My goals for this season were to ski 60 days, 40 of them on the job teaching. During those days, when I had free time, I intended to work on a long list of things, some of which were PSIA Level III ski exam tasks. These tasks have to be practiced in order to pass the test. Just skiing "well" won't translate into good Hop Turns, good One-Ski Skiing down an entire run, good Pain-in-the-S turns on a steep icy groomer, or any of the other "tasks" on the Level III list.
Also, I intended to work diligently on my bump skiing, to get it closer to the Level III standard.
Well. 60 days, with 40 of them teaching, does not yield enough time to do all that! I never got close to even spending one hour on many of those things on my list. Reality is so much different than early season anticipation.
I did achieve one important thing. I now can access a new-to-me movement pattern when skiing bumps. This way of moving empowers me to ski a zipper line down low-pitch well-formed bumps. During my last two weeks on snow I was looping the big low-pitch bump run at my mountain, working on cementing this movement pattern into muscle memory. The sensation of skiing this way is fantastic! It's like a foot massage. I love it. Wow, how did I miss this all these years? This is the sensation I'll remember all summer.
I think I can modify this movement pattern to get me down a less-demanding "direct line" on moderate-pitch well-formed bumps. By "direct line" I mean a pretty straight line down the hill, making roundish turns in a very narrow corridor, yielding fast travel, but not doing a zipper.
I've been skiing bumps since when I started skiing. I love them for their challenge and variety, and always have. But ... the way I've skied them has never matched the "experts" whose bump skiing I admire. This season, I stumbled upon the magic movement that will allow me to ski that way. Unfortunately, coronavirus stopped my season early, just as I was going to stop teaching and continue skiing with exclusive attention to skill-building. I stopped after 50 days, about two weeks ago. Another 10 ski days in the bumps, skiing them all day, would have done the trick - I think. Maybe next season....
This season was a winner for me because of that breakthrough.