How much to you think about what you are doing...

[Sheena]

When I am skiing, especially on steeper slopes, or ungroomed, or tree skiing, I notice that I really have to concentrate on what I am doing.

I was curious to hear some feedback from other Divas. Do you notice that you really concentrate on what you are doing? Or do you feel you are in "auto pilot"?

 

[dloveski]

it depends. Each day has different dynamics for me. Some days, I am goal-oriented and hit some terrain that stretches me---and I can be pretty tense and tend to concentrate on every turn.

Then there's the days where everything clicks----days when I hook up the music and just let it happen. It seems to flow.

Both kinds of days have their place---but I prefer the latter. Also, I find that it may also depend on whom I'm skiing with. If I feel I'm competing or they are judging me---I hold back and don't feel the 'zone'.

I love any day on the mountain, the good, the bad, the ugly---it's all part of the journey.

 

[SnowDancer]

think - and talk

Sheena,

Don't do much ungroomed skiing on purpose and am no way ready for real tree skiing but, when the terrain gets a little too challenging or out of my comfort zone, not only do I think about what I'm doing - I talk myself through it!

Now I don't actually talk out loud but, in my head, I run through short self-coaching reminders like "stand up", "stay relaxed", "press your shins forward", "rise and fall (or "lift up, sink down"), "keep your hands in front", "look down the hill", "when it's steep, reach deep", etc.

When a slope looks like something I really don't want to/don't think I can ski, I use a quote from an extreme skiing article I read several years ago. We all know how the longer you look at something bad or horrible the worse it can get - well, that's when I say (and this IS out loud) "time to eat the frog!" (a reference to Survivor or Fear Factor, I think), and push off...

 

[altagirl]

I know I DO think a lot. And I try to work on improving, which obviously requires thinking about what you're doing.

The thing is, when I'm really skiing my best - I'm not thinking about it at all, it just happens.

 

[NannyMin]

The thing is, when I'm really skiing my best - I'm not thinking about it at all, it just happens.

Ditto! I read "Inner Skiing" by W. Timothy Gallwey and Robert Kriegel during the flight to Aspen. I was struck by the chapter that talks about relaxed concentration. One particular quote seems to represent what I have experienced:

"Many people are under the impression that you have to be serious to focus the mind, but having fun is actually conducive to concentration. When the mind is enjoying itself it is not so easily distracted."

 

[SnowHot]

Each time I take a "next step" in skiing I think a lot. In fact I "over think".
Nannymin can vouch for me that I chanted, while going through bumps at Stowe. "hands out front, virgin clutch, hands out front, virgin clutch, hands out front, virgin clutch"

It was the only thing that got me through the bumps. I still find myself doing that once in a while, but its becoming more natural for me to "Just do it"


A few weeks ago, the Steeps thread had some great pointers. I started to "think" about those when I dropped into Nose dive and/or Gorge. Yesterday, when I was skiing, a friend said, "wow, you're looking smooth, like you know what you're doing"
That's when it occurred to me that I'm not thinking about it anymore, Just doing it!


Is that how it is for everyone?
Think "too much" when you're stepping up a notch, but eventually it becomes natural?

BTW, I'd like to thank the divas for the tips in the Steeps thread. It really made a difference for me.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Any time it gets challenging for me, I'm practically thinking out loud! Especially super-steeps. Bumps for sure. Some situations are just "no mistake zones" -- so I crank it up a notch in the gray matter dept. Used to actually talk out loud, but the commands to myself are pretty internalized at this point.

Read a nice quote some years ago - that the secret of advanced skiing is being able to turn where you want, when you want. So for quite awhile after that, I was audibly mumbling, "Where you want, when you want." Now it's "off the edge" - reminding myself to make the turn sooner than my body might be ready.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

I think I think about what I'm doing. I think about my line down the run.

More than ANYTHING....I worry about the people coming up behind me. Thank goodness that NVG runs interference behind me. (I'm a more paranoid skier than I used to be!)

 

[SkiNurse]

I do think about what I'm going to ski ~ 5 turns ahead. And I do talk out loud to myself especially if I'm tired or feel lazy.

But, other than that, my brain is pretty clear when I'm skiing. I just love being on the mountain that, I don't go into autopilot, but I definitely get into a "zone". Nothing else matters. In fact, when I'm driving the I70 corrider from Denver, as soon as I see that 1st mountain range view in Gennesee, that is when all "daily" stress leaves and I'm so happy to be heading into the hills.

 

[ski diva]

I think about it, too. Sometimes I find my mind a little too busy, so I'll concentrate on one thing at a time. One run I'll focus on one thing, the next I'll focus on another. I can't hold too many things in my brain at once!

 

[ride_ski]

I also tend to think about what I'm doing. I am continually trying to improve my skiing, so I am always thinking or talking out loud to myself. Like others, when I am trying to master a new skill, I tend to really focus- to the point that DH sometimes tells me that I am thinking too much and sometimes you just "need to let it happen". Easy for him to say- he started skiing very young and can ski anywhere pretty much anytime

Like SnowHot, once I reach a "new level" I find myself not thinking anymore. That is until I start focusing on the next thing.

Glad to see that I am not the only one who does this. Here's another great example of why I'm so glad I found (and started to participate on) this forum. With DH (my primary skiing partner) being a much better skier, I don't have many people to talk about these things with. He doesn't understand what I struggle with on the slopes.

Thanks again for being here Divas. :D

 

[SnowDancer]

"hands out front, virgin clutch, hands out front, virgin clutch, hands out front, virgin clutch"

O.K., I gotta ask... "virgin clutch"?
I don't (intentionally) ski bumps, but I'm guessing it's got something to do with keeping your legs together?

 

[Pequenita]

On easy groomed runs, I'm constantly thinking about technique and sometimes I am doing a running commentary/play-by-play call on my skiing. On more challenging runs, on the lift ride up, I think of one thing I want to focus on and come up with a mantra. Sometimes while I ski, I'll consciously think of it, but like Altagirl, when I'm skiing my best on this tougher terrain, I am just going with the flow - it's like everything has clicked, and it's the best feeling ever!

 

[SnowHot]

"hands out front, virgin clutch, hands out front, virgin clutch, hands out front, virgin clutch"

O.K., I gotta ask... "virgin clutch"?
I don't (intentionally) ski bumps, but I'm guessing it's got something to do with keeping your legs together?

Well.......I had a terrible stem, which reared its ugly head when I got in the bumps. Nannymin also had a stem, though not as drastic as mine. :o
So, Robin Barnes told us to engage the "virgin clutch to lose the stem"
Which mean, as you would expect.........put the legs together.

It worked. I will never forget virgin clutch.
The TR explanation is here
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2239

 

[climber.girl1]

[QUOTEIt worked. I will never forget virgin clutch.
The TR explanation is here
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2239[/QUOTE]

LOL :ROTF:

That is a RIOT!

Gasp... gasp... Now that I've got my breath back.... here's two things.

First, I've noticed that when I'm absolutely BOMBING down a black groomer, and going fast enough that the little voice in my head starts going "If you fall, it's REALLY gonna suck", at that point I have to sometimes remind myself to breathe. I start breathing in and out to the rhythm of my turns. Not only does it help to keep me focused, but it also increases my endurance for the day since my leg muscles are (obviously) now getting the oxygen that they need! (I've also noticed that I generate less body heat when I"m breathing steadily, so I don't end up sweaty at the bottom and chilled on the lift!)

Second thing.... I was skiing with my 9 yr old (level 5 or 6??) and she was linking some decent parallels and stem christies down a steep/dark blue groomer. We'd been talking all day about different "skills". Suddenly she fell. I asked her what happened, and she said this:

"Well, mom, I was thinking about crushing bugs with my toes, and holding the ten dollar bill in my boots, and reaching for cupcakes, and I got distracted and fell!"

So.... don't think about too many things at once! As others have said in this thread, pick ONE (maybe two) things to work on at a time, and make sure you have those nice relaxed autopilot runs once in a while. That sort of fun is what skiing is all about!

 

[ski diva]

First, I've noticed that when I'm absolutely BOMBING down a black groomer, and going fast enough that the little voice in my head starts going "If you fall, it's REALLY gonna suck"

Omigosh, so I'm not the only one who thinks that! Seriously, sometimes if I'm really hauling I think, "If I fall now I'll kill myself." But I only allow myself to think that once. Then I consciously put it out of my head. It's bad mojo to think things like that.

 

[SnowHot]

It worked. I will never forget virgin clutch.
The TR explanation is here
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2239

LOL :ROTF:

That is a RIOT!

Gasp... gasp... Now that I've got my breath back.... here's two things.

Glad I could supply some entertainment for you. You'll be happy to know that Min and I both generated some interesting topics in the group.
They can't say our group wasn't interesting.

Second thing.... I was skiing with my 9 yr old (level 5 or 6??) and she was linking some decent parallels and stem christies down a steep/dark blue groomer. We'd been talking all day about different "skills". Suddenly she fell. I asked her what happened, and she said this:

"Well, mom, I was thinking about crushing bugs with my toes, and holding the ten dollar bill in my boots, and reaching for cupcakes, and I got distracted and fell!"

So.... don't think about too many things at once! As others have said in this thread, pick ONE (maybe two) things to work on at a time, and make sure you have those nice relaxed autopilot runs once in a while. That sort of fun is what skiing is all about!

OMG, now that's great! Out of the mouths of babes comes great wisdom!

 

[Sheena]

So today I was cutting through the terrain park to ski a glade trail. Well, I guess my mind was wandering (bad, bad thing) and suddenly I was falling forward. Got a lovely bruise on my knee.

I will have to start using this "virgin clutch" thing. Funny stuff.

 

[greekpeakskier]

this is one of the reasons i love lessons. if i can get one thing to concentrate on and then just say that one thing over and over. i had fun skiing with "skigirl" last week and she gave me 3 specific things that have really helped. but, before i start down, i think which of the three i'm going to concentrate on and then just say it over and over. next time down i pick a different one. but i am constantly verbalizing.

my problem is, i sometimes get contradictory suggestions from the instructors at my mountain, and i don't know which of two things to focus on. but i'll ask about that another night.

 

[Shellski]

I'm also a member of over-analysers anonymous.