Skiing is a mileage game. The more you ski the more opportunities you have to experience different conditions and terrain and improve your ability to ski them. Yet so often I hear people say that they ski and ski and don’t seem to improve. My response is to ask what they are working on. Nine times out of 10 they have no response. Unless you know what you are trying to improve, how do you expect to get better?
To help you figure out what you need, take a lesson. And don’t let the learning end when the lesson is over. Make notes of the tips the instructor gave you, the terrain you skied, and any drills or tactics the instructor had you use. When you free ski replicate elements of the lesson that worked for you. Have a focus for each run. Know what you are working to improve and what tactics you can use to get better. Rather than just repeating the way you always ski over and over again, guided mileage helps you make the changes necessary to improve.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Buckle Up
The most important part of your ski equipment is your boots. For people starting out who can’t afford to buy everything at once I advise buying boots and renting skis. Your boots are what transfer all your muscular efforts into your skis. Changing boots will affect your skiing more than changing skis.
Yet I am constantly surprised at the number of skiers who suffer through ill-fitting boots, who have to crank down the buckles to get anything out of them, or whose feet are always cold. Boots can be blown out. Buckles can be moved. Shells can be shaved down. Very few people are lucky enough to have factory-made boots fit them perfectly at the store. This is why ski shops include boot fitting as part of the cost of the boot. This includes not only the initial fitting but any adjustments required once you start skiing them and they pack out.
Don’t forget the bottom of your feet. I’d highly recommend foot beds if you are a regular skier. Foot beds support the arches of your feet allowing for better power transfer and feet that aren’t sore at the end of the day. The ones that come with boots are one size fit all. Super feet are a cheaper alternative though I swear by my custom foot beds. They last for years and can be moved from ski boot to ski boot.
I am often asked how a boot should fit. My answer: snug but comfortable. You want your foot firmly housed in the boot with no room to move but you don’t want it to pinch or hurt. You should be able to ski comfortably with your boots unbuckled. In fact, I often keep the bottom couple of buckles undone for my first one or two runs of the day until my feet get used to them again.
The most important buckle on your boots isn’t actually a buckle at all but the power strap – the Velcro strap at the top of your boots. This should be done up as tightly as you can so that the tongue of your boot is firmly against your shin with no space between. Otherwise people ski too far forward in their boots trying to seek the tongue and find that control.
The single best thing I’ve learned this year is to do up my power strap over the tongue but UNDER the shell of the boot. If your boot will accommodate you doing this, do it. It will get the tongue of the boot firmly against your shin. Plus it will upright the boot slightly allowing you to stand more comfortably in your boots and ski in a more stacked position using your skeleton rather than your muscles making you less tired at the end of the day.
Once you get your boots fitted perfectly, there is a lot you can do once you take them home to take care of them. Always keep them buckled. Thoroughly dry them out each time you use them by either removing the liners or using a boot drier. Do NOT leave the carefully adjusted shells by the fire or there is nothing a boot fitter can do to help you!
Yet I am constantly surprised at the number of skiers who suffer through ill-fitting boots, who have to crank down the buckles to get anything out of them, or whose feet are always cold. Boots can be blown out. Buckles can be moved. Shells can be shaved down. Very few people are lucky enough to have factory-made boots fit them perfectly at the store. This is why ski shops include boot fitting as part of the cost of the boot. This includes not only the initial fitting but any adjustments required once you start skiing them and they pack out.
Don’t forget the bottom of your feet. I’d highly recommend foot beds if you are a regular skier. Foot beds support the arches of your feet allowing for better power transfer and feet that aren’t sore at the end of the day. The ones that come with boots are one size fit all. Super feet are a cheaper alternative though I swear by my custom foot beds. They last for years and can be moved from ski boot to ski boot.
I am often asked how a boot should fit. My answer: snug but comfortable. You want your foot firmly housed in the boot with no room to move but you don’t want it to pinch or hurt. You should be able to ski comfortably with your boots unbuckled. In fact, I often keep the bottom couple of buckles undone for my first one or two runs of the day until my feet get used to them again.
The most important buckle on your boots isn’t actually a buckle at all but the power strap – the Velcro strap at the top of your boots. This should be done up as tightly as you can so that the tongue of your boot is firmly against your shin with no space between. Otherwise people ski too far forward in their boots trying to seek the tongue and find that control.
The single best thing I’ve learned this year is to do up my power strap over the tongue but UNDER the shell of the boot. If your boot will accommodate you doing this, do it. It will get the tongue of the boot firmly against your shin. Plus it will upright the boot slightly allowing you to stand more comfortably in your boots and ski in a more stacked position using your skeleton rather than your muscles making you less tired at the end of the day.
Once you get your boots fitted perfectly, there is a lot you can do once you take them home to take care of them. Always keep them buckled. Thoroughly dry them out each time you use them by either removing the liners or using a boot drier. Do NOT leave the carefully adjusted shells by the fire or there is nothing a boot fitter can do to help you!
Ice Ice Baby
I once had a trainer tell me he loved the ice. He said that it gave him external feedback as to whether he was balanced on his skis. While I certainly wouldn’t go as far as to say I enjoy skiing on ice, there are ways to it less painful.
First, it’s important to determine if what you are skiing is, in fact, ice. Sometimes skiers refer to hard pack as ice. It isn’t. Hard pack is snow that is packed down so hard that there is no loose snow on it. It is white. Ice is when you can see your reflection. Ice sparkles in the sunlight. Neither are particularly fun to ski but at least with hard pack, you can carve through it. Well tuned skis certainly help.
One strategy with ice is avoidance. Some runs will always be icier than others. These are usually those that funnel through a lot of traffic. For the same reason, icy spots are generally found in the middle of runs. These spots can be avoided by skiing as close to the side of the run as you are comfortable. Steeper pitchers are often icy because of skiers and boarders of lower abilities who push the snow to the bottom side slipping rather than carving the run.
If a patch of ice is unavoidable I think of skiing it “lightly”. While the natural reaction is to try and dig in, if it is truly ice and not hard pack you will not win that battle. It is better to get over it as quickly as possible while trying not to allow it to disrupt your rhythm. Concentrate on this good rhythm and on continuous movement (bending and extending) in your legs as ice often causes one to freeze up (pardon the pun).
The better balanced you are over your skis, the less ice will throw you. So on icy days, as on any other days, focus on balancing over your feet with your feet flat in your boots .
Like any new situation, skiing ice gets easier with practice so try not to give up and quit early on an icy day. You may never love it like my trainer but you will get more comfortable with it. And if all else fails you can exact your revenge on ice by consuming it in your après ski cocktail!
First, it’s important to determine if what you are skiing is, in fact, ice. Sometimes skiers refer to hard pack as ice. It isn’t. Hard pack is snow that is packed down so hard that there is no loose snow on it. It is white. Ice is when you can see your reflection. Ice sparkles in the sunlight. Neither are particularly fun to ski but at least with hard pack, you can carve through it. Well tuned skis certainly help.
One strategy with ice is avoidance. Some runs will always be icier than others. These are usually those that funnel through a lot of traffic. For the same reason, icy spots are generally found in the middle of runs. These spots can be avoided by skiing as close to the side of the run as you are comfortable. Steeper pitchers are often icy because of skiers and boarders of lower abilities who push the snow to the bottom side slipping rather than carving the run.
If a patch of ice is unavoidable I think of skiing it “lightly”. While the natural reaction is to try and dig in, if it is truly ice and not hard pack you will not win that battle. It is better to get over it as quickly as possible while trying not to allow it to disrupt your rhythm. Concentrate on this good rhythm and on continuous movement (bending and extending) in your legs as ice often causes one to freeze up (pardon the pun).
The better balanced you are over your skis, the less ice will throw you. So on icy days, as on any other days, focus on balancing over your feet with your feet flat in your boots .
Like any new situation, skiing ice gets easier with practice so try not to give up and quit early on an icy day. You may never love it like my trainer but you will get more comfortable with it. And if all else fails you can exact your revenge on ice by consuming it in your après ski cocktail!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Posture Perfect
A simple adjustment many skiers can make to improve ski performance is to modify their body position between the waist and the neck. The majority of skiers either ski too upright or bend over straight from the waist. Skiing with your back straight and shoulders back may follow what your mother told you about good posture but does nothing to engage your ski from its centre to its tail. This body position is more often seen with men, particularly those who carry some extra weight around the middle, but can also be seen with those who have participated in aesthetic-based sports (e.g., dancing, figure skating, diving, or gymnastics).
Skiing bent over from the hips is more common with women and tends to happen when skier are told to bend over more without being told how to do so. Then the bend comes at the hips giving the appearance of the butt sticking out. What this does to ski performance is get the skier “in the back seat” and thus unable to effectively work the front of their ski.
So what should good ski posture look and feel like? Think of being in a “ready position” – an athletic position like you would if you were waiting for a tennis ball to be served to you or a football to be snapped. For women, picture wearing a super tight pair of high waist jeans that force you to suck in your tummy. Picture these jeans coming up a couple inches higher than your belly button then roll your shoulders over keeping your waist upright. For men who may not be as familiar with the tight jeans feeling, picture getting sucker punched in the stomach around your belly button. As your stomach moves inward, roll your shoulders forward.
The goal for both groups is to keep your butt and hips upright and stacked over your legs with only your shoulders rolled forward. This will give you the active stance necessary to react to anything that comes at you but also allow you to use the whole length of the leg in your skiing and engage the whole ski tip to tail.
Skiing bent over from the hips is more common with women and tends to happen when skier are told to bend over more without being told how to do so. Then the bend comes at the hips giving the appearance of the butt sticking out. What this does to ski performance is get the skier “in the back seat” and thus unable to effectively work the front of their ski.
So what should good ski posture look and feel like? Think of being in a “ready position” – an athletic position like you would if you were waiting for a tennis ball to be served to you or a football to be snapped. For women, picture wearing a super tight pair of high waist jeans that force you to suck in your tummy. Picture these jeans coming up a couple inches higher than your belly button then roll your shoulders over keeping your waist upright. For men who may not be as familiar with the tight jeans feeling, picture getting sucker punched in the stomach around your belly button. As your stomach moves inward, roll your shoulders forward.
The goal for both groups is to keep your butt and hips upright and stacked over your legs with only your shoulders rolled forward. This will give you the active stance necessary to react to anything that comes at you but also allow you to use the whole length of the leg in your skiing and engage the whole ski tip to tail.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Look up...Way up...
One of the simplest things a skier can do to improve their skiing is to change where they look when they ski. If you love the way it looks when your skis disappear under deep powder or how cool it is when you show off the base when you are carving, you are not looking far enough ahead! When you are driving, do you look at your hood ornament or the road? The next time you see ski racing on TV take a look at where the racers are looking. They are not looking at the gate they are skiing around, they are looking two or three gates ahead. Integrating the same tactic into your recreational skiing will dramatically improve your skiing.
Skiers that look down or immediately ahead when they ski are often not symmetrical from turn to turn. They fail to anticipate changes in terrain. Their skiing lacks flow. They are more likely to be involved in collisions with other people on the hill.
So the next time you are skiing, pick an object way down the hill to focus on – a ski chalet, body of water, or a caution sign. Keep it in your sight the entire run. If you are not in the habit of doing this, it will feel foreign at first and you will likely have to keep reminding yourself to look up. But I guarantee you will be skiing faster, more fluidly, and in control.
Skiers that look down or immediately ahead when they ski are often not symmetrical from turn to turn. They fail to anticipate changes in terrain. Their skiing lacks flow. They are more likely to be involved in collisions with other people on the hill.
So the next time you are skiing, pick an object way down the hill to focus on – a ski chalet, body of water, or a caution sign. Keep it in your sight the entire run. If you are not in the habit of doing this, it will feel foreign at first and you will likely have to keep reminding yourself to look up. But I guarantee you will be skiing faster, more fluidly, and in control.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
A Fresh Start
A unique part of skiing is its limited season. Without extensive travel and expense, we can only ski a few months of the year. This brings a process of relearning as we start again each year. It is important to be easy on ourselves during this time and not compare our skiing to what we were doing at the end of last season. Think of it instead as an incredible opportunity for reinvention and to break past one’s previous abilities. Here are some ways to ease back into the season while setting yourself up for your best season yet.
Balance is one of the most critical aspects of skiing. In order to get your season off to a great start, the best thing you can do is experiment in finding your balance. One way is to concentrate on your feet in your boots. Think about feeling your feet flat on the bottom of the sole of the boot throughout the turn.
Play with your stance. Do one run with your legs as wide apart as you can muster. Do the next run with your feet glued together 80s style but still using good form. Find a position somewhere between that feels natural to you.
While standing still, try hanging off the front of the boot. Then see how far back you can lean in them. Find a relaxed natural position somewhere between.
Remember that in order to maintain balance while skiing over constantly changing terrain, balance must be in motion. Keep your legs moving constantly through the turn without any static posed spots.
Choose terrain with which you are comfortable to figure things out. But don’t be afraid to once in a while throw in a more challenging run. This will prevent you from getting caught in a rut and make you a more rounded skier.
Look ahead when you ski. Not just for safety but to add flow to your skiing by anticipating where you will be a few turns out.
Mix it up. Everyone has a favourite turn shape that we like to revert to. If it is medium sized turns that are your thing, do some great big turns mixed with some short turns in the same run. This promotes movement and adaptability.
Ski top to bottom. Especially if you are skiing in Ontario. Our runs are simply not long enough to stop, rest, and re-gather part way down. If you want to get back in ski shape quickly or prepare yourself for skiing a bigger mountain, you need to ski longer runs. You should be a bit out of breath at the bottom. It shows you are pushing yourself. You have the whole lift line and chairlift ride back up to recover.
Ski loose. Chances are the skiers you admire on the hill have a relaxed ease to their skiing. Make a conscious effort to be loose and free. And have fun!
Hope something here resonates with you and you have an incredible start to your ski season! Hope to see you on the slopes soon!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Lessons from the Rink
Ice skating, whether it is hockey, ringette, or figure skating, is one of Canada’s great past-times. It is hard to grow up in Canada and not have skated at some time in your life. Being your typical prairie Canadian, I grew up on skates, logging 15 years of figure skating while simultaneously coaching figure and power skating for the last 7 years of my skating career.
Then when I graduated from high school I stopped. It was what was expected. I moved on, went to university, began my career, and eventually embraced downhill skiing as my winter passion. But I still dreamed of skating and this fall after a 20+ year hiatus, I returned to the sport. Doing so has caused me to reflect on the similarities between skating and skiing.
There is a lot of muscle memory involved in a sport you performed regularly over 15 years. Though I had only skated a half dozen times in the last 20 years I had full confidence I would still “have it” when I returned. Skating across the ice the first time, I really missed having a long ski underfoot instead of a wee blade. Which brings me to my first shared skill: Balance. If you can balance on a rockered blade that’s 5 mm wide and less than a foot long, what challenge is there to a 66 cm wide, 164 cm long ski?
Of course, Stance goes with balance and there the hockey players’ semi-prone body position is much more similar to that of a skier’s. For years I had to work on getting rid of my figure skater’s arched back when I skied. Now that I am skating again, I am trying to straighten it back from the rolled over posture I’ve gotten used to as a skier!
Strong skaters have the ability to move quickly from forwards to backwards and backwards to forwards. Hockey players do it by transferring weight from one foot to the other (a Mohawk in figure skating parlance) while figure skaters are also capable of doing it on one foot (a three turn). Both methods of turning require Pivoting – turning with the feet- our second ski skill. Three turns involve bending the knee to initiate, un-bending (unweighting) to pivot, and bending again to complete. Sound a little like a ski turn?
Ever watch a hockey player fly around a corner to pick up a loose puck? How about ice dancers create deep, round edges as part of their program. There is even a warm up drill for skating called slalom. Yes, the third shared skill between skiing and skating is Edging. When skiing, skaters have a great ability to “move inside” the turn due to their well-developed lateral balance.
As a point of departure between the two sports, when you carve in skating, your weight is on your inside leg, the opposite as when you are skiing. This is what makes skaters so good at inclination (leaning into a turn) but sometimes lacking in angulation (maintaining weight on the outside ski by keeping the body in a C-shape).
With skating as in skiing, a lot of forces are built up that need to be reined in. In figure skating you see this when figure skaters “check” using a still upper body to land a jump or exit a turn. You also see it when they land a jump, reaching down to their ice with a straight landing leg that then quickly bends and absorbs the pressure upon contact with the ice. This can be likened to a skier absorbing the forces with their skis for Pressure Control, the fourth shared skill.
The final shared skill is Timing and Coordination. In hockey, you have to have incredible hand-eye coordination to pass the puck or score. Timing is everything. In figure skating, all routines are set to music with jumps, spins, and dance moves timed to the beat. Having the wrong timing on a jump or lift can be disastrous. Teaching skaters how to coordinate their movements and implement a pole plant is a piece of cake.
What these five skills don’t take into account are the intangibles that make skaters great skiers – a zest for life, fearlessness, and embracing of our Canadian winters.
So, if you are looking for a great off-season way to work on your skiing, or a way to stay in ski-shape on days you can’t make it to the hill, why not consider lacing up and getting in some skating? Your skiing will be all the better for it. See you at the rink!
Then when I graduated from high school I stopped. It was what was expected. I moved on, went to university, began my career, and eventually embraced downhill skiing as my winter passion. But I still dreamed of skating and this fall after a 20+ year hiatus, I returned to the sport. Doing so has caused me to reflect on the similarities between skating and skiing.
There is a lot of muscle memory involved in a sport you performed regularly over 15 years. Though I had only skated a half dozen times in the last 20 years I had full confidence I would still “have it” when I returned. Skating across the ice the first time, I really missed having a long ski underfoot instead of a wee blade. Which brings me to my first shared skill: Balance. If you can balance on a rockered blade that’s 5 mm wide and less than a foot long, what challenge is there to a 66 cm wide, 164 cm long ski?
Of course, Stance goes with balance and there the hockey players’ semi-prone body position is much more similar to that of a skier’s. For years I had to work on getting rid of my figure skater’s arched back when I skied. Now that I am skating again, I am trying to straighten it back from the rolled over posture I’ve gotten used to as a skier!
Strong skaters have the ability to move quickly from forwards to backwards and backwards to forwards. Hockey players do it by transferring weight from one foot to the other (a Mohawk in figure skating parlance) while figure skaters are also capable of doing it on one foot (a three turn). Both methods of turning require Pivoting – turning with the feet- our second ski skill. Three turns involve bending the knee to initiate, un-bending (unweighting) to pivot, and bending again to complete. Sound a little like a ski turn?
Ever watch a hockey player fly around a corner to pick up a loose puck? How about ice dancers create deep, round edges as part of their program. There is even a warm up drill for skating called slalom. Yes, the third shared skill between skiing and skating is Edging. When skiing, skaters have a great ability to “move inside” the turn due to their well-developed lateral balance.
As a point of departure between the two sports, when you carve in skating, your weight is on your inside leg, the opposite as when you are skiing. This is what makes skaters so good at inclination (leaning into a turn) but sometimes lacking in angulation (maintaining weight on the outside ski by keeping the body in a C-shape).
With skating as in skiing, a lot of forces are built up that need to be reined in. In figure skating you see this when figure skaters “check” using a still upper body to land a jump or exit a turn. You also see it when they land a jump, reaching down to their ice with a straight landing leg that then quickly bends and absorbs the pressure upon contact with the ice. This can be likened to a skier absorbing the forces with their skis for Pressure Control, the fourth shared skill.
The final shared skill is Timing and Coordination. In hockey, you have to have incredible hand-eye coordination to pass the puck or score. Timing is everything. In figure skating, all routines are set to music with jumps, spins, and dance moves timed to the beat. Having the wrong timing on a jump or lift can be disastrous. Teaching skaters how to coordinate their movements and implement a pole plant is a piece of cake.
What these five skills don’t take into account are the intangibles that make skaters great skiers – a zest for life, fearlessness, and embracing of our Canadian winters.
So, if you are looking for a great off-season way to work on your skiing, or a way to stay in ski-shape on days you can’t make it to the hill, why not consider lacing up and getting in some skating? Your skiing will be all the better for it. See you at the rink!
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