BlizzardBabe
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Wow, this sounds amazing!! So glad you had a great time!
Would you say during the clinic that there were at least loose focuses the whole group was working towards to an extent, or was it just pretty individualized overall based on your specific needs? I’ve definitely been curious about these clinics and how they work. I also take a lot of lessons, and have fabulous instructors, but I sure would love to ski with and learn from Deb someday. Her videos often spur discussion and focuses for the day with my favorite instructor who also follows her, how cool it would be to work with her directly.
And kudos on the encouragement for Deb to become a Diva! Would love to see her on the site for sure.
@RachelV if Deb becomes a Diva, even more reason to go back to Taos soon for a Diva West trip no..??
Cheers, @MissySki. Yes, each day Deb started with some basic concepts that are universal to skiing generally and that had relevance for everyone in the group, e.g., rolling from pinkie toe to big toe and skiing "foot to foot." We were fortunate in that we had different conditions each day which revealed different things in our skiing. Day 1 was bluebird and a perfect groomer day. We also did quite a few bump runs that day; the bumps were relatively soft and easy to see. I won't get into details except to say that my inveterate "shopping" for turns is not wholly bad, so long as I lose elevation with each skipped bump - straight traversing is not good, but traversing with a consistent loss in elevation is acceptable as I learn.
Day 2 it had snowed and was overcast, so we were dealing with snow that had been skied pretty thoroughly and pushed around a lot. I really struggled with it since, as a Mid-Atlantic skier, they were conditions I just never see. Deb gave me great encouragement, i.e., it will just take time for me to develop an understanding of how those piles of snow will impact my skis so I can become a better driver. The others in the group already had that understanding, being west coast and western skiers. By the end of the day, I was appreciating things better and really beginning to enjoy the bounce! ((Here, however, is my "blame it on the equipment" whine - I was skiing demos that day (Elan Wildcats 82) and I felt like they really got bounced around and deflected by the stuff. I had it in my head, that my Volkl Blaze 86 or my Stolkli Stormrider 85s (my spring slush tanks) would've handled it better. Probably all in my head, but the fact that I wasn't trusting my skis likely made me defensive and helped to fry my poor brain)). The universal still applied, though -- skiing foot to foot, foot to foot, foot to foot!!
Day 3 we did first tracks and the conditions were the best I've ever experienced. The word "butter" kept recirculating in my mind. Again, I've got good stuff to work on, e.g. turning with a flatter ski instead of being on my Mid-Atlantic ice edges all the time. There's other skill stuff too, of course, as I strive to "fill my toolbox" with additional skills.
More later . . . gotta go ski!