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Legs Go Into the Splits on Steeper Runs

vickie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
There are various places of ungroomed snow and I ski them normally. There is a section of less than perfectly groomed snow on an adjacent trail. When I cut over to it, I get "the zoomies" and ski that as fast as I can go -- the groomed or the ungroomed. And I maintain form on it.

The 2 trails I referenced develop moguls. Even though I was skiing the ungroomed next to the moguls, I'm pretty sure I got spooked the first time I was on them. The moguls have been groomed out or filled in. My response now is not even to real moguls, but rather to the ghosts of moguls past.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
the ghosts of moguls past.

I understand. I know too well the ghost of (over-terrained on) Killington past.

(I now blame myself, for not listening to the wise advice of the women here, but instead to the boyfriend.)
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
...My plan for Monday is to warm up and establish my form, then go to the problem trail and start to work ... 3 turns with proper form, no more. Did it? Good. 3 more. Did it? Good. All the way down that short trail. Then maybe I'll go to 4 turns per set. Etc. Until I ski that trail properly without stopping. My goal is for that to all happen on Monday.
Then I'll move to the other trail that wrecks my form and follow the same process....
Sounds good to me! If it's working to do three turns with the last turn bringing you to a stop, that's great. Is that what you are doing? If yes, that's a great way to progress on new, more challenging terrain.

Or are you doing three turns, maybe at speed, then using a hockey stop? If yes, alter what you are doing so that each turn brings you almost to a stop, then use the last turn to stop. Pointing your tips a wee bit uphill will do the trick. Some people prefer to think about this as pointing their tails a wee bit downhill.

The goal for progress onto more challenging terrain is almost always to go slow with each turn, so that one does not gain speed. If you can go slow enough to smoothly come to a stop without resorting to a hockey stop, then you can always start going a bit faster, then faster, then faster. The skier who can slow down on command is the skier who can go fast safely and with confidence.

That slow travel will eliminate the fear and help stop the skier's cautious body from leaning uphill or back on the tails.

There are many benefits of slow travel when working on mastering a new technique or new terrain.
--Momentum is reduced. Falls will place the skier on the snow with less speed and less force.
--Since momentum is reduced, whether or not one is controlling technique well is more obvious.
--Slow speed gives one more time to focus on what's going on. The skier can be less reactive and more proactive.
--Going slow without the aid of momentum is a challenge in itself. Consider it a high-level skill, like doing a track stand on a bicycle.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Cool. Report back with all the details. It's so much fun reading and thinking about skiing, especially for me since I'm not actually getting out there.

I'm going out in the rain in a few minutes to hike a technical trail. Whoo-hoooo! There will be ice and some left-over snow, plus smooshie trails riddled with rocks and roots. Granite slabs - here I come.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
There will be ice and some left-over snow, plus smooshie trails riddled with rocks and roots. Granite slabs - here I come.

Hey! You have fun out there! Cold and raw, yay! :rolleyes:

You remind me why my next home needs a fireplace or wood stove!

Signed,
:brr:
Staying Out of the Rain in the Hudson Valley
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey! You have fun out there! Cold and raw, yay! :rolleyes:

You remind me why my next home needs a fireplace or wood stove!

Signed,
:brr:
Staying Out of the Rain in the Hudson Valley
It was a very nice hike. I'm drying out now. Didn't get too wet, and I was not bothered at all by all that moisture in the air. Rain-hikes feel good. There was some ice on the trail, not much snow left, and a bunch of spots where the trail was so water-logged that I had to do some bush-wacking to get around the standing water. Microspikes held firm on granite, dirt, rocks, and ice. Fun!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I believe you! I think this is a case of: To each, her own. Actually, I love the cold. It's the wet cold I cannot stand.

And the steamy glasses with droplets all over them. Think: windshield wipers not working.

Glad you’re having great hikes in this weather.
 

jthree

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
--Going slow without the aid of momentum is a challenge in itself. Consider it a high-level skill, like doing a track stand on a bicycle.

Yes to this! I just had a class this weekend- we are a group of upper level skiers but our teachers wanted us to work on completing our turns. We practiced on a blue trail, and our instructors had us go 3-4 turns in a row, student by student, all the way down the slope. As the slope flattened out, it became harder and harder to ski in that slow controlled way. Of course, our instructors did it beautifully every time! Then when we finally moved on to the steeps, I was amazed at how slow and controlled I was able to be.
 

BMR

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
--Going slow without the aid of momentum is a challenge in itself. Consider it a high-level skill, like doing a track stand on a bicycle.

Yes to this! I just had a class this weekend- we are a group of upper level skiers but our teachers wanted us to work on completing our turns. We practiced on a blue trail, and our instructors had us go 3-4 turns in a row, student by student, all the way down the slope. As the slope flattened out, it became harder and harder to ski in that slow controlled way. Of course, our instructors did it beautifully every time! Then when we finally moved on to the steeps, I was amazed at how slow and controlled I was able to be.

So very true! There is so much more finesse required to execute slow movements correctly.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
How do you do it on the flats? I guess put them on edge?
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
I am obsessed with this since I saw it in a @liquidfeet post (I think) about speed covering a variety of errors. I literally spent the whole weekend trying to ski slow and thinking about this. Usually trying to go slow and then just giving up and doing lazy fast S’s all the way down.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
How do you do it on the flats? I guess put them on edge?
Ever heard of Railroad Tracks? Essentially working to go from one edge to the other while always in transition and never static. Reminds me of Tai Chi movements. Takes plenty of patient practice.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I am obsessed with this since I saw it in a @liquidfeet post (I think) about speed covering a variety of errors. I literally spent the whole weekend trying to ski slow and thinking about this. Usually trying to go slow and then just giving up and doing lazy fast S’s all the way down.
At my home hill, there is a "headwall" on one of the blacks. It's a short steep pitch almost the full width of the trail (always groomed). Perhaps 6 turns before it's not as steep as the very top. During a special Diva clinic a while back, I was feeling good because I had reached the point that I didn't need to stop at the top before heading down. When I mentioned it to the L3 instructor, she smiled and said: "Here's what you do next." The idea is to go relatively slow doing medium turns when approaching the edge, and then keep going WITHOUT speeding up. Took a few years to get to the point of being able to do that consistently. Not sure I'd ever bother to try if I hadn't decided that lessons from very experienced instructors and time spent practicing fundamentals were worth the investment.

Knowing what "finishing the turn" really means and learning how to make that happen without having to think about it is an important skill for any slope, from green to black. It was covered during a Diva clinic at Diva West in 2010, but I didn't follow up enough afterwards with more lessons. Even as I was continuing to pay for ski school for my daughter.

Easier to practice going slow on an easy blue while linking medium turns.
 

roxyroxy311

Diva in Training
Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for your insight and tips. I went skiing this weekend, and while I still have a ton to improve upon when it comes to steeper runs, I am SO proud of myself for getting out there. You all really helped empower me to keep practicing and I felt so much more confident. Looking ahead instead of down at my skis helped immensely because I was able to focus on my form instead of worrying I'm going to totally faceplant and eat it lol. I even went down a blue run by myself that usually scares me SO much, but I did it!! Thank you :smile:
 

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