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Taos - Feb 2020

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Taos is addictive! I thoroughly enjoyed the trip! Have a great time and ski week
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
I will expand on these later, maybe, if I can remember anything else, but I’m exhausted - I don’t sleep well in the mountains, and had a couple early mornings before we left so I started out at a deficit. It's 8:00 pm and I fully expect lights out by 8:30!

There were about 5-6 of us doing the ski off today. I acquitted myself fairly, didn’t fall, and ended up in an appropriate group. I don’t know what level it is, officially, but I’d guess 6/7 based on what we did. Feel free to correct me if this sounds wrong.

We’re working toward moguls - after all the years of saying I’d never do them, here I am!

Yesterday they apparently worked on what Derek (instructor) calls "rocking" to start the next turn. This terminology isn’t resonating with me, but he said that it's what flattens the ski so you’re ready to turn. So, we did that first.

Then he had us carving some turns.

We also did drills balancing poles on our arms, falling leaf, side slips, skiing while keeping our gaze at one particular place (so as to keep the body facing downhill), using our hips to angulate more(?), and pole plant drills, which was funny, because I had actually noticed I was the only one pole planting and had kind of wondered if he told them yesterday not to worry about it.

He gave a big introduction to moguls, talking about different ways to do them, different lines, etc. His way is to ski the troughs, which honestly doesn’t sound like a good idea to this Michigan skier - all the troughs I ever see are more like icy ruts, but I’m in this with an open mind, so giving it a try. Right after he took us down some bumps he skied us over to some trees and we went through a little bitty section there.

Tonight it could 8-14” or so of new snow, depending on where you look. And it's supposed to snow another 3-5” tomorrow. And the temps could be anywhere from single digits to high teens/low 20s. Apparently, it's anyone's guess and I have no idea what to wear.
 
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TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
Hi Jenny! You're so lucky to be beginning your ski week with a major snowstorm! Tomorrow is my last day at Taos - great to be getting another pow day before we leave!

If this is your first Ski Week at Taos, here are a couple of tips: first, if you don't feel comfortable with your Instructor, or don't like his style, or whatever, there is no problem whatsoever with asking to switch groups - no one's feelings will be hurt, lol; they usually do some shifting around in the groups on Mondays and Tuesdays. After all, you're the one who is trying to get as much out of the week as possible, so don't let anything stand in your way! Second, just in case you didn't bring powder skis, consider renting a demo pair for tomorrow. Le Ski Mastery (located on Thunderbird Rd, behind all the construction), is a great place to rent demos. (apologies if you've been to TSV before, and this is redundant info -- I couldn't tell from your profile :smile:).

Have a fantastic week!
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
So, day 2 - the adventure continues.

I took another pic today at lunch, but I will NOT be posting it! Suffice it to say, my 76 year old instructor kicked my butt!

Before I forget, yesterday we also did the drill where they force you to lift a ski off the ground while you’re traversing - funny enough, I was better with my repaired ankle as the one that was down, rather than the other. Not usually the case in yoga balancing. And we did one where he forced us to be patient on our turns.

But back to today - a powder day. Think it was a foot+ overnight.

Here are three things I said I’d never do - bumps, trees, hike. Guess what three things I’ve done so far this week? Yeah.

We did soft bumps. We did firm bumps with soft snow on the top. We did cut up snow that wasn't technically bumps. We hiked (OK, not far, but it still counts) to get to Hunziker Bowl. Derek told me I was in good shape, 'cause I stayed with him for the hike, but I was sucking all the air in the vicinity. We did black diamond bumps. He pointed at something and mentioned the end of the week but he better have been messing with me because O.M.G.

I am learning a lot, and am pretty sure I’m in the midst of a breakthrough. If nothing else, I seem to have found my confidence again, and that’s worth the price of admission.

We have some pictures but they're not on this tablet yet, so I’ll probably not post pics until we’re back home.
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
Oh! Forgot to mention - was hanging about outside this morning trying to cool down after the work of getting dressed and started chatting with an older guy who was also outside. Pretty sure he told me he's 85, still skis every day. Said his name was Fabio, and then started asking me what I do to keep in shape because he noticed that I look athletic.

Between him and the people complimenting my ski boots and ski pants, a girl could get pretty comfortable here!
 

Susan L

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh! Forgot to mention - was hanging about outside this morning trying to cool down after the work of getting dressed and started chatting with an older guy who was also outside. Pretty sure he told me he's 85, still skis every day. Said his name was Fabio, and then started asking me what I do to keep in shape because he noticed that I look athletic.

Between him and the people complimenting my ski boots and ski pants, a girl could get pretty comfortable here!

Fabio is a great guy! He is my neighbor in the seasonal locker room. He is a graceful skier at 85, skies every morning from 9-11am with his wife, Liliana, as their daily workout! I hope I will still be around at 85...
 

Susan L

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I don’t want to start another thread about my lesson so I am just going to hijack Jenny’s post since we are both doing ski week now. Didn’t have much time to stop and take pictures as we were so busy going all over the mountain. Only had one chance for a photo op after getting to Huzinker Bowl because I needed time to recoup from the little walk. I seriously thought I was going to get a heart attack...

C402BF96-C753-4EE2-AA3A-B55681117CEA.jpeg
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
I don’t want to start another thread about my lesson so I am just going to hijack Jenny’s post since we are both doing ski week now. Didn’t have much time to stop and take pictures as we were so busy going all over the mountain. Only had one chance for a photo op after getting to Huzinker Bowl because I needed time to recoup from the little walk. I seriously thought I was going to get a heart attack...

View attachment 12153
Well, you look good for someone on the edge of a heart attack!

It was fun to run into you and your DH during the lessons, too.
 

Susan L

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Well, you look good for someone on the edge of a heart attack!

It was fun to run into you and your DH during the lessons, too.

I may be fit enough to ski but hiking is not my thing...I think I had to stop 4-5 times to catch my breath during that short walk. I was huffy and puffy, my heart was pounding, I could feel pressure going up my head and I was sweating like crazy!!!! I am so out of shape...

I am exhausted. Everything we have been doing was on double-time. We can definitely slow down a little to smell the roses...or snow. We have not even started our bumps or carving lessons yet! Zzzzzz
 
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Jenny

Angel Diva
Day 3 -

News flash - soft fluffy bumps are much easier than the ones that have been skied down into harder lumps!

Today was all about the movements needed for successful bump skiing, whether we were doing them on the groomers or in the actual bumps. On the groomers, I can do it. In the bumps, not so much - at least not always successfully. Derek says it's OK to traverse across one to get to one that I like better, but all that seems to do is propel me. When he made me follow his line, which I’m sure, given his experience, is the best one, it wasn’t pretty. I need more time to study them and form my plan of attack, but I can’t hold up the class for too long.

I was a good girl and practiced in the afternoon, so hoping that it pays off tomorrow.

Did I mention that he thinks my boots are too soft for me? He said something about it and how it could be affecting my stance, putting me backseat a little as I try to compensate for overpowering them. This is only my 8th day on them, so they’re better not be too soft! There’s an adjustment on the back that we turned from soft to hard and he said it looked better today, so that's straightened out, at least. Now I guess any backseat skiing is for other reasons.
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
Oh, forgot to mention - when we got to the base today there were all sorts of tents, but it wasn’t an open demo day. Something for industry people, although we did talk to a couple just to get a look at the skis.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Sounds like a great ski week with fresh snow! Say hi to Derek we had him last year. Keep having fun and posting, I'm living vicariously thru the posts!
 

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