Flying in from London in the morning then hiring a car from Chambery airport and driving up to Val d'Isère to be ready for your ski lesson at 1pm - is all quite an achievement in itself. In Alex's case - perhaps just a little bit too much though as he later fell asleep on a bench at the top of the Funival at 2689m altitude.
Mike had done amazing well to get here and ready in time - but what was less obvious was how to wind down, forget all the pressure and just focus on skiing. Poor visibility at the beginning didn't help. Realising that Mike had been on the go for a long time and probably hadn't had a break of any kind I suggested he stop and have a drink and just chill for a moment before we try to go any further.
Mike was as stiff as a board and was aware of it. Watching mike I could see that he was trying to use dynamics correctly to initiate the turn but would often stem a bit instead. There was a definite pushing outwards of the outside leg as well. It occurred to me that his stiffness was due in part to the desire (unconscious) to get that new outside ski onto its inside edge - which would often generate the stem instead of good dynamics. Knowing Mike's skiing already I found myself asking myself "What is the most important issue here?". Mike knows a lot of the theory, so why is he not consolidating and is regressing instead. When you learn something that works correctly you don't regress so easily.
At this stage I feel that the best way forwards is to get off that inside edge and to work on the pivot as a general way to loosen up the hips, legs and down/up motion. Removing the desire to edge that ski also removes the desire to push the leg outwards - which in turn allows the legs to become much softer. This is in fact a much less tiring way to ski even for very high level skiers - so there is no reason why others shouldn't benefit from it too.
Alex bravely staying awake long enough for one last ski down the mountain
I had Mike hold the handles of his ski poles while I stood below him on the mountain and pulled him downwards in a side-slip. Mike had to keep both feet below him on the mountain. When Mike was slipping I asked him to swing his ski tips downhill with me still supporting him and the feet downhill of the body at all times - so he could feel how to enter into a turn in this way. The exercise appeared to work. Mike became more relaxed almost immediately and was soon able also to work again on pulling "inwards" with everything during his turns. By the end of the session he was already back to his previous level and probably had a better understanding than before. This should set him up well for tomorrow's continuation.
Back home in the valley the new buds have arrived on the trees. A couple of days ago on Wednesday when I went for a bike ride there were no buds there!
Short 21 minute run again with the focus on technique and nothing else. The long term aim is to develop the ability to run "barefoot" technique over long distance.
The main objective was to run purely with forefoot landing and no heel strike
Next on the list was nasal breathing all the way
Working on using the psoas muscles to lift the leg up and forward while using gravity for propulsion with a forward inclination of the centre of mass
Lifting the heel high so that the lower leg is easy to swing forward and to drop the foot into place
The observation doesn't escape me that this running technique (essentially POSE technique) is very similar to the key issue in performance cycling - that is the focus has to shift to lifting up the knees by using the psoas muscles. The efficiency gain in cycling is incredible with this but I suspect that with training it will be even greater in running because gravity can play a more effective role in the propulsion.
The first climb was from 600m up to 1250m altitude. Amazingly, despite it still being winter there was a bee on the road at exactly 1000m altitude. All sorts of wild Alpine flowers were already starting to appear despite there being nothing surrounding them other than dead winter vegetation. Air temperature was high enough so that with correct clothing cycling was enjoyable and not cold. The second climb up to Notre dame du Pré (1310m) from Moutiers (480m) is usually a killer as there are some really steep sections. I stayed focussed on pulling up on the pedals with the psoas muscles and was able to complete the climb without a drop off in performance. I'd dropped the saddle height 1.5cm to 71cm (above crank axel measured along the down-tube axis) making it the same as for my indoor Tacx trainer setup. This seemed to remove back strain but didn't compromise performance or the ability to "pull up" on the pedals. Dropping the heel a little during the downstroke seemed to permit more leg muscles to be involved in the pulling up phase. I'd noticed that some pros have their saddle high and keep their toes pointed downwards all the way through their stroke - but this seems to be less powerful in both the upstroke and downstroke. There must be a good reason for them doing this - but for me it only seems to damage my back.
Our early bust of summer weather prompted me to start running again - but with a view to avoiding injury and building up again slowly from scratch using forefoot running. For the first attempt I ran just 20 minutes on relatively flat Mizuno running shoes - btu still ended up almost unable to walk the following day due to calf muscle pain. Discomfort lasted for about four days, during which time I've ordered a pair of Vibram "Fivefinger" barefoot - running shoes. The hope is that with no heel raise on the shoe my heel will be in a lower position while running barefoot and this will remove the strain from the calves making the whole process more natural. Attempting to run barefoot style with running shoes incorporating a ramp angle or raised heel may be causing mechanical problems.
Prior to the start of last season I had been trying to develop a forefoot running style with normal running shoes and switched back to a heel strike with disastrous results - plantar fasciitis - which gave me excruciating pain under the right foot when skiing all season long. The injury did not happen when working on the barefoot technique - but on changing back to using a heel strike over long distances (18km plus).
Bike Training
First serious hill climbing workout of the year. The first climb was from 600m up to 1250m altitude. Amazingly, despite it still being winter there was a bee on the road at exactly 1000m altitude. All sorts of wild Alpine flowers were already starting to appear despite there being nothing surrounding them other than dead winter vegetation. Air temperature was high enough so that with correct clothing cycling was enjoyable and not cold. The second climb up to Notre dame du Pré (1310m) from Moutiers (480m) is usually a killer as there are some really steep sections. I stayed focussed on pulling up on the pedals with the psoas muscles and was able to complete the climb without a drop off in performance. I'd dropped the saddle height 1.5cm to 71cm (above crank axel measured along the down-tube axis) making it the same as for my indoor Tacx trainer setup. This seemed to remove back strain but didn't compromise performance or the ability to "pull up" on the pedals. Dropping the heel a little during the downstroke seemed to permit more leg muscles to be involved in the pulling up phase. I'd noticed that some pros have their saddle high and keep their toes pointed downwards all the way through their stroke - but this seems to be less powerful in both the upstroke and downstroke. There must be a good reason for them doing this - but for me it only seems to damage my back.
Our early bust of summer weather prompted me to start running again - but with a view to avoiding injury and building up again slowly from scratch using forefoot running. For the first attempt I ran just 20 minutes on relatively flat Mizuno running shoes - btu still ended up almost unable to walk the following day due to calf muscle pain. Discomfort lasted for about four days, during which time I've ordered a pair of Vibram "Fivefinger" barefoot - running shoes. The hope is that with no heel raise on the shoe my heel will be in a lower position while running barefoot and this will remove the strain from the calves making the whole process more natural. Attempting to run barefoot style with running shoes incorporating a ramp angle or raised heel may be causing mechanical problems.
Prior to the start of last season I had been trying to develop a forefoot running style with normal running shoes and switched back to a heel strike with disastrous results - plantar fasciitis - which gave me excruciating pain under the right foot when skiing all season long. The injury did not happen when working on the barefoot technique - but on changing back to using a heel strike over long distances (18km plus).
Taking advantage of the sun being out to ramp up the fitness level !
Another bike ride today - 81km, 1035m climbing in 3hrs 25mins. I'm sure this weather won't last much longer. The Photos are from around Albertville. Used the bike to collect my van from a garage in fact - it was in there due to starting difficulties - just a relay switch that has grilled a circuit board. This is why I'm staying away from electric gears for the bike - the great thing about a bike (and skis) is that it's 100% mechanical. Just like I'll never buy electronic books in preference to a proper book that doesn't need to be switched on.
Justin does not get to ski as much as he would like these days. His freedom is being gradually nibbled away by corporate life - but that's OK. Somebody probably has to do it!
No 1 "Corporate" rule is this: Don't ever give anyone the power to sack you - it will definitely corrupt them.
No 2 "Corporate" rule is this: Don't ever become a boss because it will definitely corrupt you and render you completely stupid though you won't realise it.
Justin has been working on his skiing for some time, but his two weeks skiing a year limit plus a permanent desk job both conspire to drain any significant skill that his body has painstakingly acquired and turn him into a physical mess in general. Still, to his credit Justin was not overweight from munching doughnuts behind his desk and he doesn't smoke - which proves that not only does he have a brain but he knows how to use it. Realising that Justin has a keenly functioning brain was a cue for me to pass him my camera for the rare opportunity for someone to video me demonstrating without having to give a course in digital photographic equipment use and then waste an afternoon on trial and error photographic and videographic botch ups. I just gave the camera to Justin and predictably he got it right first time despite never having seen the device before. I gave him a 10 second window to work it out though - knowing that he would come good if I didn't give enough time for his chronic dyslexia to kick in.
It's not by chance that the two toughest types on the planet to teach are male dyslexics and female lawyers. Male dyslexics are truly excellent at anything you instruct them to do - but then they later muddle everything up completely and permanently because they lose a grasp of what is really relevant. It's like the "lawnmower man" got into them. Female lawyers just don't really get it - it's not part of their inner universe and never will be. Regardless of how weirdly wired up the neurons are - through either birth or programming - all it does is make the teaching challenge more interesting...
Pivoting Exercises
Demonstration of Pivoting - Slow then Rapid
The pivoting exercises were carried out towards the end of the day to try to improve Justin's off-piste performance. Let's be clear here - Justin is a good and strong skier - well above average for even strong skiers. The point is though that as you get better you simply uncover the potential for learning a whole lot more. Joking aside - Justin has assimilated a lot of useful skill. The stuff he needs to learn now though is very tricky to learn well.
Loading up the downhill ski towards the end of a pivot turn
Independent Leg Action
We focussed on independent leg action because I wanted to try to encourage this in Justin's skiing in general - for carving as much as pivoting. Skills are directly transferable from one aspect of skiing to another - and generally if a skill is missing in carving the same skill will be missing in pivoting. Removing the skis I got Justin to feel the legs rotate like windscreen wipers in the hip sockets by facing downhill and standing on the heels with both feet at the same altitude on the hill. Justin normally skis in a two footed way with his pelvis following the skis around the turn and often a twist in his spine to compensate. Using the pivot to develop independent leg action is a great way to unlock this problem. He was later able to coordinate this in a pivot with the skis on.
Push Up
An emphasis with the pivot was the push up from the lower leg. Off piste this push up brings you up and out of the turn and makes you lighter and more able to pivot the start of the turn as you feel like you float into it. This push up is best initiated from a position deep down into the existing turn - building up pressure on the ski from a safe uphill position with the Centre of Mass well inside the turn. This needs the hips to be relaxed to drop the Centre of Mass down and in far enough and for the lower leg to be "pulling inwards" right up until the end of the turn - so as not to lock up any muscles. Good upper/lower body separation is required and that's partly what I was aiming for Justin to improve with his exercises. The push up from the lower ski feels like the body is coming both up and out - downhill - and the key point now is that you DO NOT cross over your skis. The skis must remain downhill and be actively swung into the new turn through both using the momentum of the whole body and the adductor muscles pulling the outside ski "inwards". Sinking into the new turn the body must drop down to the inside strongly to set up the pressure cycle for the next turn. Edge change for the skis takes place ideally in the fall line. The turn can however be reorganised so that the turn apex and main pressure build up is more to the "side" rather than downhill but without the overall mechanics changing. This makes for more fluid skiing - the same way that this timing creates the fastest passage in a race course. Just aim to complete the turn out to one side then let the skis ride back across towards the other side and use the momentum across the hill.
Justin's Skiing Odyssey
Race Turns
Timing
Justin's off piste skiing was basically an unmodified race turn. Well - he did modify it but not intentionally. The timing was completely out with the whole of the start of the turn being carried out going upwards instead of downwards and into the turn. The race turn works extremely well off-piste but it must be done correctly for it to work. This timing would then produce a sudden build up of pressure late in the turn where Justin would then have to deal with the consequences - often breaking at the waist as a result. This erratic pressure cycle makes skiing a bit unpredictable - especially if you are on short slalom skis off-piste - as Justin was. Much of Justin's two leggedness, lack of Upper/lower body separation, rotation and lack of stability were all stemming from this fundamental error in timing. Racing turns mean that you ski on your inside edges and that means commitment to good appropriate timing.The body must pass cleanly across the skis so that the skis change edges before the turn begins and the centre of mass must accelerate down and into the turn to generate pressure against the outside ski right from the start of the turn.
Justin is on top of it here - in every sense
Race Course
In the race course Justin is clearly not proactively moving his Centre of Mass though at least he is not staying up high through the start of the turn as he is when skiing off-piste. The basic underlying problem is still the same in that there is not an active control being established though using the Centre of Mass. Rotation and other problems with the skis drifting sideways etc. all stem from the initial failure to drive the Centre of Mass down into the proceeding turn - and then to hold it in there. In the race course the body is just passively falling into the turn - and much too late. Don't wait until there is pressure under the feet to let yourself fall in more - be proactive and drive down and inwards - even if there is no initial pressure or you think that none will follow because your act is too extreme - it isn't - it NEVER is.
Justin looking sheepish after a spectacularly bad performance
Moutiers to Circuit de Tamie (Col de Tamie above Albertville) 84km, 1700m climbing, 4hrs.
Today was the first day of the Paris - Nice Pro race so it was a good excuse to get out in the fresh air and get the legs and lungs working properly.
The air was incredibly murky as can be seen in the photos and there was an air pollution warning with road traffic speed limit reductions enforced.
The air was still chilly with a strong headwind from Moutiers to Albertville. I'd forgotten to bring a hat to wear under my helmet, but in the event I had enough clothing and didn't get cold. The Col de Tamie goes up to almost 1000m and the sun disappeared near the top, but I didn't become too uncomfortable on the descent even without adding an extra windbreaker layer.
The scenery is stunning and inspiring, especially when the sun is out and there is shelter from the wind - such as during the climb up the Col. I was in much better shape than expected and managed a strong pace over the final 5km of the climb. Returning to Moutiers though my legs started to hurt and that's exactly how I wanted it. Despite having to use LED lights as darkness started to fall I just made it back to Moutiers before the daylight finally went. Immediately on stopping cycling I felt cold and tired and was glad to get into the car. Strange that I felt none of that on the bike - the clothing must have been working well during physical effort. Great to be back on the bike again.
My favourite quote of all time is from General Douglas MacArthur who paraphrases the poem “Youth” by Samuel Ullman
"Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of the imagination, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste for adventure over the love of comfort. A man doesn’t grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul. Preoccupations, fears, doubts, and despair are the enemies which slowly bow us towards earth and turn us to dust before death.
You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, and great; receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature and God. If one day you should become bitter, pessimistic and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man’s soul.”
So starting to learn to ski at age 54 is - well - absolutely ideal!
I was suitably informed this week that I'm as expensive as a Parisienne tart - but more fun! Well I checked up and at 500€ per hour my rates are well off target! The fun part I can agree with though.
Peisey Nancroix (Les Arcs)
Day two started a bit late and we used the bucket lift up from Peisey Nancroix to Peisey Vallandry. This quaint experience is fine for those who don't have a car - or for those who just want to get to know Peisey - but otherwise I'd recommend driving the extra bit up to Vallandry.
We started with a bit of a warm up run, especially important for Ian because it was his first time leaving the security of the relatively small and friendly St Foy environment. I've always found the motorway pistes of Les Arcs overcrowded and the lift queuing long and stressful and this day was no exception. Ian clearly found his introduction unnerving as he didn't feel in control enough to dodge all the people. I knew that this would improve as his skill and confidence developed but had to point out that all of this stress was one of the reasons why people ski off-piste instead. The methods being learned here guarantee a rapid and natural transition towards off-piste because there is nothing to change to be able to cope with it.
Turn Exit Dynamics
Following on from yesterday I stuck with the plan to develop the dynamics with respect to exiting the turn (or traverse). Jim hadn't managed to take much benefit from the work we did yesterday because his movement pattern was completely overwhelming everything that he tried to do, but I had realised by the end of yesterday's session that this next step should be able to break the grip of his current movement pattern. The explanation of the turn exit dynamics had to be repeated several times to iron out any confusion.
Revising "turn initiation"
Yesterday we worked on exercises to improve the ability to stand properly on one leg, with the focus on the turn initiation. Basically you do a turn on one ski - the outside ski in the turn. For the next turn you switch skis from the start to the end and this process repeats. The turn is simply carried out on one ski and on one leg - and this principle does not change. Today the focus though would be on the turn completion and its various complexities. (I'm deliberately ignoring here the issue of including a "traverse" stage between turns - just remove it for the purpose of clarity)
Jim's difficulty had manifested itself in the transition from one turn to another. Yesterday the instruction was to stand up strongly on the uphill edge of the uphill ski in preparation for the following turn. This would have worked but for the fact that both Jim and Ian were unable to stand securely enough on this edge to be able to separate out the different stages of the process. With such a situation it can take a few days of practise and development of this exercise to be able to get the full benefit from it. We did not have enough time available for that and needed a more direct response to Jim's situation - so that he would not continue to repeat and reinforce his current habits - which involved initiating the turn by standing on the lower ski, displacing the uphill ski outwards (uphill) in a stem and then moving the CM outwards towards the outside ski, consequently transferring weight to the outside ski in this manner and then stepping the inside ski alongside and finally pushing both heels outwards and sideways in a braking action. Standing solidly on the uphill edge of the uphill ski prior to the turn does prevent this movement pattern - but only if the skier can actually stand up on the ski (being on the uphill edge means that it's impossible to push the ski outwards - and the CM must move into the turn instead to create an initiation)
View towards La Plagne
Turn "Transition" - the mental picture
Bringing our focus to the turn "exit" would inevitably cause a certain amount of confusion because a mental picture of the process needs to be constructed. It's best to think of a motorbike on a flat road to develop this picture. The bike drops downwards and into the centre of a turn (turn initiation) and rises back upwards and out of the centre of a turn (turn exit). Place this on a slope and the picture is immediately complicated. We have to see the turn end and beginning as being across the hill and the flat slope is then inclined so that we still have the motorbike picture but with the bike completing the turn in the perpendicular to the slope - which is now not vertical. On skis this would make the skis flat when momentarily travelling across the hill (not on edge as they would be in a traverse). The skier would be fully upright and also standing perpendicular to the hill - but in an unsustainable position because he is already falling downhill as he is not in the vertical. This is why the turn transition has to be viewed as part of a dynamic process - and cannot be fully treated as a static position. The transition involves the exit from one turn and the entrance into the next. The two cannot be separated because of the involvement of gravity and the fact that one turn ends with the body already having fallen beyond the vertical. When this aspect of dynamics is fully grasped then the turn initiation also becomes much easier as it is in fact practically automatic. This is still a relatively simplistic view of the turn transition but it should transmit an understanding of the key aspects that are relevant for the moment.
Circumvention or circumcision?
Jim had perviously been taught that the skis should be flat when facing straight downhill and that is actually correct for a "pivoted" turn - which we were not concerned with at this stage. (This should have happened spontaneously with yesterday's "uphill edge" exercise but it didn't!!!) (Actualy I briefly taught Jim the "Pivot" in January and explained it on the blog - so I suspect that he is re-interpreting his initial teaching from other sources). A correctly executed "pivot" requires the skier to avoid allowing the skis to change edge until they reach the fall line - but Jim was actually changing the outside ski's edge prior to even starting his turn due to stemming the ski outwards and placing it on the inside edge. In addition Jim had been taught to stand up high and allow the skis to pivot into the turn - but this timing is actually incorrect (causing him to step the CM directly outwards onto the stemmed ski) although it is taught almost everywhere around the world. My aim today was to avoid and circumvent all of this stuff and exploit Jim's positive approach to skiing in a way that would prioritise giving him effective dynamics and good timing. This circumvention would probably feel more like circumcision to Jim and this is where his enormous appendage might pose a significant disadvantage. Ian had none of those mixed up issues to deal with because he had only been coached by me previously and was progressing smoothly.
View towards Beaufort mountain range
Exercises and demonstration
I demonstrated that the skier had to rise up out of the turn completely on the lower/outside ski towards the end of the turn. This motion had to go beyond the vertical and continue right out to the perpendicular. To demonstrate this I had to use my ski poles so as to not fall over when standing still across the hill. The skis should end up flat on the snow and at this point the legs switch so that now the skier stands on the flat uphill ski and can continue to fall into the next turn dropping the CM downwards and into the turn centre. I pointed out that in giant slalom racing on many turns the entire transition including the entry into the following turn are carried out only on one ski - the downhill one - though this is not intentional, it is the result of the dynamics. I demonstrated a few turns exaggerating this and when watching both Ian and Jim copy it was obvious that they had understood even though they might not have been entirely clear on the subject.
Rhythm and Line
When Jim got it right his stem disappeared completely and Ian found that he could flow much better and begin to develop a rhythm for the first time. I pointed out that it was important to avoid "braking" actions and that speed had to be controlled simply through the line and direction of the turn - being able to stop just by continuing or tightening any single turn. The dynamics should flow from one turn into the next and this generates a natural rhythm. Both Ian and Jim started to feel and enjoy this rhythm due to their efforts to exit the turn by bringing the CM up and out over the lower ski.Control is gained in a counter intuitive way because by exiting a turn dynamically, although you are "falling" downhill it means that the next turn starts much more easily and sooner - so more control is gained. Ian spotted the counter intuitive nature of this effect by himself. It's to Ian's credit that he appears to be well attuned to the "self realisation" nature of skiing at such an early stage in the development of his skiing. The great thing about "self realisation" is that it's an open book with no limits - it 's not about the skiing.
Skating Timing "pressure cycle"
We had attempted to integrate "skating" at various stages already but nothing had worked so far due to both Ian and Jim being unfamiliar with coordination on one leg. Once both had established a rhythm in their dynamics I asked them to now observe the pressure cycle beneath the feet; how pressure would build up under the outside ski/foot and then suddenly disappear during the turn transition and then slowly build up under the other foot increasing more rapidly towards the turn completion but then suddenly disappearing again in the next turn transition. This pressure cycle feels exactly like skating - even though you are not skating. This is a clue to the correct sensations of timing. It is particularly revealing when you feel that it is "happening to you" instead of you trying to do it. Both felt this clearly and really enjoyed the sensation over the course of a long gentle pathway where there was a proper opportunity to focus without worrying about steepness or other people. Shortly afterwards Ian skied down his first red run without even realising it was a red.
Increasing Dynamic Range
From the outset I make it clear to people that the job of developing skiing is all about increasing the skier's dynamic range. Perhaps it's also about dynamics awareness. Most people don't even realise there is an issue concerning dynamics. The only people to have any clue normally are racers but to them it is interpreted as "difficulty staying in a racing line". Racers, through trial and error respond and adapt to the physical constraints of gates by increasing their dynamic range. This adaptation is largely down to natural selection. If racer is however at some point taught dynamics then that totally levels the playing field and natural selection plays only a minor part. Race coaches do not consciously teach dynamics - they simply do not understand even Newtonian mechanics well enough. If you hear a coach talk about "balance" or in French "equilibre" then you know he knows NOTHING other than how to replicate the conditions of natural selection that favoured him and wiped out all of his competition.
Traversing and Sideslipping
Ian was struggling with traversing and side-slipping on steeper slopes because he had never been taught how to. Jim wasn't over confident either in this department. On a steep slope I demonstrated how to roll the feet uphill and get the skis firmly on edge. Both were able to traverse with a slight carving effect uphill, holding the skis on edge. Ian had to be shown how to turn his bottom to face slightly uphill so that could move his hips more uphill instead of his tendency to force his knees uphill and his hips downhill - rotating his bottom to face downhill and stiffening his lower leg. It only took a few minutes of practise for both Ian and Jim to understand and feel this. The side-slip was introduced by maintaining the same position but reaching downhill with the downhill ski pole to give confidence to move the CM over out over the skis and reduce edge grip - so as to slip downhill. I prefer to teach edge control and side-slipping this way because it improves awareness of the key roll of the Center of Mass. I pointed out that by moving the CM slightly backwards the side-slip would go diagonally backwards - and the same forwards again by moving the CM.
Dropping into the turn
Physically supporting Jim I had him "sit" down into my arms with his body facing slightly downhill and his skis across the hill. I stood uphill and in fact I wanted him to drop down, relaxed and to sit slightly on my knee - with his bottom facing slightly uphill. This "total relaxation" is the correct feeling for dropping the CM into a turn - it gets the CM down and inside the turn rapidly. It can only happen when the skier does not "push outwards" locking up the hip joints and "resisting" with all his muscles during a turn pushing against a non-existent imaginary centrifugal force!
This posture is linked to the body positons and edge control used in the traverse and the side-slip.
I used Jim's ski poles to pull him downhill. Jim held the handles while I pulled the ends. Standing side on he could not resist the pull downhill but turning his bottom uphill he naturally dropped downwards and into "the turn" (we were not moving) and could easily resist my pull. Ian repeated this exercise correctly.
I explained that the key was to sink down like this through the turn so that pressure would build up on the skis and the "lifting up" power of the skis would be increased - to then be exploited right at the end to lift up and out of the turn - the "turn exit" dynamics. The skier has to be aware that those dynamics have to be created - there are no race gates to impose those rules by force or natural selection.
Both Ian and Jim got it and felt the increase in control.
The final run back down to Peisey was in relatively poor conditions so neither Ian nor Jim had their best run of the day - but that is to be expected as conditions play a major role when learning new skills. It's always ideal to end up with really good feelings but it's not always possible.
The last time Jim and Ian were out skiing was the 29th of January and Ian had taken well to picking up dynamics from scratch over only a couple of days. To all extents and purposes Ian was still a beginner. Although Jim had vast amounts more experience (but pretended to have only four days under his belt) Jim was not that much more stable on his skis and had not been properly coached by me before.
Jim did experience some frustration and he did have an excuse ready for this but I wasn't sure if I picked him up correctly on it. He asked if it was a disadvantage in skiing in one or other of the following circumstances
having an enormous "appendage".
being an enormous "appendage". (replace between " " with the appropriate word)
The answer to the first option is "no", this helps to locate the Centre of Mass, and to the second option "yes", which in Top Gear is the term normally specially reserved for Audi drivers.
After a brief slide on the nursery slope we went straight up the main lift to use the green run. St Foy has the advantage of a long genuinely green run - which is something very rare in this precise part of the universe. This is an interesting point. Does anyone actually know what part of the universe we are in? That's the difference between "precision" and "accuracy". We can locate ourselves precisely - but with absolutely no relative accuracy. However lets get back to the topic...
Revision
We started off in the snowplough for Ian's benefit, but Jim had never learned how to do a snowplough so that was tricky for him.
First thing we did was to roll the feet onto their outside edges so as to be able to open the plough wider. I pointed out the the skis would remain on the inside edges due to the ski boots.
Next was to turn the inside ski (of the turn) with the foot - leading with the little toe - in the direction of the turn - right foot to the right to turn right. I pointed out that this was all that was needed to turn - no transfer of weight was necessary. The inside ski flattens and slips inwards towards the new turn centre and the outside ski helps by pushing the skier in the same direction.
Once this was more or less functioning I added that the outside foot had to roll onto its inside edge (inside of the heel) by rocking the foot at the subtaler joint beneath the ankle). This would provide more grip for the outside ski in the turn
It was then encouraged to move the Centre of Mass (CM) slightly in the direction of the new turn - right to go right.
The adductor muscles were isolated (by pulling inwards against a ski pole in the snow with the ski tip) and this pulling inwards was associated with the foot rocking inwards at the subtaler joint. The outside leg was then encouraged to pull inwards during the turn instead of pushing outwards.
The CM was encouraged to move inwards more dynamically with a view of smoothly losing the plough and the skis coming parallel. ("shoulder pushing" exercise to show the effect of how to get pressure on the foot by accelerating the body against me or into a turn)
Ian quickly returned to the level where he had left off previously and Jim fell into a state of deep confusion.
Jim's Explanation
Jim explained how he was taught previously. He had to traverse and stand up high, lean forwards against his boots to start the turn, twisting into the turn on the balls of his feet (or with the big toes or something). The skis would simply dive parallel into the turn - so so went the theory. It obviously wasn't working and had managed to tie him up in knots because he was now unable to execute my own instructions.
The concept Jim had been taught is wrong in several areas. It encourages the skier to remain standing high during the turn initiation - instead of dropping the CM down into a turn. This causes the skier to be extremely ineffective. It also doesn't explain anything about the mechanics or dynamics of a turn. The outcome in Jim's case was a classic ineffective movement pattern involving a large stem outwards of the uphill ski while standing on the downhill ski - blocking the turn initiation - then a twisting inwards of the outside ski (against ski design), a pushing outwards of the outside leg (flattening the outside foot), failure of the CM to move in the direction of the new turn and unstable upright body position towards the outside of the turn, a stepping of the inside ski outwards to meet the outside ski and then a skidded two footed push outwards to brake and lose speed. There is nothing in this movement pattern that is useful for developing skiing. Skis work and are controlled by the motion of the CM - full stop. Get that wrong as it is in this case and it means trouble.
One Leg
As a means of helping Jim to move away from his stemming and two footed outwards heel push I started to drill both Jim and Ian on standing on one leg - the uphill leg - uphill edge - in a traverse - and to launch the CM into the new turn from this stance.The goal at first was just to stand up properly on the one leg. To help get there we sidestepped uphill with a proper stepping up on uphill leg to clarify the "change of leg". We then practised traversing standing on this leg and even stepping uphill up while traversing. Ian really caught on and felt much more stable going into his turns and much more on "one leg" - which enabled him to stop getting caught up on his inside leg so much. Jim struggled to avoid slipping back to his already automatic and reflexive habits. He couldn't stand on the top ski and separate out the processes involved and so ended up using two legs to make a stem again before then standing on the top ski - which of course changed nothing. Both skiers were very week at standing on one leg and only practise will sort that out. Jim was particularly averse to standing on his left leg.
Fore/Aft positioning Ian was getting a bit caught up on the back of his ski boots and because Jim had mentioned "leaning on the front" of his boots I decided it was necessary to clean up the issue slightly. Basically you simply don't lean on the boots - they are not intended to support you. You simply stand up. When traversing it's easy because the path is horizontal to gravity and you are vertical. We are used to this condition so there is usually no issue there. When the skis come around to point downhill - leaving the horizontal - then you are also required to leave the horizontal by the same amount and to remain perpendicular to the skis and slope. For this reason constant adjustments are always being made fore and aft. Relative to the skis however the aim is to feel no leaning - either on the front or back. It actually feels the same being perpendicular to the horizontal or perpendicular to the slope - there is no sensation of "leaning" against boots.
Skating
To enhance the independence of the legs and encourage greater dynamics I introduced skating as an integral action in the turns. We started by skating down a shallow incline but when neither could hold that skate together when accelerating we took a step backwards to executing a "herringbone" walk up an incline to get used to the correct use of the adductors and edge control appropriate to skiing itself. Neither Ian nor Jim were really ready for skating to have any impact, though Ian felt how the timing tied in with the timing of the dynamics (down /up) motion.
Resistance I explained to Jim how "pushing outwards" locks up all the muscles in the leg through a form of "resistance". This was demonstrated by showing how arm curls are stopped completely simply by tensing up the triceps. The outwards pushing likewise causes us to fight against ourselves. This pushing is usually done to resist "centrifugal force" which is non existent but nonetheless remains a powerful illusion. There is no "outwards "force" only the inwards force of the ski trying to send us into the new turn by constantly cutting in beneath the trajectory of the Centre of Mass. We need to "pull inwards" to help this process and to get our muscles to relax - not push out to resist it and lock the muscles up.
Dynamics
Jim was not managing to eliminate his stem and so the dynamics was not improving. I stood downhill of him and supported him so that he could fall over his lower ski - literally downhill (but against me) so that he could feel properly what the start of a turn should feel like. Jim was just not moving his CM because he has been consistently moving his uphill ski uphill instead of moving his CM downhill. Tomorrow this will have to change. His current dynamic range is approximately between 15° to 20° maximum. Ian on the other hand is developing at a normal rate and feeling things correctly. Jim is still the stronger skier for the time being - but needs to become aware of the prevailing issues in order to continue to make progress.
