Alp Day 5

Today was mainly reinforcing and consolidating progress. Notably we returned to the blue piste several times (instead of the usual one off attempt) and Alp’s anxiety level was far less than previously. Other than reinforcing technical work that is already understood (though perhaps roughly executed) the only completely new thing we did was to jump and swing the ski fronts into the turns – incrementally during a turn. This exercise has several benefits; naturally narrowing the stance, getting off the backs of the boots and more perpendicular to the slope, relaxing the legs and making the muscles functional instead of rigid, reinforcing the pivot action (swinging the tips into the turn), actively using the adductors of the outside leg in the turn. The main reason for using this exercise was to combat Alp's super wide plough stance when he would go defensive on the steeper terrain. The important thing is to not let that defensive reaction become the default setting. On the steeper turns Alp was told to bring the wayward uphill ski back down to just beside the downhill ski and make sure it was on it’s uphill edge – prior to (starting a new turn) standing on it to move the body downhill into the new turn – swinging the uphill ski tip downhill following the body. Jumping shares much of this coordination.