Help Needed: I suck at skiing...

[vetski]

I know I suck at skiing. And I suck at turning.

Can I give you some tough love for a minute here? Some tough love that I had to learn the hard way?
GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Really. You don't suck. I thought that was pretty damn good for second season. Once you get out of your head and stop worrying about things along the lines of "suck", you will be in the moment and realize that as long as you are having fun out there, that's what's matters.
And lessons. Lots of em.

 

[contesstant]

I think you look great, too and the important thing? It looks like you are having fun!! Keep working to improve but also, keep having fun!!

 

[Jilly]

I'm going to hook up Netty with Lady Salina who is teaching at Snow Valley. Netty I'll send you a PM with info.

 

[vickie]

Netty - if you saw your best friend skiing like that, would you tell her "you suck at skiing"? I didn't think so.

Nobody deserves your encouraging words and positive attitude more than you do. Treat yourself as your own best friend. Compliment yourself, encourage yourself ... speak the words, whether aloud or silently. Then come back here and share it with us!

 

[bounceswoosh]

Netty - if you saw your best friend skiing like that, would you tell her "you suck at skiing"? I didn't think so.

Nobody deserves your encouraging words and positive attitude more than you do. Treat yourself as your own best friend. Compliment yourself, encourage yourself ... speak the words, whether aloud or silently. Then come back here and share it with us!

Great advice, not just for skiing.

When I was going through a rough patch many years ago, a good friend said, "Don't beat up my friend Monique. She's a good person." It stuck with me. Why are we kinder to our friends than we are to ourselves?

 

[snow addict]

TBH I don't think the OP is exactly beating herself up, to me she just sounds a little bit impatient. Days on slopes and mileage will eventually cure it

 

[Zez]

Netty, I can't offer any wise advice as its only my second season too, but you are certainly more confident with speed than I am. And I don't think you look like you suck at all. I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time, or maybe two. At the moment it's trying to make sure I turn my right foot when i go right and left foot when I go left. This is helping me get my skis more parallel. And trying to embrace the downhill phase of the turns... My parallel turns look somewhat like linked hockey stops I suspect as I am afraid of pointing downhill on the steeps (well steep to me!). I'm trying to stop them being so side slippy and practice having the confidence to make nice big capital Gs to slow down. So ask your instructor for a couple of things to work on and only worry about that. I think I've improved in the two days since my lesson in just picking a couple of things to try rather than trying to (umbrella term) "get better" xxx

 

[mustski]

The best thing about this forum is that everyone from acknowledged 'goddess' instructors like Ursula to 2nd season skiers like Zez all chime in to encourage someone who feels like they "suck." In other forums, pages would be eaten up analyzing and trying to identify the exact flaws of each turn.

Just keep on turning and taking lessons, and before you know it - you will be encouraging others to just keep on turning!

 

[powderfan]

I don't have anything to add to all the advice above. Just have lessons, keep on practicing and most of all: enjoy yourself! Skiing is fun so think about it als something you enjoy and makes you happy. You will get better. Have fun with the last dans skiing of the season and a good start the next season.

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

You're doing fine! You just have to keep getting more mileage and lessons will help too. I know I feel the same way sometimes and I've been skiing 10 years--it is hard when you feel like you just wish you could skip ahead to some other point in your progression. But I think learning to ski is sort of like putting together a puzzle. You see the "picture on the box" of what it is supposed to look like and you are given some of the pieces in your first lesson. Then you figure out how those first pieces fit together and then take more lessons and practice to get more pieces. Sometimes you can go for a long time trying to figure out how those pieces go together or you'll be given a piece you were missing and finally see how how they all fit. Eventually you get more and more pieces and your "picture" starts to look like something.

 

[maggie198]

Great analogy, NewEnglandSkier!

 

[bounceswoosh]

You're doing fine! You just have to keep getting more mileage and lessons will help too. I know I feel the same way sometimes and I've been skiing 10 years--it is hard when you feel like you just wish you could skip ahead to some other point in your progression. But I think learning to ski is sort of like putting together a puzzle. You see the "picture on the box" of what it is supposed to look like and you are given some of the pieces in your first lesson. Then you figure out how those first pieces fit together and then take more lessons and practice to get more pieces. Sometimes you can go for a long time trying to figure out how those pieces go together or you'll be given a piece you were missing and finally see how how they all fit. Eventually you get more and more pieces and your "picture" starts to look like something.

Sometimes it's more like taking apart a watch and putting it back together, and then there's this piece and you're not sure where it was supposed to go, but everything seems to work okay anyway. But then later someone shows you how it was supposed to be built, and you're like, ooooooh.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

It is hard because you want to be better faster. This is my third year skiing and finally in the 3rd year I feel like I can ski. I am not sure what the heck I was doing in the first 2 years but the past 3 months is when the skiing really kicked in. Maybe I had enough lessons finally, got the right skis, found an instructor that said something that clicked with me, who knows what it is. It does take time though so I think patience is key because it will come but I understand the frustrating of wanting to be an excellent skier now.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Great analogy, NewEnglandSkier!

+2!
The puzzle pieces coming together.
Love it.

 

[Inoffensive Nickname]

Netty, I can't coach you on technique at all, but one thing I noticed about the video is the places where you appeared to relax a bit, your technique looked a lot better. It's counterintuitive, but for me, when I learned to put a little more faith in my ability to stop, I started relaxing, leaning into my turns, and skiing better. One of the passages from the book I'm reading discusses watching kids on snowboards learning to jump. The kids aren't as hard on themselves as most adults learning the basics in snow sports. They keep practicing. After crashing, they high-five each other for a good effort (once they make sure nobody is injured). They don't beat themselves up for technique. They just keep practicing for hours at a time.

Enjoy the learning process. It took me three seasons (and finding this place) before I stopped falling several times on every single run. Now I am proud of not being able to fall, AND being able to stop on a dime (at least in one direction...still working on those left sided hockey stops).

 

[iamOshawott]

I learned on the Cloud 7 last season, they are fine. Don't compare yourself to others (especially snowboarders!), everyone's learning curve is different. I took 8 lessons and skied 30+ days my first season last season, the more you ski the better you get!

No one is going to tell you you suck(and you should stop telling that to yourself too!), because we've all be there.

 

[Jen Gurecki]

@Netty, I agree with what everyone else has been saying -- lots of good tips and advice. Definitely take lessons and don't buy new skis. The ones you have do have a bit of rocker in the tip and are designed specifically for groomers. They are pretty narrow, so if you try to take them off piste or out on a powder day, you might feel unstable. Once you progress (and you will!!), you'll want to consider investing in a powder ski, but for now it appears like your skis are a good fit for you.

 

[artistinsuburbia]

Wow, super awesome advice ladies!!! FWIW, here's my two cents: You look awesome! Way better than my friends who give up after the second run and head to the bar, saying, "this is too hard." You are beating all of those losers. And believe us, there are A LOT of women who just give up. So KUDOS to you for putting yourself out there not only on the slope, but here on the forum. You are a fantastic skier already in my book. At the risk of sounding like a broken record...this is going to take time to move from where you are. I've been skiing off and on for nearly 30 years and believe me, I still "suck" at times. You will go through phases of confident "wow, I'm pretty good at this" to "woah, I hope nobody saw that..." Just get out there and have fun and only measure you against you (or in dire emergency of needing self confidence: compare yourself to the couch potatoes!)

ETA: (edited to add): Muscle memory. every year this increases. sometimes it has nothing to do with our technique.

 

[Bluestsky]

Wow, super awesome advice ladies!!! FWIW, here's my two cents: You look awesome! Way better than my friends who give up after the second run and head to the bar, saying, "this is too hard." You are beating all of those losers. And believe us, there are A LOT of women who just give up. So KUDOS to you for putting yourself out there not only on the slope, but here on the forum. You are a fantastic skier already in my book. At the risk of sounding like a broken record...this is going to take time to move from where you are. I've been skiing off and on for nearly 30 years and believe me, I still "suck" at times. You will go through phases of confident "wow, I'm pretty good at this" to "woah, I hope nobody saw that..." Just get out there and have fun and only measure you against you (or in dire emergency of needing self confidence: compare yourself to the couch potatoes!)

ETA: (edited to add): Muscle memory. every year this increases. sometimes it has nothing to do with our technique.

And when you have a chance follow and try to mimic a good skier movements (you'll recognize him/her immediately!) It does wonders to improve the technique!

 

[ellae]

Hi Netty!
I know this post is from the end of last season, but I hope you're ready to start this season!! You look great, and skiing is really, really hard at first. I used to be a skier (as a child), then I was a snowboarder for ten years, and three years ago I picked skiing up again. My boyfriend used to be a racer and taught me a few really useful tips that made me better, and they were things that I could do on my own:

Stem Christie technique: This youtube video will help explain it better than I could. Basically, this technique will help you become comfortable keeping your skis close and parallel, while keeping your turns wedged so they're in-control and comfortable for you.

Stance is a big factor too. In the beginning of the video, yours is great! I can't tell too much toward the end so I can't speak to that, but you're upright and your knees are bent, and that's half the battle. Keep that same stance, and lean forward in your boots; push right up against the front of that boot so you're leaning over your toes. That'll help you stay out of the wedge, and will help with the sensation that your skis are going to run into each other. Another part of that is your skis; since they're soft, they will chatter and be kind of floppy.

Poles are entirely underutilized by many skiers. My least favorite technique was the "cafeteria tray:" Next time you're out, try keeping your elbows bent at 90º like you're carrying a lunch tray, so your poles stay out ahead of you. Once that feels more natural, try pole planting more frequently.

The final part, as everyone here has pointed out, is CONFIDENCE!! Skiing is hugely a head game; don't think you can; know you can.

As for new skis, I'm not familiar with what conditions you typically ski on, but keep those conditions in the front of mind when your ability surpasses the ski and it's time for a new set. So many people purchase skis with their ideal conditions in mind, rather than purchasing skis for what they ski on primarily. And make sure you demo different skis, so you can find one that you really like that really responds the way you want it to.

I hope that was helpful!!