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Tips for lessons

Djburrito

Certified Ski Diva
Hi there! This is my first post and I'm so grateful to have recently found this group! All of the posts I have read have been so helpful so I thought I would reach out for some tips. I started skiing when I was younger and living in NJ but didn't enjoy it thanks to pain from a couple of knee surgeries and terrible NJ conditions. I moved to New England a few years ago and skied again for the first time in Vermont 3 years ago and absolutely fell in love. I'm a solid intermediate skier now and am most comfortable on groomed blues and blacks and have a serious need for speed. I feel like I've finally hit that intermediate plateau I've been reading about and really want to try the bumps so I've scheduled a private lesson for next Monday (2/1/21)! Do you have any tips on how I can get the most out of my lesson? I'm so worried that I'm going to spend 2 hours with an instructor, get to my car and forget everything I just learned.

Also, for anyone who is like me and wants to move to bumps, I found a really great website with a lot of great information, called Bumps for Boomers. I'm not a boomer but they have a lot of tips and tricks that I hope I can bring to the slopes. https://www.bumpsforboomers.com/
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Take actual notes after your lesson if your memory is as bad as mine. :becky: I'm horrible at remembering drills, so if something really stands out to me now I jot some notes down right afterward in my phone. Then I can easily access it before my next ski day or even on the snow if I want to. I'll make some bullets in enough detail that I'll remember how to do the actual drill and then also what I felt I got out of it and why it might be helpful to use another time, perhaps to warm up in general or to practice something in particular etc.

If you haven't done a bump lesson before, expect that you will likely do a bunch of your lesson on groomers. I was perturbed by this at first like no I want to actually be in the bumps learning, but there are many drills that you want to do on flatter groomers that really translate into bump skiing. For example, we are often wanting to be on our edges when zooming around and also we're often weighting our outside leg most etc. In bumps you want to get off of your edges and have a more even weighting between your feet in many cases. In my most recent class last weekend we were doing a lot of pivot slips and wide legged turns on groomers on our way to the next bump run to practice initiating turns by flattening our skis.
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
.......I'm a solid intermediate skier now and am most comfortable on groomed blues and blacks and have a serious need for speed. I feel like I've finally hit that intermediate plateau I've been reading about and really want to try the bumps so I've scheduled a private lesson for next Monday (2/1/21)! ....I found a really great website with a lot of great information, called Bumps for Boomers. I'm not a boomer but they have a lot of tips and tricks that I hope I can bring to the slopes. https://www.bumpsforboomers.com/


Bumps for Boomers has excellent information available for free online. If you've found the helpful information, you can use that to help yourself ski bumps.

However, every instructor who teaches bumps to new bump skiers uses their own progressions. What your instructor may offer could be very different from what B4B teaches. There is no right way to start skiing bumps, just what people have found works for them. Your instructor should be able to asses what will work best for you.

So at the end of the lesson, ask your instructor to go over what you should practice afterwards, and take notes immediately afterwards so you can practice later.

If you liked your instructor's approach to teaching bumps, take another lesson after you've had a few days to work on what was taught. Know that learning to ski bumps like those people you watch from the lift could take a few seasons of deliberate practice. You'll want to aim for intermediary milestones so you can celebrate successes along the way. Ask for the first milestone, and work towards it.

Know that going slow in the bumps is the way to learn. Set aside that desire for speed while you are learning to ski bumps. Also know that bump skiing will improve your groomer skiing more than you think. It can help get you off that intermediate plateau. Go for it!

And report back here. There are a bunch of us who like to talk technique. I see you're in VT. Where will you be taking this lesson?
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I keep a ski journal and recommend this practice to anyone seeking to build skiing skills.

My ski journals go back 15 years. It's fun to see what I didn't know back at the beginning. I read through last year's journal every October, taking some notes on what questions and unknowns plagued me at the end of the last season that I'd like to address this season. And anytime I experience a good training session, I write copious notes and refer back to them repeatedly.

One unexpected realization from looking back is finding that some issues I did battle with years ago are still with me. The battles continue. That helps me build reasonable expectations about progress for myself and others who started to ski as an adult. Wish I'd started as a 5 year old!
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
I keep a ski journal and recommend this practice to anyone seeking to build skiing skills.

My ski journals go back 15 years. It's fun to see what I didn't know back at the beginning. I read through last year's journal every October, taking some notes on what questions and unknowns plagued me at the end of the last season that I'd like to address this season. And anytime I experience a good training session, I write copious notes and refer back to them repeatedly.

One unexpected realization from looking back is finding that some issues I did battle with years ago are still with me. The battles continue. That helps me build reasonable expectations about progress for myself and others who started to ski as an adult. Wish I'd started as a 5 year old!


Great ideas, thanks for sharing!

I also wish I'd started as a child, I'm so jealous of those who got to!!!
 

Djburrito

Certified Ski Diva
Bumps for Boomers has excellent information available for free online. If you've found the helpful information, you can use that to help yourself ski bumps.

However, every instructor who teaches bumps to new bump skiers uses their own progressions. What your instructor may offer could be very different from what B4B teaches. There is no right way to start skiing bumps, just what people have found works for them. Your instructor should be able to asses what will work best for you.

So at the end of the lesson, ask your instructor to go over what you should practice afterwards, and take notes immediately afterwards so you can practice later.

If you liked your instructor's approach to teaching bumps, take another lesson after you've had a few days to work on what was taught. Know that learning to ski bumps like those people you watch from the lift could take a few seasons of deliberate practice. You'll want to aim for intermediary milestones so you can celebrate successes along the way. Ask for the first milestone, and work towards it.

Know that going slow in the bumps is the way to learn. Set aside that desire for speed while you are learning to ski bumps. Also know that bump skiing will improve your groomer skiing more than you think. It can help get you off that intermediate plateau. Go for it!

And report back here. There are a bunch of us who like to talk technique. I see you're in VT. Where will you be taking this lesson?

Thank you! This is all such great advice, especially the ski journal. I think I'll start one too. I'll be taking my lesson at Sugarbush which is my home mountain. If you've skied here I'm sure you've noticed that they do minimal grooming on steeper terrain so I've gotten a bit bored skiing the same trails. I'm nervous but excited!
 

Djburrito

Certified Ski Diva
Take actual notes after your lesson if your memory is as bad as mine. :becky: I'm horrible at remembering drills, so if something really stands out to me now I jot some notes down right afterward in my phone. Then I can easily access it before my next ski day or even on the snow if I want to. I'll make some bullets in enough detail that I'll remember how to do the actual drill and then also what I felt I got out of it and why it might be helpful to use another time, perhaps to warm up in general or to practice something in particular etc.

If you haven't done a bump lesson before, expect that you will likely do a bunch of your lesson on groomers. I was perturbed by this at first like no I want to actually be in the bumps learning, but there are many drills that you want to do on flatter groomers that really translate into bump skiing. For example, we are often wanting to be on our edges when zooming around and also we're often weighting our outside leg most etc. In bumps you want to get off of your edges and have a more even weighting between your feet in many cases. In my most recent class last weekend we were doing a lot of pivot slips and wide legged turns on groomers on our way to the next bump run to practice initiating turns by flattening our skis.

Great point about the lesson happening on groomers first, I probably would have been a bit annoyed if I didn't go into it with that knowledge. It will probably be worth it to take a lesson after this one then too. I wish I jumped on the lesson package they had earlier in the season!
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Thank you! This is all such great advice, especially the ski journal. I think I'll start one too. I'll be taking my lesson at Sugarbush which is my home mountain. If you've skied here I'm sure you've noticed that they do minimal grooming on steeper terrain so I've gotten a bit bored skiing the same trails. I'm nervous but excited!

I’m sure you’ll have a great bump lesson at Sugarbush! Also wanted to mention for future reference that I found the private lessons (where you can specify you want it on bumps) at MRG down the street to be fantastic and very economical in comparison to other areas.
 

Djburrito

Certified Ski Diva
Be explicit with your instructor about what you want out of the lesson. Not just "how do I ski bumps", but how do I get from there to there. How do I approach a bump, how do I plan a path....all things like that.

Thank you Jilly! I'm usually pretty bad at at asking questions like this when I have no idea where to start.
 

Djburrito

Certified Ski Diva
Hi there! Thank you again for the info that you sent regarding lessons. I had the lesson yesterday and it went really well! I got out on the bumps on my second run and fell about a dozen times during the lesson but had a great time. I have a lot of drills to work through and will probably need another lesson after some practicing but I'm so excited to get back in the bumps after these bruises heal. :thumbsup:
 

Djburrito

Certified Ski Diva
We worked on pivot slips and keeping my legs loose while coming around the bump. I tend to completely straighten my downhill leg and sit back so we did a bunch of carving drills to work on my "parallelogram of power" and help with balance in the bumps. It's never a problem skiing groomers but I could really tell when my technique was off in the bumps as it'd usually result in me falling. It's kind of fun to be falling again though! Makes me feel like I have something to work towards again.
 

Pequenita

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Nice! Glad it went well. I would have echoed @MissySki to be mentally prepared not to be anywhere near bumps for most of the lesson, but it sounds like you went out there early. Mediocre fundamentals fall apart when we’re on my challenging terrain, so until the mediocrity is drilled out, there’s no use practicing or reinforcing them on challenging terrain. Skilled instructors can tell by how we ski groomers how we’ll fare on bumps, so sometimes they don’t really need to see you ski a bump run to know where you’re going to have problems. :smile:
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
Skilled instructors can tell by how we ski groomers how we’ll fare on bumps, so sometimes they don’t really need to see you ski a bump run to know where you’re going to have problems. :smile:

Called the ski school in advance of my lesson yesterday to clarify what I thought I needed, and the guy there let me know that the instructor would tell me what I needed.

He’s not wrong. But I thought it was funny, anyway.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Called the ski school in advance of my lesson yesterday to clarify what I thought I needed, and the guy there let me know that the instructor would tell me what I needed.

He’s not wrong. But I thought it was funny, anyway.
A very experienced instructor usually asks what you want to work on. That helps them know what the long term goal is, even if it's clear to the instructor that there are fundamentals that needed work first.

A story . . .

A few years ago I had a lesson at Alta with a friend, together with his ski club roommate (random assignment, not a friend before the trip). The instructor was Arthur, who I'd been working with for 5+ years during late season trips. By then I was a solid advanced skier after lessons with various L3 instructors. Arthur knew I don't mind reviewing and working on fundamentals during a semi-private lesson.

Both men (over 45) said they wanted to get better in bumps. The roommate had been skiing steeps with buddies for at least a couple decades. He was very strong, a football player and had never had a lesson, ever. I led him and some other folks in the ski club to Catherine's (inbounds off-piste after 5 min hike) after lunch the day before so had some idea of what he could ski. I knew what weaknesses my friend had since we'd done lessons together at our home hill (northern VA).

It was fascinating to observe how Arthur listened carefully and addressed what they wanted. He got them to understand that working on fundamentals on groomers would be needed first without every saying that explicitly. At the end of the warm up run down a groomer, we went out to a bump run near the base (180 past Lower Rustler). All he asked us to do was ski around one big bump, which was actually at the turn of the traverse that's on top of a road that takes a hairpin turn next to trees. Neither of them could execute the turn well at all. He commented on a weakness or two. Then we skied the soft bumps to get back to the lift. Perhaps 10 turns, maybe 15. He took a nice easy, slow line they could try to follow. By the time we got back to the top of the groomer he had their complete attention. We spent the next 90 min working on stuff, mostly on groomers with a couple short bump shots. Then we extended the 2-hour lesson for an hour of guided skiing. Both said they would like that but were too tired for any more teaching runs. I learned about a few new powder stashes right near groomers. :becky:
 
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