What are your current ski goals? What were your wins (big or small) this season?

[fgor]

I'm boredly awaiting the start of my season, just under 3 months off. I started thinking about the goals I have for this upcoming season:

* make at least 2 consecutive powder turns
* learn to carve (now there's a nebulous goal!!)
* get better at skiing chop/crud. If I can make it down any ungroomed run at my local without stopping, in chop/crud conditions, I'll consider that a huge success!

I had a number of small/big wins from last season too:

* skied a scary groomed black run for the first time
* had a lot less knee pain at the end of the season than the start!!!! (both from physio and from improving my stance with lessons!)
* went from still "shopping for turns" on blue groomers to being able to do some pretty sketchy but recognisable short turns on the same blue groomers
* went to a new-to-me ski area
* made some new local ski/board girlfriends
* learned to put tyre chains on!
* passed nzsia level 1 (big win)

What are your ski goals and victories?

 

[ski diva]

Great list, @fgor! Congratulations on all your wins!

I know to some of you this may sound stupid and petty, but I consider the fact that I've gotten through an entire season putting my boots on in my car an absolute triumph. Yes, I still hate it, but I did it every blasted day I went skiing (which, as of today, is 68 days). First world problem, I know.

 

[ReskierNC]

Congrats on your list.
I just restarted in Feb after more than 20 years away.
Goals for next season include make it down black diamond alive
Improving turning technique-too much skidding going on
Buying a premium pair of boots
Skiing at least every 2 weeks

 

[ski skuhl]

I chalk up the fact that I had a ski season at all as a win!
Goal for next season is to ski more than the 22 days I logged this year.

 

[Iwannaski]

Hurray, @fgor, what a fun thread!
My wins:
Getting both kids from never/ever —> one saying she would NEVER ski again —> both skiing comfortably down blues (one on black diamonds)
Returning to skiing after ~20 years and being in shape to ski without being sore
My ski purchase mistake but redemption
Surviving a whole season on boots from 2002
Skiing 1-2x weekly (1 exception) from January 8 - February 28

My goals:
Kids’ form improvement - lessons and practice
My confidence and progressing to confident black diamond skier - practice, gear, lessons
1-2 excursions away from our home hill to mix up terrain and support confidence building

 

[Jilly]

I have a season. It's not over yet!!

 

[Iwannaski]

@ski diva ... I almost wiped out in the parking lot more than once trying to get my boots on AFTER helping a kid or two with theirs. The worst part was that before I figured out the right system for me/us it felt like so much cardio helping them that half the time I was already sweating and the skis were still in the car!!! LOL

The thought of doing that 68 times...whew!

 

[NewEnglandSkier]

Wins:
I got to ski at all

Goals/hopes for next season:
ski more days than I got this year (only skied 1/3 of what I normally do)

 

[ilovepugs]

Despite the late start in New England, it was a pretty big season for me.

Wins:
- got into splitboarding/skinning uphill.
- took lessons with Barbara Ann Cochran (made a new friend!) and learned essential fundamentals instead of blindly flailing around in horror
- spent between four to six days a week on skis or a snowboard during midwinter for at least a run or two (thanks splitboarding)

Goals for next season:
- keep up conditioning over the summer and do some trail running
- strengthen my right leg muscles so my turns aren’t so imbalanced; carve more distinctly on the right turn
- ski a lot more in general (versus defaulting to the snowboard)
- don’t get injured
- have fun!

 

[newboots]

Wow! Such great wins!

I've had a difficult year: moving in November, living farther from ski areas, and physical challenges. I spent far too many days doing PT (and now OT) and not nearly enough skiing.

Nonetheless, a big win: After a (free!) ski lesson with my ski club, my skiing was transformed. I have upper body separation consistently (though I still have to remind myself). I ski faster with confidence! I tried some challenging trails (easy blacks) and had no difficulty. I skied 6 new mountains! And I skied the longest run I ever have without stopping (following @Olesya Chornoguz) and pretty fast on most of it. And it was fun, not scary! All this with only 12 days skiing this year.

I am planning on a few days at Killington before the season ends. I need to practice these new skills! (And tackle Killington without feeling so intimidated all the time.)

Next year:

Ski out West! I almost did this year, but Covid precautions changed my mind.
Diva East and Diva West!
More lessons
More skiing!
Keep improving technique and trying more challenging terrain

 

[sorcamc]

Im thinking my season goal is to ski in YOUR season

 

[ilovepugs]

I forgot one very important goal: find the emotional and mental bandwidth to get back into volunteering with the adaptive ski organization!

 

[kmb5662]

Wins:
- Skied out west for the first time ever
- Had my first true powder day, and although ugly at first, I'm starting to get the hang of it and LOVING it!
- Getting into the moguls
- New performance fitting boots which have boosted my confidence 1000% (wish I got them earlier in the season)

Goals for next season:
- Improving my upper and lower body separation on steep terrain and in the moguls/off-piste
- Improving my mogul skiing in general and picking my lines/not stopping
- I tend to finish too hard on phase 3 of the turn (which I think is a bad habit I've picked up from skiing on east coast/mid-Atlantic ice all these years) and would like to kick this bad habit

 

[edelweissmaedl]

Wins:
Skied out West for the first time
Participated in a Ski Week
Learned to ski powder
Learned to ski glades/trees
Improved on moguls
Made it down more long groomed blue/black runs without stopping/pausing

Goals for next season:
Gain more confidence (ie. don't let my head scare me off)
Ski more powder/glades/moguls on my own and not just when the instructor is leading the way
Continue to work on uppper/lower body separation and strengthening my left leg (pinky toe what?)

 

[floatingyardsale]

Wins:
Turns are now parallel.
Skiing blues confidently and easy blacks without disaster.
Skied in powder.
Skied through trees.
Learned to wax skis.
Skied all but one of the blue runs at Snowbasin.
Started to play around with stance, notable mostly because it means I'm comfortable enough to experiment.

Also I went so fast today I heard the wind whistling in my helmet.

Kid wins:
4yo went from magic carpet and bunny hill at the end of last year to skiing blues and cheering for powder.
7yo went from green runs to skiing blues and demanding blacks.

Skiing with them is now not an exercise in the mom squat, we can go all over the mountain, and they are SO getting lessons next year.

Goals:
Work on staying out of the backseat (as my instructor said, "the tails of your skis are not rudders!" but look, it works!)
Get comfortable in bumpy snow. (I think I just need to realize it's always going to feel bumpy and it's not a sign I'm doing anything wrong.)
Lose the Z turn completely (it shows up when I'm nervous and does NOT work in powder at all.)
Work on short fast turns.
Take lessons on moguls.
Allen Peak Tram.

 

[Iwannaski]

Gain more confidence (ie. don't let my head scare me off)

GREAT PHRASING!

 

[Knitjenious]

Love this thread and reading everyone's wins and goals! I feel like I shared some of this stuff elsewhere, but:
Wins:
-skied some easy black diamonds for the first time
-developed a good routine for just getting out the door to go ski (it doesn't feel like as much of a production = we go more often!)

Goals:
-learn to use my poles for real things, not just scooting along the lift line
-start learning to carve
-make some ski friends so I can have company while skiing!
-go on a mini-ski trip to a bigger ski area

And hopefully, organize the Cadette Snow Adventure badge for my daughter's Girl Scout Troop (for which I'm a co-leader) next season! We did the Junior ski badge with the girls in February 2020 and took a group of 16 girls and a few of their parents out for a first time ski lesson. We have a diverse, urban troop and this was something many of the girls may never have gotten to try outside of scouts. (At the time, my daughter was the only skier in the group.) I'm hoping that we can take this next step for the ones who enjoyed it enough to want to ski again!

 

[BlueSkies]

I have a season. It's not over yet!!

If I could have, I would have double liked this post! I feel the same an am hoping to ski until mid April.

Goal for next year: Ski more!

 

[scandium]

Goals:
1. Get more snow days in than last year (last year was 20 including 3 trips to the indoor snow centre, and I have 20 possible days booked as ski trips/leave so far)
2. Start learning to actually carve as I think this will help a lot of other bits of my technique
3. More mogul lessons - and improving my technique there (which will help 4.)
4. Improve skiing on ungroomed snow (for 6. and 7.)
5. Improve my overall technique enough so that I can keep up with my friends when we're all out
6. Ski the chutes at treble cone on a good day (and survive hiking out)
7. Hike up at Remarks for some of the terrain there

Last season wins:
1. Skiied Japan (Jan 2020, which counts because I couldn't have done that this year) and had my first mogul and powder lessons there
2. New boots!
3. Sort of learned to put chains on
4. New-to-me skis (my groomer skis)
5. Took my boyfriend skiing and he didn't hate it.
6. Started learning to snowboard as well (a great fill-in activity for days where the weather or snow is so average it just isn't WORTH skiing)

 

[SallyCat]

I just spent the afternoon trying to learn to get off a chairlift on a snowboard. I fell so many times that when I finally succeeded a very sweet lift operator walked out of the top shack to say “YOU GOT IT!!” and did a fist pump!