Finally the fog in my head has lifted. Today I felt alert and wide awake. Even though my calves were screaming and my quads were complaining, I felt so much better. Our group was told to meet at the bottom of the glacier at 10:00 which meant I didn’t have to leave until 8:30. We totally missed the huge lift lines so the day was off to a great start.
I was with Sandy again. The other members of my group were Paul from Mansfield and Rory from High Park. The three of us have our Level 3 teaching and are all hoping to go for our Level 3 skiing while we are here. Paul is under more of a deadline as it is his second week here. We worked on short radius again today. I skied much better today than yesterday. It was easier to apply myself as I was feeling better.
As today’s class was an extension of yesterday’s, our group goal was to extend more gradually into the fall-line, to make sure that we carve short radius turns from the top of the arc. For Rory and Paul that meant moving more gradually in the top part of the arc and getting rid of any upward motion. What helped them with that was getting rid of any lead change. For me, my range of motion and timing was good when we slowed it down. I was softening my outside/downhill leg to allow it to become my inside leg without rising. My challenge will now be to keep the same skills and timing intact as we speed it up and decrease the width of the corridor. That will be tomorrow’s task. Key tactics we used today included:
Start with larger turns and ski “sloppy” – arc the top part of the turn and skid the bottom part. Skidding the bottom actually forces you to be in balance and allows you to soften your new inside leg.
Novice-style turns. Gradually extend into a wedge at the top part of the turn and finish parallel. Slows down the top part of the turn and simulates the feeling of arcing the top part of the turn.
As with last year’s trip, the food has been amazing. The company is also excellent. Though everyone is great, I have been spending most of my socializing time with three English people who teach in Andorra. One is my roommate Leslie and the other two are a couple Liam and Caroline. It is actually Caroline’s birthday today so I am not sure what we are going to have in store for her. They are all rural English – Caroline used to be married to a sheep farmer and Leslie is a competitive horse rider – dressage, jumping, and cross-country jumping. She has already invited me to stay with her and her husband in Andorra one winter! Not this winter though as she is actually coming to Canada to instruct at Whistler for a year. Definitely something to consider for the future!
Well, time to soak my sore legs. They felt better on the walk out than they did yesterday so hopefully I’ve now gone through the worst of it. Working on the power chord situation. Hopefully I’ll post again soon.
I was with Sandy again. The other members of my group were Paul from Mansfield and Rory from High Park. The three of us have our Level 3 teaching and are all hoping to go for our Level 3 skiing while we are here. Paul is under more of a deadline as it is his second week here. We worked on short radius again today. I skied much better today than yesterday. It was easier to apply myself as I was feeling better.
As today’s class was an extension of yesterday’s, our group goal was to extend more gradually into the fall-line, to make sure that we carve short radius turns from the top of the arc. For Rory and Paul that meant moving more gradually in the top part of the arc and getting rid of any upward motion. What helped them with that was getting rid of any lead change. For me, my range of motion and timing was good when we slowed it down. I was softening my outside/downhill leg to allow it to become my inside leg without rising. My challenge will now be to keep the same skills and timing intact as we speed it up and decrease the width of the corridor. That will be tomorrow’s task. Key tactics we used today included:
Start with larger turns and ski “sloppy” – arc the top part of the turn and skid the bottom part. Skidding the bottom actually forces you to be in balance and allows you to soften your new inside leg.
Novice-style turns. Gradually extend into a wedge at the top part of the turn and finish parallel. Slows down the top part of the turn and simulates the feeling of arcing the top part of the turn.
As with last year’s trip, the food has been amazing. The company is also excellent. Though everyone is great, I have been spending most of my socializing time with three English people who teach in Andorra. One is my roommate Leslie and the other two are a couple Liam and Caroline. It is actually Caroline’s birthday today so I am not sure what we are going to have in store for her. They are all rural English – Caroline used to be married to a sheep farmer and Leslie is a competitive horse rider – dressage, jumping, and cross-country jumping. She has already invited me to stay with her and her husband in Andorra one winter! Not this winter though as she is actually coming to Canada to instruct at Whistler for a year. Definitely something to consider for the future!
Well, time to soak my sore legs. They felt better on the walk out than they did yesterday so hopefully I’ve now gone through the worst of it. Working on the power chord situation. Hopefully I’ll post again soon.
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