Olesya Chornoguz
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
After hearing and reading a lot about Taos ski week I have finally done it last week. Taos ski week is 1 week of ski lessons - 2 hour lesson every morning for 6 consecutive days in a group of 3-8 people and an experienced instructor. Taos ski week costs only $185 - so great value for 1 week of ski lessons. Taos Ski Valley (TSV) has an excellent ski school and I have heard/read about ski week as a great way to improve one's skiing.
First a few words about TSV and the trip. TSV is located in New Mexico and can be reached by flying into either Albuquerque (3 hours to Taos Ski Valley TSV) or Santa Fe (1.5 hours to TSV). I was there wh @nopoleskier , @marzNC and 2 of her friends. @marzNC friend Bill and me where the only 2 of the group that did the ski week.
About me as a ski student:
I have been skiing for 6 ski seasons and thanks to many many ski lessons I am a somewhat cautious advanced skier with a good ski technique, but get scared on really challenging technical terrain. Two season ago I was told by a PSIA L3 instructor that I am about L7 out of 9. Now I am probably an 8 technique wise and 7.5 terrain ability wise - like I said get scared in really challenging steep terrain (big steep bumps or steep tight trees with bumps for example) and have to side slip/do falling leaf.
Day 1 of ski week:
The ski week usually starts on Sunday, most people arrive on Saturday, I arrived on Friday to acclimate to elevation a little. Day 1 of ski week starts with ski off - basically all students, one person at a time, ski a very short section of groomer and instructors evaluate what group they should be placed in. After the ski off I was placed in a group with expert skiers. I think this is mostly due to me having had a LOT of lessons I have a very good ski technique. But when the instructor for the mostly expert group asked if I am comfortable skiing black/double black slopes at TSV (very steep mountain, known for expert terrain) I said no and proceeded to say that I don't really do big steep bumps. What I failed to say is the reason why I don't do them is that I get really scared and can get down them safely by side slipping/falling leaf, I just can't make myself turn (because of fear) if the terrain is too scary even though I am capable on a physical/technique level. As a result I was placed in a group that had students most of them had ski technique at a lower level then me and the pace of the group/lesson was way too slow for me. The instructor was very good, but he was covering a lot of the basics that I have already known and learned maybe 2 years ago. Also I didn't really "click" with that instructor. That instructor from day 1 was great, he was just not the right instructor for me, also the ski technique ability for most people in the group was lower then mine. Thus my conclusion was that this group/instructor was not what I needed to improve. So I was thinking to ask to switch groups. Which is what I did in day 2, I got moved into a different group with a different instructor and things went much better from there on and will be posting about it in several posts.
I think the bottom line I got from my day 1 group placement for ski week is that ski-off and having them watch you ski for a few turns may not be enough to place in the correct group and one needs to give as much information as possible to instructors who are placing you in the group. They also have a 2nd ski-off on Monday morning so one can also do that. I didn't need to do it, but from what I heard that is an option. Also from what I understood it is possible to start ski week on Monday instead of starting it on Sunday.
In my case after ski off because of good ski technique I was placed in a group that was too aggressive in terrain they were going to ski, but then I was too modest in talking about my ski ability and got placed in a a group with too slow of pace/lower level than I needed because of that. Luckily TSV ski school is very accommodating and they are more than happy to let students switch groups and ensure the students are happy. I was very happy with my instructor and group after I switched on Day 2.
First a few words about TSV and the trip. TSV is located in New Mexico and can be reached by flying into either Albuquerque (3 hours to Taos Ski Valley TSV) or Santa Fe (1.5 hours to TSV). I was there wh @nopoleskier , @marzNC and 2 of her friends. @marzNC friend Bill and me where the only 2 of the group that did the ski week.
About me as a ski student:
I have been skiing for 6 ski seasons and thanks to many many ski lessons I am a somewhat cautious advanced skier with a good ski technique, but get scared on really challenging technical terrain. Two season ago I was told by a PSIA L3 instructor that I am about L7 out of 9. Now I am probably an 8 technique wise and 7.5 terrain ability wise - like I said get scared in really challenging steep terrain (big steep bumps or steep tight trees with bumps for example) and have to side slip/do falling leaf.
Day 1 of ski week:
The ski week usually starts on Sunday, most people arrive on Saturday, I arrived on Friday to acclimate to elevation a little. Day 1 of ski week starts with ski off - basically all students, one person at a time, ski a very short section of groomer and instructors evaluate what group they should be placed in. After the ski off I was placed in a group with expert skiers. I think this is mostly due to me having had a LOT of lessons I have a very good ski technique. But when the instructor for the mostly expert group asked if I am comfortable skiing black/double black slopes at TSV (very steep mountain, known for expert terrain) I said no and proceeded to say that I don't really do big steep bumps. What I failed to say is the reason why I don't do them is that I get really scared and can get down them safely by side slipping/falling leaf, I just can't make myself turn (because of fear) if the terrain is too scary even though I am capable on a physical/technique level. As a result I was placed in a group that had students most of them had ski technique at a lower level then me and the pace of the group/lesson was way too slow for me. The instructor was very good, but he was covering a lot of the basics that I have already known and learned maybe 2 years ago. Also I didn't really "click" with that instructor. That instructor from day 1 was great, he was just not the right instructor for me, also the ski technique ability for most people in the group was lower then mine. Thus my conclusion was that this group/instructor was not what I needed to improve. So I was thinking to ask to switch groups. Which is what I did in day 2, I got moved into a different group with a different instructor and things went much better from there on and will be posting about it in several posts.
I think the bottom line I got from my day 1 group placement for ski week is that ski-off and having them watch you ski for a few turns may not be enough to place in the correct group and one needs to give as much information as possible to instructors who are placing you in the group. They also have a 2nd ski-off on Monday morning so one can also do that. I didn't need to do it, but from what I heard that is an option. Also from what I understood it is possible to start ski week on Monday instead of starting it on Sunday.
In my case after ski off because of good ski technique I was placed in a group that was too aggressive in terrain they were going to ski, but then I was too modest in talking about my ski ability and got placed in a a group with too slow of pace/lower level than I needed because of that. Luckily TSV ski school is very accommodating and they are more than happy to let students switch groups and ensure the students are happy. I was very happy with my instructor and group after I switched on Day 2.