Your "Aha!" moment

[AJM]

Yes I think of weighting that foot that is about to be the downhill one but then trying to let go of (or take some of the weight off that other foot) is my big mental stop... It's like arggghhhh no I can't do that cos I will fall... But it's ok I keep telling my head cos the other leg will do the work.

Im far from qualified to offer assistance but what I tend to do is push forward (not up) on the uphill (soon to be downhill ski) to initiate that first turn. I think Deb Armstrong has a video of it somewhere in depths of the internet.

 

[Rashika]

Im far from qualified to offer assistance but what I tend to do is push forward (not up) on the uphill (soon to be downhill ski) to initiate that first turn. I think Deb Armstrong has a video of it somewhere in depths of the internet.

I will hunt that one out, thanks!

 

[mustski]

That's interesting cos I often get a bit of a mental block trying to start that first turn.
Yes I think of weighting that foot that is about to be the downhill one but then trying to let go of (or take some of the weight off that other foot) is my big mental stop... It's like arggghhhh no I can't do that cos I will fall... But it's ok I keep telling my head cos the other leg will do the work.
I know it works but my thinking head still gets in the way! Too much thinking.
It's Frustrating...but I know it's just going to be time and practice that will fix it.
And usually once I get that first turn in it's so much easier.

Try just pulling both your feet back behind you. You might find that cue works better instead of thinking of the feet independently

 

[Rashika]

Try just pulling both your feet back behind you. You might find that cue works better instead of thinking of the feet independently

Will put that on my list of tips!
just be awhile before I can try it out, roll on next winter for us! Lol

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@mustski great suggestion! Have not seen the Deb Armstrong video but sounds more like a Tele move to this former nordic downhiller.

 

[SnowHot]

What was an "Aha!" moment for you that took your skiing to the next level?

This is such a good thread topic.

I've had several starting in 2006 when I took my first ski lesson after being a self taught skier for 20+ years.
I had been improving a lot since 2006 with little ahas, but the biggest one was in 2011 when I was trying to work on the cross over and getting good upper/lower body separation and I just wasn't feeling it. The trainer/coach I had at the time was someone who taught through "feeling" but I'm someone who needs to put the pieces together like an equation.
I sought out a different trainer and he immediately got me and my learning style.

He said: Go down this run and when you want to turn left, flex the tongue of your boot at 10 O'clock. When you want to turn right, flex the tongue of your boot at 2 O'clock.

I did, and it felt good.
Then he said: Now, when you're in the middle of your turn, flex the tongue of your boot at 12 O'clock, ....but only for one boot sole length, before making the transition back to 10 or 2 O'clock.

I did and WOW....I felt the crossover and as he continued to work with me on refining that move by getting a lower body position and making that transition....AHA!!!

 

[SnowHot]

Try just pulling both your feet back behind you. You might find that cue works better instead of thinking of the feet independently

I'm not sure if we talked about this before but that's how I "get forward". I pull my feet back under me instead and it helps me with a healtier position.

 

[AJM]

This is such a good thread topic.

I've had several starting in 2006 when I took my first ski lesson after being a self taught skier for 20+ years.
I had been improving a lot since 2006 with little ahas, but the biggest one was in 2011 when I was trying to work on the cross over and getting good upper/lower body separation and I just wasn't feeling it. The trainer/coach I had at the time was someone who taught through "feeling" but I'm someone who needs to put the pieces together like an equation.
I sought out a different trainer and he immediately got me and my learning style.

He said: Go down this run and when you want to turn left, flex the tongue of your boot at 10 O'clock. When you want to turn right, flex the tongue of your boot at 2 O'clock.

I did, and it felt good.
Then he said: Now, when you're in the middle of your turn, flex the tongue of your boot at 12 O'clock, ....but only for one boot sole length, before making the transition back to 10 or 2 O'clock.

I did and WOW....I felt the crossover and as he continued to work with me on refining that move by getting a lower body position and making that transition....AHA!!!

Im with you, I struggle to interpret through "feeling". I like clear and concise directions which is why when I was told to try the Phantom Move to help me with my weight distribution and given very simple easy to understand instruction it worked for me. Come to think of it all of my recent coaching has been in a very pared back and simple form and it has all made a huge difference.

 

[Sheena]

So chiming in here... its ridiculous that I have taken so many lessons and skied for so long stuck at this mid-intermediate plateau. ANYWAY. One of the things that I have really struggled with is moguls, and have taken lessons and been shown drills. I have tried to ask what the drills help with, because it helps me learn. Anyway, I am never sure if I am doing drills right.

soo. last weekend, my husband and I were talking about drills and practicing, and specifically garlands. Well he was mentioning something about shifting your hips, and I was like I am SURE I am doing it. And he watches me and is basically like , that's not shifting your hips. Its like this. LOL and I have been doing it WRONG all these years. Never once in a lesson has this been brought up or explained.

Long story short (Sorry so long)... I practiced shifting my hips on some easy blue moguls, and holy-moly it was so smooth.

 

[MissySki]

So chiming in here... its ridiculous that I have taken so many lessons and skied for so long stuck at this mid-intermediate plateau. ANYWAY. One of the things that I have really struggled with is moguls, and have taken lessons and been shown drills. I have tried to ask what the drills help with, because it helps me learn. Anyway, I am never sure if I am doing drills right.

soo. last weekend, my husband and I were talking about drills and practicing, and specifically garlands. Well he was mentioning something about shifting your hips, and I was like I am SURE I am doing it. And he watches me and is basically like , that's not shifting your hips. Its like this. LOL and I have been doing it WRONG all these years. Never once in a lesson has this been brought up or explained.

Long story short (Sorry so long)... I practiced shifting my hips on some easy blue moguls, and holy-moly it was so smooth.

Now I’m like.. what is this hip shift exactly that you speak of? Lol I am always looking for any tip to play with in bumps.

 

[Sheena]

Now I’m like.. what is this hip shift exactly that you speak of? Lol I am always looking for any tip to play with in bumLO

LOL. I don't really know how to explain it. But my husband was saying its what they talk about a lot at Taos ski lessons. I was shaking my hips side to side to initiate edge angles, and now I am more like lifting one hip up. Don't know why after allllllll these years it never clicked.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I wish you had video, @Sheena !

 

[Sheena]

I wish you had video, @Sheena !

haha, WELL what feels good for me is generally an improvement, I am generally quite a terrible skier, so video would not help anyone else. LOL But it felt better and good to me, so thats a win in my book

 

[contesstant]

haha, WELL what feels good for me is generally an improvement, I am generally quite a terrible skier, so video would not help anyone else. LOL But it felt better and good to me, so thats a win in my book

Um, I beg to differ! You NOT a terrible skier by any stretch. Let's make some turns again soon!

 

[Trailside Trixie]

When that aha moment comes it's quite an adrelaline rush. Mine was cumulative over a several week period. I was taking a 7 week ladies clinic last season. My instructor worked with us every week and all pieced together like a puzzle. I just remember taking that turn rolling my ankle, going "up on my toes" and steering with the uphill ski and bam, bam, bam...... I think I'm still on the high. It was the beginning of my exiting my slump. My skis used to kick out from under me, I didn't like certain skis and I realize now that my skis were kicking out and I didn't like certain skis because of me, I had to fix me. This was the beginning of this process. I'm by no means perfectly fixed but I feel like I"m on the track and am fully moving forward.

 

[Sheena]

Um, I beg to differ! You NOT a terrible skier by any stretch. Let's make some turns again soon!

you are much too nice. I guess Its a bit dramatic of me, but no one is going to be watching me ski and go, wow, there goes a really amazing skier. Its all good, and I have fun, and this new movement seems to be working for me, and its even more exciting and maybe now I can conquer some steeper bump runs, insread of avoiding them.

 

[Sheena]

When that aha moment comes it's quite an adrelaline rush. Mine was cumulative over a several week period. I was taking a 7 week ladies clinic last season. My instructor worked with us every week and all pieced together like a puzzle. I just remember taking that turn rolling my ankle, going "up on my toes" and steering with the uphill ski and bam, bam, bam...... I think I'm still on the high. It was the beginning of my exiting my slump. My skis used to kick out from under me, I didn't like certain skis and I realize now that my skis were kicking out and I didn't like certain skis because of me, I had to fix me. This was the beginning of this process. I'm by no means perfectly fixed but I feel like I"m on the track and am fully moving forward.

YES! It feels so good when something finally clicks!

 

[contesstant]

I skied with @Sheena today and will try to explain what she is doing now that has changed moguls for her: It involves the pelvis (hence the "lifted" hip) and is a move than can help get a stronger edge on the outside ski in any conditions. Lift the uphill hip. That's it; so we played with it on groomers because it really helps align the pelvis more parallel with the hill and keeps the shoulders more level, too. It shifts weight naturally to the outside (downhill) ski.

We're both in a much better boot setup this year and it's fun getting out together.

 

[Sheena]

I skied with @Sheena today and will try to explain what she is doing now that has changed moguls for her: It involves the pelvis (hence the "lifted" hip) and is a move than can help get a stronger edge on the outside ski in any conditions. Lift the uphill hip. That's it; so we played with it on groomers because it really helps align the pelvis more parallel with the hill and keeps the shoulders more level, too. It shifts weight naturally to the outside (downhill) ski.

We're both in a much better boot setup this year and it's fun getting out together.

LOL! Thank you for articulating, what I am not able to. I need to train myself to do this movement more often and with much better skill, but it seems to be helping, and at least today I was again able to link multiple turns in a row through those little baby moguls.

 

[kmb5662]

Recently had a bit of a break through with improving my short radius turns. Looking back, it seems kind of obvious lol but I was told to turn my feet/ankles (so rotating from below the knee) just a little bit up the hill while allowing my feet to come completely back underneath me in the transition before starting the next turn, just like how if you were riding a bike and had to make a quick turn you need to initially turn the handle bars the opposite directly briefly to get the bike to come around in a circle. When doing it correctly, you'll feel like you "wind up" and want to topple aka move your center of mass into the next turn with greater ease and end up with much rounder turns.