Got my gear, getting lessons, NOW WHAT.

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Vincent_Diesel

Member
This weekend will be my second time on the slopes. I have another lesson booked at a local hill with what they call 50 percent "family friendly" slopes. I assume this is geared for noobs like me.

How does one gauge readiness for advancing hills? Right now I am building comfort and confidence on skis, but how do I know when I'm ready to go from beginner slopes to intermediate slopes and so on. I assume ones red slope could be another's green so how do I factor that in?

I'm asking because I am cautious about my current abilities and on packed hills don't want to hurt anyone and vice versa.
 
So are you getting the lesson this weekend? If so, the instructor should be able to help you work on fundamentals and let you know when you're ready for bigger runs.

If you're going solo without instruction i'd say just keep it slow and stay on runs you feel very comfortable with until you can get with an instructor.
 
topic:Vincent_Diesel said:
This weekend will be my second time on the slopes. I have another lesson booked at a local hill with what they call 50 percent "family friendly" slopes. I assume this is geared for noobs like me.

How does one gauge readiness for advancing hills? Right now I am building comfort and confidence on skis, but how do I know when I'm ready to go from beginner slopes to intermediate slopes and so on. I assume ones red slope could be another's green so how do I factor that in?

I'm asking because I am cautious about my current abilities and on packed hills don't want to hurt anyone and vice versa.
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don't overthink it right now. you'll know you're ready for more when you get a little bored of what you're currently on

and locals can probably tell you what trails are like (and you can look at the trail map to see RELATIVE-- not exact, at all-- ideas of how steep and wide a trail is) so you can decide, "okay im fine on these greens, what's an easier blue to start with?" etc
 
13981065:TRVP_ANGEL said:
Got my gear, getting lessons, skiing regularly, learning new things

NOW WHAT
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Depending on where you live start hitting the backside of your mountain or start hitting the park if our comfortable
 
You will know when you're ready for the challenge of steeper/varying terrain. With that being said, I wouldn't get too caught up with measuring your skiing progression with what run you can get down. I use the green runs to practice switch riding/ollies/noliies/spins/etc.. Bad technique is bad technique and will be exposed on more challenging runs. Just have fun with it. Good luck OP.
 
Best way to gauge is how ready you are is run this scenario: You lose control and you must stop, can you do it quickly and well enough to stop. Keep an eye on the green circles, they are great to warm up and practice exercises from the instructor.

Otherwise, enjoy the nature around you and feel the cold air on the face. If you feel ready to attack the blue squares, take a friend with ya.
 
13981035:DZook41 said:
So are you getting the lesson this weekend? If so, the instructor should be able to help you work on fundamentals and let you know when you're ready for bigger runs.

If you're going solo without instruction i'd say just keep it slow and stay on runs you feel very comfortable with until you can get with an instructor.
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Yes the lesson is tomorrow night BUT we have rain in the forecast. The whole family is going so it should be interesting how the three of us will evolve. My wife is a much better skier, she put me on a hill the last time I clearly wasn't ready for but looked like I could tackle it. It was a humbling experience to say the least.
 
13981237:SoAnG said:
Bad technique is bad technique and will be exposed on more challenging runs. Just have fun with it. Good luck OP.
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First sport I ever took up was golf. Years later I got pretty good and my scores proved it. I thought I was doing it right, got lessons early, building solid fundamentals, continued to work hard to improve. Later in my golf life, just out of curiosity I saw a PGA tour teacher who broke down my swing mechanics. At ball impact I looked great, textbook actually, but everything prior to ball impact wasn't ideal. Point I'm trying to make is that I believe in good technique, as mentioned above, but how does one measure that in skiing and am I building on good technique every time I hit the slopes or getting by making bad technique work. In golf I'd say it is reflected in your handicap. In skiing how is that gauged?

As others have mentioned, I am totally overthinking this, I know. My mindset in tomorrows lesson is having fun and building solid fundamentals.
 
Don't over think this, it will just distract you from having a good time. We all want to improve but there's no quantitative results for all of this (recreational ski). I consider recreational skiing a lifestyle sport. So progression for me is measured by FEEL. It sounds stupid but when I STOMP a jump, landing perfectly balanced and buttery smooth or finally LOCK on a rail, sliding across with control, I FEEL in that small moment in time like a boss and nothing can touch me. Those are the moments were I say measures my progression. Then I hit the next feature and totally eat shit. Very humbling but almost as satisfying.
 
Thank you all. Will take the advice here and will not overthink this. I guess I will determine overall success by the smile on my face. Going out tomorrow, wish me luck!
 
13981501:iced said:
I dont know about you guys but it sounds like he is ready to cork
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I think I know what you're saying, and thanks. After tomorrow, I need to come back here and familiarize myself with the lexicon used in these threads. Is there a glossary of terms I could be pointed to?

Need to familiarize myself with words like cork, cereal, bowls, backside, gaper, pow, yolo, nbd. Just to name a few : )
 
13981535:Vincent_Diesel said:
I think I know what you're saying, and thanks. After tomorrow, I need to come back here and familiarize myself with the lexicon used in these threads. Is there a glossary of terms I could be pointed to?

Need to familiarize myself with words like cork, cereal, bowls, backside, gaper, pow, yolo, nbd. Just to name a few : )
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This kid is getting cereal about bowls yo
 
13981081:Ski76 said:
Depending on where you live start hitting the backside of your mountain or start hitting the park if our comfortable
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Cough...cough ... TRVPs post was a joke.. cough
 
13981269:Vincent_Diesel said:
First sport I ever took up was golf. Years later I got pretty good and my scores proved it. I thought I was doing it right, got lessons early, building solid fundamentals, continued to work hard to improve. Later in my golf life, just out of curiosity I saw a PGA tour teacher who broke down my swing mechanics. At ball impact I looked great, textbook actually, but everything prior to ball impact wasn't ideal. Point I'm trying to make is that I believe in good technique, as mentioned above, but how does one measure that in skiing and am I building on good technique every time I hit the slopes or getting by making bad technique work. In golf I'd say it is reflected in your handicap. In skiing how is that gauged?

As others have mentioned, I am totally overthinking this, I know. My mindset in tomorrows lesson is having fun and building solid fundamentals.
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You’re not overthinking this, it’s good to be critiquing your form even when it suffices. This is why there are lessons and instructors. You can ask about your form to an instructor. You can also ask about your form to Newschoolers. Watch videos about learning to ski. Just try and absorb all the serious advice you can get.
 
13981535:Vincent_Diesel said:
I think I know what you're saying, and thanks. After tomorrow, I need to come back here and familiarize myself with the lexicon used in these threads. Is there a glossary of terms I could be pointed to?

Need to familiarize myself with words like cork, cereal, bowls, backside, gaper, pow, yolo, nbd. Just to name a few : )
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Cork - an off axis flip/spin done during jumps

Cereal - ??? Never heard this before in ski context

Bowls - gigantic, very open runs that are shaped like a bowl on the mountain. Ideally filled with powder (pow)

Backside - literally the back side of the mountain, not the front face. Often has less groomed and harder terrain.

Gaper - an unskilled skier. Kind of a judgmental term but usually only used as a pejorative for people who are endangering others or themselves by skiing outside their limits

Yolo - You Only Live Once. No one says this anymore but it’s justification for doing something risky.

Nbd - just shorthand for “not bad”

Hope this helps
 
13981975:TheVictator said:
Cork - an off axis flip/spin done during jumps

Cereal - ??? Never heard this before in ski context

Bowls - gigantic, very open runs that are shaped like a bowl on the mountain. Ideally filled with powder (pow)

Backside - literally the back side of the mountain, not the front face. Often has less groomed and harder terrain.

Gaper - an unskilled skier. Kind of a judgmental term but usually only used as a pejorative for people who are endangering others or themselves by skiing outside their limits

Yolo - You Only Live Once. No one says this anymore but it’s justification for doing something risky.

Nbd - just shorthand for “not bad”

Hope this helps
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I'm kind of old but I'm pretty sure nbd stands for no big deal
 
Packed up the fam this weekend, off to a local hill geared towards beginners. Got there, and spent 30 mins on the over populated bunny hill. Felt like I had to learn to turn rather quickly, otherwise I would steamroll over the kids who were learning, as I was. That got boring rather quickly, when my wife says I am ready to advance to a much larger less populated hill, a hill that actually has a ski lift as opposed to some rubberized airport escalator. My heart was racing, am I ready for this.

Took a bail at the top of the mountain exiting the lift, NBD but that didn't help set the tone for what's to come. Looking down the hill I procrastinated in walking back down, seriously. A few minutes later I said fuggit, YOLO and let momentum start the process of the beginning of the end of my life. Quarter down, my knees are knocking and intuition kicks in as I start gaining speed, it's pizza time! Slowing down a tad but my weight of 230 lbs makes it a challenge. I make my first turn in full on wedge mode, not pretty for sure, but I'm actually turning. This continues for what felt like a crap load of time and I get to the bottom, I look at my wife who is behind me and says, you didn't fall. Let's do it again. I did it about 8 more times. Sweet.

Each time I go down I'm getting faster, and my big pizza slice turning wedges are turning into more thinner slices with every run. A few times I worked on getting skis parallel and noticed the intense grip that creates, I almost fall over from too much grip. My knees are shaking less and my heart rate back finally back into normal zone. I'm actually skiing now. This is fantastic. We're headed back next weekend grabbing another lesson and trying the more difficult stuff. Thanks for everyone's help.
 
13982306:Vincent_Diesel said:
Also forgot to mention, why the hell do I turn better going right than I do turning left?
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you'll probably always have a side you prefer turning to. that's fine, just don't let yourself favor it too much.

as for progressing from where you are to normal turns with no wedging, i think you should start at a standstill with your skis parallel to the fall line (the fall line is just the direction downhill that you would go if you just slid down. imagine where a soccer ball would go if you just dropped it at your feet; that's the fall line).

then, point your skis downhill (together/parallel as much as you can) and continue through with the turn until youre stopped completely again but facing the other way, skis still parallel. then do it again and again and as you get used to it, you will be more and more comfortable not wedging at all as you make each transition, and more comfortable letting yourself go downhill a little more with each turn.

the idea here is that you get used to the normal technique of the turn with parallel skis, and come to a place where your safety move is a parallel "hockey stop" rather than your safety move being to wedge your skis. from there you can control your speed and as you get more comfy you can let yourself gain a little more speed each time with the eventual goal of linking each turn rhythmically and controlling your speed with turns rather than a wedge

does that make sense? let me know if you want it re-stated.

most importantly just keep practicing and keep having fun! your mental attitude will have a big effect on how in control you feel on the skis. don't get down on yourself, it won't help!

also another key: you have the most power over your skis when youre leaning forward, pushing your shins against the tongues of your boots. i understand you might feel like leaning back when youre scared but that will only lessen your control over your skis. as i said, you want your "safety move" to be a stop with your skis together, perpendicular to the fall line. the easiest way to turn your skis the way you want is to lean forward a little aggressively and power the boot (and therefore the ski).

also remember, you are no longer a human with your weight on your heels. you are now a penguin, hunched forward a little, your center of gravity residing in a line straight down from your head, down through your chest, down through your knees into your feet. see photo-realistic diagram attached to this post for reference. the red line is your center of gravity
 
Does this mean you will be doing your own ski stunts in the next XXX installment?

Kidding, but love the hype you've got going... Keep at it!

Lots of good comments in here but if no one mentioned it yet, definitely keep your hands/arms in front of you. This will make staying in the proper balanced position so much easier.

When your arms are at your side or behind you, your body naturally wants to lean back which is no good.
 
13982341:SofaKingSick said:
the idea here is that you get used to the normal technique of the turn with parallel skis, and come to a place where your safety move is a parallel "hockey stop" rather than your safety move being to wedge your skis.
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This would be most excellent. I have been trying to do this and my inside foot just feels like it gets stuck and doesn't rotate as much as the outside foot. Almost like inside foot doesn't have the strength quite yet.
 
13982407:Vincent_Diesel said:
This would be most excellent. I have been trying to do this and my inside foot just feels like it gets stuck and doesn't rotate as much as the outside foot. Almost like inside foot doesn't have the strength quite yet.
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that's okay and it's a natural thing to feel when you're learning. take some of the weight off your inside foot anyway though-- your outside foot does most of the heavy lifting in the turn anyway. but rest assured it's not a strength thing, it's a technique thing! there are millions of competent skiers who are not strong at all haha. it's just a matter of finding the technique

you also want to be thinking about driving the tips of your skis forward as you make your turns. as you make the turn, make some effort to push those skis ahead with your shins and feet as you engage the turn and then bring your heels around behind as you complete the turn.

throughout much of this, you can kind of wedge a little if it helps as you learn the motion. as you get used to it, your inside ski will naturally wedge less and follow the outside ski through the turn. before you know it, you won't be feeling any desire to make the wedge shape with your skis

make sense?
 
also dude remember that speed is your friend (within reason of course). the slower you're going, the harder it will seem to initiate and complete a turn

if you have the basics down somewhat and your turns are feeling clunky, maybe consider carrying a tiny bit more speed into your next turns and seeing if they come around smoother

also you can just practice carrying some speed straight down a (small) hill and coming to a ""hockey stop"" with parallel skis, because a stop on your skis is just half of a turn during which you killed all your speed. practice doing this in both directions a bunch and you may find your technique, and then you can start linking the turns
 
13982303:Vincent_Diesel said:
Each time I go down I'm getting faster, and my big pizza slice turning wedges are turning into more thinner slices with every run. A few times I worked on getting skis parallel and noticed the intense grip that creates, I almost fall over from too much grip.
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but this is pretty much the transition you want to make now: wedging less and less until you don't need it anymore. do also keep in mind though that your weight will be in a different place when you switch to the normal technique. you are going to keep your chest squared up in a more downhill facing direction throughout your turns, but you're also going to be leaning a little bit more uphill because as you said, you have way more grip with skis parallel than when you pizza, so as you engage those edges with the normal technique, you might want to be leaning back a TINY bit more (just a tiny bit! skiing is about an aggressive stance, arms in front of you) because your grip could throw you over the handlebars much more easily this way. bend those knees and let them gracefully be your little shock absorbers

im kinda just rambling now. let most of it just wash over you and pay attention to the points that directly address issues youre noticing.

most of all just keep doing it man, it sounds like youve already made progress and are about to break through to full on french fry!
 
French fry, yes. Pizza no.

So grateful for the interest in this post, I am reading it over once again thinking in some time, I'll be able to look at this post and remember the days the only way I could turn is pizza. Thanks all!
 
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