. Expectations are most prominent when we've had a period of distance, and they're almost never accurate. We don't remember things the way they actually are, and over time, we craft the narrative we want to believe.

That's not to say that the last time you were at Val d'Isere (jealous!) was mediocre, but over time, your brain has subconsciously changed the narrative, and your expectations when you arrived this season were based on that changed narrative and inaccurate memory. And what you encountered didn't meet that expectation. This is okay! I mean, who has back-to-back best skiing days of our lives?? I sure don't.

Don't beat yourself up. Take each day on the slopes for what it is. Austria is going to be fine!

Btw, I need to work up to steeps every season. My brain progressively redefines "steep" throughout the season, so what was steep on day one is not as a steep on day 15.

 

[Christy]

All the time. It's always two steps forward, one step back, with me. It sounds like you had some real reasons for your struggles (bad visibility, uncomfortable boots). When I have similar issues it's hard for me not to obsess about them, and it sort of spirals downhill from there. I was not secure in my boots on Monday and so was not feeling good my first couple of runs; I sat down and redid my boots and they were fine after that, but my confidence was not, just due to the feeling of sloppy feet those first runs. I ended up having fun but did not feel up to doing any black runs the rest of the day.

One thing that seems to work for me is to go off by myself to an easy slope and do drills. Just try to not worry about things, recover my balance, etc. Though uncomfortable boots do need to be sorted out.

 

[Lilywhite]

Yes! Twice, Maria Alm, loads of fresh snow, wide open crowd free slopes, I was a wreck, turned out I was coming down with the ear/throat/chest infection which had thrown my balance out completely, I went deaf on the plane home. Next holiday was a completely different skier, thoroughly enjoyed myself and made good progress.
Another time in Sweden, Are, a resort I know very well I just could not get it together, rookie error on that occasion, my liners were on the wrong feet! Stupid or what?

 

[Liquid Yellow]

^^ didn't think of that either. I've currently got an ear/chest infection!

Was it your first skiing of the season?

Yes it was, so yes I did have very high expectations...good point.

All equipment issues aside, our expectations often mess with our heads the most. Expectations are most prominent when we've had a period of distance, and they're almost never accurate. We don't remember things the way they actually are, and over time, we craft the narrative we want to believe.

That's not to say that the last time you were at Val d'Isere (jealous!) was mediocre, but over time, your brain has subconsciously changed the narrative, and your expectations when you arrived this season were based on that changed narrative and inaccurate memory. And what you encountered didn't meet that expectation. This is okay! I mean, who has back-to-back best skiing days of our lives?? I sure don't.

Don't beat yourself up. Take each day on the slopes for what it is. Austria is going to be fine!

Btw, I need to work up to steeps every season. My brain progressively redefines "steep" throughout the season, so what was steep on day one is not as a steep on day 15.[/quote]

Thanks for that, I've never had such a dramatic leap in form as I did in March, so it stands to reason that last week was something of a reality check.

All the time. It's always two steps forward, one step back, with me. It sounds like you had some real reasons for your struggles (bad visibility, uncomfortable boots)

I know, it's easy to blame the equipment - but even after I sorted out the boot liners, I still couldn't get my confidence back.

Hopefully it'll just be a blip, and I'll go to Austria and be back on form. I so loved feeling like I was really GOOD in March..

 

[Lilywhite]

Blame the ear/chest thing, decreased oxygen=muscle fatigue, dodgy ears=crap balance. Add in boot issues and first few days on snow for a year, no wonder your confidence cracked!
The worst thing about being so far from the mountains is feeling that you have to "love" every minute then feeling let down if you have a pretty average experience. Its when you have to remember a bad week on skis is better than a good week in the office.

 

[Liquid Yellow]

Now that IS true

 

[Christy]

I so loved feeling like I was really GOOD in March..

I felt like such a rock star at the end of last season. I was skiing better than ever and having a blast on bumps! Me! Having fun on bumps. It was unbelievable. And this season starts and you'd never know that that had been the case. But now that I've skied quite a bit, I'm getting the hang of it again. I did expect to pick up right where I left off but apparently that was not to be, and that's where some of my loss of confidence lies ("oh, crap! I suck this year!"). So I guess it's more realistic to think like this:

Btw, I need to work up to steeps every season. My brain progressively redefines "steep" throughout the season, so what was steep on day one is not as a steep on day 15

 

[contesstant]

I'd definitely blame it on the first ski outing of the season, which then got into your head. Add in the equipment change and you definitely had things working against you! Keep at it and let us know how your next trip goes

 

[bounceswoosh]

Btw, I need to work up to steeps every season. My brain progressively redefines "steep" throughout the season, so what was steep on day one is not as a steep on day 15.

Me, too. But this is the first season where I have been able to look at steeps and think "Huh, that's steeper than what I've been skiing recently" without it having an emotional component. I think it's because I made serious inroads in my downhill mountain biking, so I've been on steeps throughout the summer, albeit in a different context. I'm curious to see if this holds up on stuff that I've always considered steep, even mid-season.

But after skiing the groomers the first few days of this season, boy was I a hot mess my first time on bumps, powder, chop - anything not-groomed. I distinctly remember thinking that I must have fooled myself into thinking I could ever ski that stuff. A few runs later, it all came together.

Liquid Yellow: It sounds like there are a number of possible explanations. I get to feeling frightened or "off" much more quickly when I've been skiing multiple days. Colds and ear infections wreak total havoc. You know, if you think about it, some days you just feel amazing on skis, right? So there will be a few days on the other end of the spectrum, too.

Absolutely, it was just a blip, you'll be great, and just put it out of your mind.

 

[abc]

Chuck it up for 1st of season trip!

I always feel kind of odd the first couple days in each season. When I have the luxury, I like to take it easy the first few days of the season. There were a couple season I had "jumped in the deep end head first", so to speak. None of them worked out too terribly well...

 

[SkiNana]

Look on the bright side: you didn't have a *&%^$*@! heart attack the last time you skied!! I figure by the time they allow me back on the slopes I will have talked myself into a frenzy!

 

[ScottishGirlie]

Had two days of total and utter pain (mentally rather than physically) and got totally demoralised at one point this season as a result. Was in tears at the end of one of the days. Thought I couldn't ski properly etc. Had never, ever felt like that in all my years of ski-ing. Took a while to get back on the horse so to speak.

 

[sperks]

Blame it on the weather not yourself !! I always ski so much better when visibility is good just tell yourself you were on holidays and "the worst day skiing is better than the best day working " !

 

[MaineSkiLady]

You had a pretty major "trifeca" going on: not 100% well, poor visibility, boot fit issues -- not to mention first trip of the season! Oh my, don't beat yourself up!

Does it happen to others? ALL the time (well, perhaps I should speak just for myself...). Sometimes, you just have to "write it off" and move on.

For what it's worth, how I ski in December versus March? -- well, something of a different skier!

 

[Liquid Yellow]

Ahh thanks Divas, I knew you'd make me feel better!

 

[ski now work later]

When you end a season on such a high, it's only natural to expect to start the next season at that same level, but between weather and snow conditions, boot issues, and the fact that it was your first ski trip of the season, I can totally understand what happened to you. I've had the experience of having a scary/rough day with a slight injury mid-season and having it ruin my skiing confidence for weeks.

I can never predict what type of ski day it will be, there are so many factors: interpersonal, snow conditions, weather, equipment, energy, fitness, the list goes on and on. Plus as I am getting older, I can see how that is affecting my skiing. So I try to keep an open mind and moderate expectations, always nice to be surprised with a great ski day! You will have a wonderful time in Austria, I'm sure!