litterbug
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yesterday I had what could fairly be called a transcendant skiing experience. Part of it was the lovely Geishas I demoed, part was my own hard work and refusal to back down, and a big part of it was the advice and tips I've gotten from you all and some epicski guys on the instructor forum.
This time I took the 'push the bush' advice to get out of the back seat, and it really seemed to work—if you call pulling a few unintended 360s working!
I quickly figured out that all the crazy stuff I'd done to compensate for my back-seat driving was now totally over-steering my turns.
It took a little while to dial things back; I kept eliminating movements until all that was left was my active-extension turns, which led to getting a feel for what a transition is and when to start the next turn, and finally I just focused on the sensation of going from one edge to another on the new outside ski. This edge; now this edge; now this edge...
Girlfriends, it flowed like water. After a little while I looked down and was shocked-shocked, I tell you- to see, for the first time ever, my new inside ski turn itself completely parallel to the outside ski! Oh my heavens! I almost fell because I kept looking down and sure enough, as soon as I felt my outside ski engage the inside ski did the same thing! Even though my legs were thrashed from spending an hour cranking on some skis that didn't work, it felt almost effortless. It makes me tear up even to describe it.
I don't know what kind of turn I was making, or if it was as much a smooth curvy continuous line as it felt, or what it looked like, or what else I could be doing right. But that is completely not the point. We talked a little about flow in the thread about fear, but this time I really felt completely unconscious of time or space, as though I and the whole world were reduced to a flat plane with two sharp edges gliding back and forth and back and forth.
There's nothing in the universe like the magic we get for the miles and miles we put in. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all the tips and rehashing and re-imagining you all do about how to ski, and especially for your endless encouragement, because you have given this little Diva something beyond words.
This time I took the 'push the bush' advice to get out of the back seat, and it really seemed to work—if you call pulling a few unintended 360s working!
I quickly figured out that all the crazy stuff I'd done to compensate for my back-seat driving was now totally over-steering my turns. It took a little while to dial things back; I kept eliminating movements until all that was left was my active-extension turns, which led to getting a feel for what a transition is and when to start the next turn, and finally I just focused on the sensation of going from one edge to another on the new outside ski. This edge; now this edge; now this edge...
Girlfriends, it flowed like water. After a little while I looked down and was shocked-shocked, I tell you- to see, for the first time ever, my new inside ski turn itself completely parallel to the outside ski! Oh my heavens! I almost fell because I kept looking down and sure enough, as soon as I felt my outside ski engage the inside ski did the same thing! Even though my legs were thrashed from spending an hour cranking on some skis that didn't work, it felt almost effortless. It makes me tear up even to describe it.
I don't know what kind of turn I was making, or if it was as much a smooth curvy continuous line as it felt, or what it looked like, or what else I could be doing right. But that is completely not the point. We talked a little about flow in the thread about fear, but this time I really felt completely unconscious of time or space, as though I and the whole world were reduced to a flat plane with two sharp edges gliding back and forth and back and forth.
There's nothing in the universe like the magic we get for the miles and miles we put in. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all the tips and rehashing and re-imagining you all do about how to ski, and especially for your endless encouragement, because you have given this little Diva something beyond words.
