Little Tidbits that Make all the Difference...

[elemmac]

I want to give credit where credit is due...

When skiing with Divas at Lake Placid during Diva East, I had conversations two Divas, both of which have made an impact on my skiing. Neither one was necessarily intended as advice for me specifically, but for whatever reason these two tips stuck in my head:

1) @jthree - Thank you for having the discussion with me about "punching" after a pole plant. We got some fresh snow yesterday and I skied a lot of bumps. At one point I felt my inside hand falling back after a pole plant. I thought back to our conversation, and actively "punching" forward, kept me in better balance, and improved my form.

2) @SmuggsSkier - Thank you for the discussion on one of the lift rides about "counting" a carved turn. I've been actively trying to improve my carving score with Carv. It's been recording a lot of "short turns" for me. I've realized I've grown very used to busy slopes, and I hardly use the whole slope...even if it's completely empty. I default to short turns, to keep my corridor small, and to not "cut someone off" or "get in anyone's line" (defensive driving mode is almost always on). Counting has made me more patient in turning, using more of the slope, which has resulted in better turn closure and edge angles, effectively improving my scores.

What are some tips that have stuck with you, from a lesson, from a conversation, or just a simple realization you've had on the slopes?

 

[Aerlind]

Similar to your first one, I ski occasionally with a longtime friend of mine who is also a (not actively teaching at the moment) PSIA L3 instructor. I also tell her that I’m open to any and all tips but never expect a “free lesson”, and she’s always happy to oblige. In her teaching years, she taught a lot of bumps to kids, and would say “Poke the polar bear in the foot and then punch him in the nose” to teach the motion of planting your pole and then punching forward. That visual stuck with me and I often say to myself “punch the bear!”

My SO is an ex-freestyle mogul skier, and I’ve also given him free rein to critique my skiing as long as he’s nice about it (and he always is). He reminds me, often, to keep my hands downhill and my upper body facing down the fall line, because I tend to rotate it slightly in the direction I’m going in a turn (a result of my horseback riding, where to stay straight on a circle you rotate your upper body slightly toward the inside of the circle….it’s hard to separate that habit when it’s been ingrained for decades and I practice that one more than 4 months of the year). He’s also really good about when I make a mistake resulting in a fall, asking me if I knew what I did, which helps me sit back and think about where I went wrong and what it felt like to do so. Usually I can figure it out, but sometimes I have no clue and he can usually tell me.

He also said, in passing, “You’re significantly better than you were a year ago”. It was truly a passing comment, not intended to boost my ego or confidence in the moment, but that little tiny comment has made me continue to focus on improving. It’s nice knowing other people can see a difference because I definitely feel like a better skier than I used to be.

 

[elemmac]

In her teaching years, she taught a lot of bumps to kids, and would say “Poke the polar bear in the foot and then punch him in the nose” to teach the motion of planting your pole and then punching forward. That visual stuck with me and I often say to myself “punch the bear!”

Paints a great picture for skiing advice, but just don’t take it too literal

 

[Aerlind]

Paints a great picture for skiing advice, but just don’t take it too literal

If I find an ACTUAL polar bear on the ski slopes, I think I’ve gone massively off-piste….

 

[SmuggsSkier]

I want to give credit where credit is due...

When skiing with Divas at Lake Placid during Diva East, I had conversations two Divas, both of which have made an impact on my skiing. Neither one was necessarily intended as advice for me specifically, but for whatever reason these two tips stuck in my head:

1) @jthree - Thank you for having the discussion with me about "punching" after a pole plant. We got some fresh snow yesterday and I skied a lot of bumps. At one point I felt my inside hand falling back after a pole plant. I thought back to our conversation, and actively "punching" forward, kept me in better balance, and improved my form.

2) @SmuggsSkier - Thank you for the discussion on one of the lift rides about "counting" a carved turn. I've been actively trying to improve my carving score with Carv. It's been recording a lot of "short turns" for me. I've realized I've grown very used to busy slopes, and I hardly use the whole slope...even if it's completely empty. I default to short turns, to keep my corridor small, and to not "cut someone off" or "get in anyone's line" (defensive driving mode is almost always on). Counting has made me more patient in turning, using more of the slope, which has resulted in better turn closure and edge angles, effectively improving my scores.

What are some tips that have stuck with you, from a lesson, from a conversation, or just a simple realization you've had on the slopes?

I'm glad that my advice helped round and finish your turns. I try not to be obnoxious about giving advice -- especially because my skiing is far from perfect. I have a lot to work on.

 

[MM Smith]

I think plant punch, plant punch, plant punch….it works for skiing in powder or steeps too.

 

[jthree]

Thank you @elemmac for the credit! (Although I was merely reporting a mantra from my instructor literally 1 day before our Whiteface trip).

A few other mantras from the same teacher I have in my head:
- Drip your nose over your toes (getting you to lean forward on the hill)
- Pinch the grape (easier to show than say, but it's describing the position of your waist as you're turning and leaning down the hill)
- Release the pinky toe (getting you to flatten the inside ski as you make a turn... I'm still working on this one)

Also I think it was a Deb Armstrong video where I first heard the phrase "foot to foot" and that really resonated with all the other things I was learning.

 

[MissySki]

Thank you @elemmac for the credit! (Although I was merely reporting a mantra from my instructor literally 1 day before our Whiteface trip).

A few other mantras from the same teacher I have in my head:
- Drip your nose over your toes (getting you to lean forward on the hill)
- Pinch the grape (easier to show than say, but it's describing the position of your waist as you're turning and leaning down the hill)
- Release the pinky toe (getting you to flatten the inside ski as you make a turn... I'm still working on this one)

Also I think it was a Deb Armstrong video where I first heard the phrase "foot to foot" and that really resonated with all the other things I was learning.

Ha I love the foot to foot thing from Deb!

 

[wernerslab]

I'm glad that my advice helped round and finish your turns. I try not to be obnoxious about giving advice -- especially because my skiing is far from perfect. I have a lot to work on.

I appreciated that advice too! I have been thinking about it when skiing too and it is helping me give myself time to make the turn and control my speed!

 

[RachelV]

...
- Drip your nose over your toes (getting you to lean forward on the hill)
...

My tidbit is that all the tips like this I was getting to keep my weight forward weren't working because I was also breaking at the waist and sticking my butt way back while I was leaning forward. So - don't do that.

The shorter tidbit would I guess be something like - don't bend at the waist? Lean your whole body forward, not just your head? Maybe an actual instructor can clean this one up. ;)

 

[Jilly]

RachelV - did you ever play any game with a bouncing ball....I'm thinking basketball for example. Stand on your ski, start bouncing a ball. Slide forward.

Athletic stance is the goal.

 

[DebbieSue]

I had a Taos Ski week instructor tell me to lift my chin. Half an inch makes a big difference. If I’m skiing pretty well linking my turns, esp in bumps, and then remind myself to do that my skiing immediately has better flow and I tend to stay more in the fall line.
Another instructor described what I think is the same thing as “skiing into the future.”
I’m trying to apply same to carving.

 

[ride_ski]

just wanted to say that I LOVE this thread....

 

[scandium]

My tidbit is that all the tips like this I was getting to keep my weight forward weren't working because I was also breaking at the waist and sticking my butt way back while I was leaning forward. So - don't do that.

The shorter tidbit would I guess be something like - don't bend at the waist? Lean your whole body forward, not just your head? Maybe an actual instructor can clean this one up. ;)

Hip-forward cues is where it's at for me. I have enough flexibility to press my shin to the boot but have my weight hanging right out the back of the ski.

 

[Ms Mia]

Ha I love the foot to foot thing from Deb!

Is this what you are referring to? I googled Deb Armstrong foot to foot as I've never heard that expression, and this video was super helpful. I'm going to try this tomorrow!

 

[BlizzardBabe]

From CARV --- stay in the fall line a fraction of a second longer to achieve those lovely rounded turns. All it took was that tiny, tiny adjustment to shoot from 20 to 30.