Bastille Day (14th July) on the Glacier

Some views of Tignes summer glacier today  - holding up better than I expected...

Haluk’s Farewell to the 2019 Season…

Season’s changes – (before today’s modification…)

• no comment – this was filmed just to show how good it was in Tignes at the end of April.

Billy, Patrick, Lilly, Holly 4

Carving

Introduction to “carving”. The skis run along their edges – as if locked to a railway line – no sideways drifting. The exercises started with traversing from a very shallow gradient with the goal being to hold the skis on edge and let them turn you up the hill to stop.

• Stand on inside edges of feet
• Stand on the uphill edges of the skis
• Move the body (CoM) uphill to insure the uphill ski is on its uphill edge
• At low speed the two edges act as a platform of support
• Two solid lines must be left in the snow – with a slight arc uphill

On very flat ground we then repeated the same from pointing straight downhill – then continued with very shallow turns attempting to have the skis carve all the time. Patrick struggled to keep the skis from skidding as he rushed the starts of his turns – a legacy from his “two footed” skiing and pushing the tails outwards. Patrick was encouraged to widen his stance and be patient at the start of each turn. Lilly was skidding initially but soon managed clean carving for most of her turns. Billy was amazingly quick to understand and is perhaps the fastest to learn carving that I’ve ever seen.

Group photo on the carving piste with Mont Blanc in the background…

Holly following Hunt on a green slope – then directly onto a black slope… (That’s called “trust”!)

Impressive bank of cloud in the Val d’Isère valley…

Slalom

Forget the times today – big ruts are not ideal for attempting to bring carving into slalom for the first time. Higher speed from carving is almost guaranteed to launch you straight out of the course and into the banks of snow building up outside the ruts. The course also appeared significantly slower today. In reality accurate comparisons can only be made “on the day”.  The training predictably started out with crashes – but the boys did extremely well to bring this under control, constantly adapting and becoming more stable.

Lilly

Lilly was working on developing a strong and confident impulse with the uphill leg to push the CoM into the new turn – but not only moving laterally to the skis but forward over the fronts of the skis and downhill at the start of the turns – so as to avoid being left back on the tails of the skis as they turn downhill. The aim is to anticipate the change in slope pitch (from the horizontal traverse) and the acceleration. In the video she is starting to use the fronts of the skis and is parallel even on the steeps due to successfully moving her body instead of stemming the uphill ski. 

Billy

Billy was taking a relatively slow line today (turning high on the rise line) to try to contain the speed of the carve and avoid tangling with the ruts below the gates. (I didn’t tell them that this form of line is longer and so quite slow!) Billy’s fall was mostly just bad luck (before he changed his line) – this time he wasn’t on the backs of his skis – the carving seems to have provided clearer feedback for him to be more centred. The only way to have prevented the fall (other than changing the line) was to have committed even more forcefully to the outside ski – the same thing that Lilly was working on. The line Billy had taken on this early run (and fall) was “late” due to his carving speed.  Billy’s dynamic range is starting to get interesting with the extra grip and support from carving allowing him to incline much more than before. 

Patrick

Patrick’s fall actually started at the same rut that took out Billy – and for the same reason! Patrick however stayed up until losing control at the next gate. More commitment  to the outside ski would have prevented the problem at both gates. Patrick was also later working on turning high on the rise line but what’s more important is that he managed to start to get his feet apart when necessary and start to use independent leg action. Perhaps the rough course conditions were exactly what was necessary to encourage this change to take place.

Billy, Patrick, Lilly 3

Mont Blanc today – 4810m altitude

Video

• Working on pivoting skills
• Lilly’s first black run descent
• Fastest Slalom runs
• Patrick 31.39 seconds
• Billy 31.68 seconds
• Lilly 48.82 seconds
• Billy’s spectacular crash – caused by being too far back on the skis and against the backs of the ski boots.

Today we had to begin work on “Pivoting”. The program was initiated by skating with both feet on their inside edges, then side slipping with both feet on their inside edges but both skis on their uphill edges (separating the uphill foot edge from the ski edge) – then we launched into full pivots.

The complete teaching procedure is presented here: “Pivot”  and is also reached by a tab at the top of this page.

Although the pivot is a special skill in its own right it also has a critical role in developing slalom and for skiing on steeps.

• Pulling the uphill ski front “inwards” using the adductor muscles (inside of upper leg – taught so it was felt) – to make the ski follow the CoM
• Learning that it’s not which edge the ski is on that counts – it’s which edge the foot is on that counts
• Stop trying to get on the inside edge of the uphill ski to start a turn – unless there is a clear and safe opportunity to accelerate

Lilly later used the turn initiation from the uphill edge of her uphill ski on the steeps to enable good parallel skiing – though she struggled a bit to hold this together in the race course – understandably. Lilly did incredibly well for her level of skiing – taking a deliberately slow line but on a very steep slope.

Billy was taught how to push against the magic wall from the uphill edge of his uphill ski – while remaining on the inside (downhill) edge of his foot – thus getting earlier pressure and grip from the turning ski. He was being taught this to try to provide the pressure beneath his support foot early and use the resultant postural reflexes this induces to get him to stand more centred over his feet instead of hard against the backs of his boots (which caused his earlier fall – and lack of turning power on the steep sections). When on the backs of the skis they go straight – they don’t turn!

Rise Line

Billy’s big improvement came when he understood the “Rise Line”. Until this point Billy was aiming straight for the gate and leaving the turning too late – causing him to actually turn lower and lower beneath the gates until all his speed was blown off. What you do is visualise a line from the gate in front going straight up the hill and you aim to cross this line as high up as you can – instead of aiming at the gate. Then you start the turn as you cross this line – which brings you back just under the gate itself instead of way downhill from the gate.

Patrick never quite managed to sort this out – but I don’t think he really understood it – at least with regards to putting it into practise. He seemed a bit tired today and apparently he didn’t sleep much last night. Regardless he did still have the fastest time overall quite early in the session.

Tignes glacier – early morning

The Bellevarde summit – early morning

Billy, Patrick 2

Everyone today is working on extending “Dynamic Range”.

• The skier has only one job – to fall over
• The ski has only one job – to lift the skier back up.

Patrick got his time down another 5 seconds to 32.07 and Billy down to 33.4

Skating

We worked briefly on skating on the flat:

• Diverging the skis
• Rocking the feet onto their inside edges
• Falling forwards and accelerating with gravity
• Lifting the legs up from behind when falling forwards
• avoiding using the legs for direct propulsion

Later we skated directly downhill and then introduced dynamics – converting the skating into skiing – but without the legs stopping their skating action.

Timing

The skating “down /up” timing of the legs corresponds to the down/up timing of dynamics – the toppling over into a turn and coming back up out of it. This is like a motorbike going down into a turn and back up out of it. We worked a little on this and due to his independent leg action (wider stance) billy was very good at this from the start. Patrick needs some attention in this direction due to his “two footedness”. Currently however Patrick is managing better dynamics due to his close stance – but unless he gets the legs working independently this will eventually become limiting.

Side Slipping

Increasing the awareness of the feet, ski edges and control of the skis through the motion of the CoM (Centre of Mass) we worked on side slipping on the steep sections.

• Both feet are held close together below the skier
• Both feet are rocked onto their inside edges inside the ski boots
• Both skis are on their uphill edges
• The uphill ski is on its uphill edge but the foot is on its downhill edge
• This is the first experience of feeling the independence of ski edge from foot edge.

The skis simply don’t flatten due to the lateral stiffness of the ski boot shafts running up the lower legs – allowing the edging effects

• Move the CoM downhill slightly to slip downhill
• Move the CoM uphill to stop
• Move the CoM slightly forwards to slip diagonally forwards
• Move the CoM slightly backwards to slip diagonally backwards

The motion of the centre of mass and control this provides resembles a “joystick” control.

Slalom

Billy: good work on the dynamics – falling due to drifting too much sideways in the ruts – but generally the weight is too far back and the fronts of the skis are not gripping and turning – leading to body rotation and being spun around.

Patrick: also very good work on the dynamics – sideways drift of the skis also causing falls. Less rotation than Billy but a “two footed” version of the same problems. We will work on changing this tomorrow for both of you.

Both are reaching the speed that their technical level will allow – hence the difficulty staying on line and the falls. This is all positive and part of the feedback process that exposes the need to make changes – and highlights the most appropriate things to work on at any particular stage of development.

Lilly, skiing strongly parallel, working on dynamic range, good centred stance – and nice smile!

Caroline Session 2

Warm up / Revision / Mindfulness

Our warm up run over into Val d’Isère was used to focus on yesterday’s dynamics and work with the feet and adductor muscles. When you are focused on the global motion and the action of the parts of the body then you ingrain those actions, progressively moulding them into skills. This conscious activity also steadily increases awareness but more importantly it centres the mind and pushes aside distractions and anxieties.

When the pressure cycle and movement pattern are correct then reflexes function to stabilise and centre the body – so many apparent difficulties just vanish and higher levels of performance are automatically realised. We will look at how pressure under the feet activates reflexes later – but also at how the body has to be aligned correctly for this to happen.

The video shows

• Turn completion dynamics
• Side Slip
• Pivot
• Dynamics with facing the pelvis facing downhill (angulation)

Perpendicularity

When you stand on flat, level ground in ski boots and on skis you can feel quite relaxed. You feel gravity and you stand vertically, with the body slightly flexed. When on a slope and sliding you need to stand perpendicular to the slope and this achieves exactly the same feeling – part of the gravity converting into an acceleration. The component of force coming up through the snow (under your feet) is also perpendicular to the slope and is called the “Normal “ force. The point is that you are oriented to the perpendicular – not to the vertical now – but the feeling is the same and you do not “lean forwards” – it feels “Normal”.

The “lean forwards” mantra comes from trying to correct people who slide on a slope and insist of keeping their body vertical – but it’s a misleading instruction.

We do use fore/aft adjustments for various functions – but those are “additional “ actions – not fundamental basics.

Dynamics – Turn Completion

The turn dynamics consist of  three parts – we began by learning how to accelerate into a turn and next we look at how to complete a turn. Completing the turn requires the body travelling across the hill being lifted up  and so “out” of the turn – all the way beyond vertical and into the perpendicular until the skis are flat on the snow pointing across the hill – and this is called “Neutral”. We did a few static – assisted – exercises to communicate the feeling and then Caroline was able to achieve this in her dynamics – linking the turns more fluidly and hence improving her stance.

Dynamics – Developing the Turn

Towards the end of the session Caroline was struggling a little on a steeper and bumpy/icy slope. The main problem at this stage was that we had not yet worked on “developing” the turn and the fact that in the second half of a turn the forces on the ski are much greater so it lifts you up and takes over. Awareness of this issue (and experience) teaches you to drive the body harder inside the turn as it progresses and hold it until you actually need to start to come out of the turn and complete it. The rest of the dynamics have to be in place before this issue becomes evident.

Side Slip

Due to years of snowplough or stemming Caroline finds travelling sideways a bit too alien – so it needs practice. The uphill leg needs to be brought down close to the lower leg and although the uphill ski is on its outer edge that foot must be on its inner edge. The downhill foot is also on its inner edge but this corresponds to the inner edge of this ski. Both feet are on inner edges – but both skis are on uphill edges.

The slipping is controlled only by moving the centre of mass. (Likewise pivoting is only controlled by moving the centre of mass – assisted with support from the planted ski pole!)

Pivot

Use the “Pivot” tab at the top of the page to see the demonstrations and full explanations. Caroline managed this very well for a first attempt. Practice this in small chunks only.

Later when we were skiing to the Tovière lift and using foot forwards technique and the pelvis on steeper ground I saw Caroline blending the pivot with her dynamics turns – specifically because (from pivoting a few times) she was now aware that it doesn’t matter what edge of the ski you are on to start your turns!

Angulation (pelvis)

Use the “ChiSkiing” tab at the top of the page for detailed discussion.

The key here is that you do NOT turn your shoulders to face downhill because the ski will bring your lower hip around in front of your rib cage and deactivate your postural reflexes – making the spine totally vulnerable to disk damage. We did the “loading “ test with Caroline trying to lift me up while facing her shoulders downhill and feeling the strain on her lower back. The test was repeated with only the pelvis (belly button) turned to face downhill (effectively  turning the base of the spine counter clockwise to the direction of the turn and opposite to the previous situation with the shoulders facing downhill). This time the lower abdomen contracted (by reflex) and the distributed the load – protecting the spine. The loaded hip should always be behind the the rib cage and never in front.

Starting movement from the body centre – near the pelvis – aligns the femur – and leg – in the same way that we had until now been doing starting from the foot and working upwards.  So – right side of body (turning left) – pass through neutral (dynamics – skis flat) pulling right hip backwards, pulling adductors inwards, roll the foot onto the inside edge at the subtalar joint – maintain this for the entire left turn.

In the video clip the use of the pelvis makes Caroline’s turn transitions more lively. In the future this should be developed into effective “hip angulation” allowing very efficient upper/lower body separation.

Caroline Dynamics (session 1)

Fairly miserable weather day on the mountain with restricted lift operations and overcrowding on the few areas that were open – but in revenge, despite making things harder, it’s a useful time to work on technique in preparation for making most of the good days ahead.

While deciding which direction to go and then later on the chairlift I interrogated Caroline about her skiing – collecting useful information and having a pretty clear idea of what was going on even before the skis hit the snow. The first short video clip is where I watched Caroline on suitable terrain, before deciding where to step in and begin work on technique…

Caroline explained that she was nervous on steeper terrain, especially when the passages are narrow. The fact that she was already tackling reds and blacks made it clear – without need for explanation – that the “nervousness” was due to lack of control through technical skill issues. Asking Caroline to explain her technique to me told me all I needed to know – every aspect being classic ski school training (which incidentally she correctly understood and diligently applied). From the video a trained eye will see that there is no intentional use of “dynamics”, vertical timing is up/down during the turns. There is stemming to push the skis out (plough) and there is poor control at the level of the feet, boots and with fore-aft movements. Nothing there can be “corrected” – the changes have to be at a very fundamental level so we started with the introduction of “Dynamics”. Meanwhile Caroline’s basic stance was strong and there was good control over her movements in general so there were no personal idiosyncrasies to distract and delay progress.

Dynamics

The top of the blog page has fixed “tabs” that lead to pages where my standard explanations and exercises are presented. In this case I suggest going to the “Dynamics” tab because we followed this protocol accurately. Caroline doesn’t have a science background but was perfectly able to follow the logic describing the difference between statics and dynamics – and later on to understand why there are serious misunderstandings of this subject and how it affects something like ski instruction.

Dynamics is the use of “disequilibrium “ or “accelerations” “Your job is to fall over and the ski’s job is to lift you back up.”

When you fall over laterally on a forward travelling ski it immediately deforms, changes shape and cuts under your new trajectory to lift you back up. The ski is designed to “over respond” and lift you more strongly than you can actually fall – which eventually makes you realise that you literally cannot fall and your “dynamics range” is your real limitation as a skier – and not your ability to stay upright “in balance”!

Feet

Very shortly after starting with dynamics we were blocked a bit by large queues so we went indoors to look at the use of the feet and ski boots. While inside I checked the boot alignment and it was good. It helps enormously that Caroline does Pilates and clearly has a good body awareness – so when I asked to sit with the pelvis in a certain position it was done without the normal confusion I see in people!

Caroline demonstrated her current way of bending the legs – with one boot off – and predictably the weight came forwards on the foot and the ankle collapsed and the knee flopped inwards – all very dangerous but hidden inside a ski boot due to its strength. I’ll just recap the outline of the changes we made as an aide memoire.

• Weight on the front of the heel
• Flex at the hip and knee
• Engage (by reflex) the anterior tibialis to stiffen the ankle
• Ankle stops bending at 12° – shin against front of boot – legs giving the support not the boots!
• Roll the foot onto its inside edge using the subtaler joint (between ankle and heel)
• Forefoot turns out – away from the turn
• Adductor muscles engaged

Bringing this all together – the outside leg in the turn does all of the above and you can think of just “one leg” – foot, adductor, Centre of Mass – all pulling inwards during the turn. We discussed how “Centrifugal Force” is a Fictional Force (hyperlinked) and how previously Caroline had been taught to react to this fictional force by moving everything outwards in a turn instead of helping real “centripetal” (inward) forces by pulling inwards with everything and generating a solid and secure platform – with pushes you inwards away from a straight line.

Timing

The timing is now related to that of an upside down pendulum – down at the start of the turn and up at the end – like a motorbike turning on a flat track. There is no need to use ski poles and no need to use their straps either. For the moment the simplest way to progress is to follow the skis – like you follow the line of a bicycle – instead of trying to face the body downhill. The toppling /dynamics is lateral to the direction of travel.

Skating

Caroline had a quick lesson on skating – falling forwards and using the feet and adductor muscles to grip the skis on edge. This helps to begin to relate many of the aspects of skiing to skating in general.

Feet Forwards

Linked to skating is “feet forwards” technique which Caroline was shown at this stage to enable her to tighten her turns on steeper terrain when using dynamics. This is actually how turn radius in controlled in dynamic skiing (racing). Dynamics are consciously increased and matched with a rapid push forwards of the outside foot – all the leg rotation taking place in the hip joint and the foot remaining constantly rocked outwards.

The next video clip is with dynamics and then showing the “feet forwards”  static exercise in the ski boots.

Dynamics are now visible in Caroline’s movements and she reports  smoother turning and less “fighting “ her turns – which is less tiring in general. Speed should be controlled by the “line” of the turn and not by sudden braking later on in the turn. Having the correct dynamics and timing make the pressure cycle on the ski produce grip and control through the whole turn. The stiffened ankle support allows more natural centering over the skis and the postural reflexes are controlled by appropriate reflexes stimulated from the pressure under the feet. (making it easier to ski in poor visibility!)

Conscious Skiing

When your actions actually make sense – then your senses reward you with appropriate feedback. You can then focus successfully internally and the exercise resembles a moving meditation – always revealing new aspects and new levels of awareness. Visualisation also becomes spontaneous and natural. Furthermore – because you only actually see what you understand you penetrate a realm where you can actually see many things that other people can’t see at all.

Holly

Crash course in skiing fundamentals – as much as can be crammed into 3 hours with 5 students and icy pistes!

Dynamics

Our crash course was mainly centred on dynamics – all a rapid input of my standard teaching process for teaching how to not be in balance. There is a tab at the top of the page for “Dynamics” which provides a comprehensive coverage of this teaching.

Feet/Adductors

We rapidly covered the use of the feet and stance on the front of the heels – bending at the hip and knee with the shin (anterior tibialis) contracting to strengthen the ankle. From there we worked on rocking the feet onto their inside edges with the subtaler joints – and activating the adductor muscles on the interior of the legs. This is to give a proper support for the dynamics. Chris still had a strong urge to twist his foot and ski into the turn so we later took a rapid look at pivoting to show how inappropriate and unnecessary the twisting is.

End of Turn Dynamics

Work was done on the use of dynamics to complete the turn – taking the body out and over the downhill ski and changing the support foot as the body passes through the perpendicular.

Skating Timing

Timing from skating as well as the “inverse pendulum” was integrated and there was considerable success within the group for feeling this pressure cycle.

Foot Forwards

For Chris’s benefit to stop him picking up speed when turning on steeper slopes I explained how when using dynamics the turn radius is controlled by a combination of the dynamics and pushing the outside foot forwards throughout the turn. This was demonstrated without the skis on. Chris felt the difference – but there was no time for the appropriate exercises to be used to develop this. On steeper ground the dynamics has to be more pronounced and the foot pushed forwards strongly.

Pivot

There is another tab at the top of the blog for “Pivot”.

Altogether we went through the main aspects of skiing fundamentals in a great rush but with interesting and worthwhile results. My main aim was to inspire a better way of thinking of skiing altogether and show the direction for future progress and potential.

Derin Day 8

Derin’s first ever off-piste experience! The crashes are all a perfectly normal part of it. Her use of dynamics – seen when inclining in carving – is what enables her to cope without any previous experience. The deep snow causes the “lifting up” power of the ski to be amplified so even more motion of the centre of mass to the inside of the turn is required – this takes experience to adjust correctly.

Close up of the snow shows how the fractal nature makes it indistinguishable from mountains.

Derin Day 7

No photography today. The conditions – snow and weather combined were probably slightly overwhelming for any 10 year old. All good experience though.

First of all we were tricked by the Lanches chair on the Grande Motte. It was warm and sunny at the bottom – but the top was freezing, in the shade, really high winds and humidity. We skied a little then I deliberately went off the side of the piste onto a very steep wall of deep snow – without warning Derin. This is to get her used to the wild and deep snow. There was no risk involved but getting Derin to work her way down it – sidestepping and slipping – was a learning experience for her – and hopefully allowing her to see new potential ways of “playing” in the snow.

Regarding skiing in the off piste this was not the day to introduce it to Derin as that requires very light powder for it to go well. The snow was very heavy and compact making it difficult for even very experienced skiers to turn efficiently. Consequently we were forced indoors twice to warm up and dry off (using the hand drier machines in the toilets) during this session.

We tried the Tichot lift with a view to working our way around to Le Lac – but were blasted frozen on the chair. Then – after abandoning that objective we tried the Fresse and with the wind behind us on the chair it was all good until trying to ski back down – frozen again!

In the end we stayed at the Bollin and Derin grudgingly accepted to do some technical exercises – but the cold is not very tolerant of that either. Eventually we were in the café warming up again and I was being educated on “Five nights at Freddy’s”.

Altogether we worked on hand carriage, angulation, pressuring the front of the boot and front of the ski – but only for a brief periods. Hopefully tomorrow brings a better day – though I’m already considering heading down to Les Brevieres to escape winds and cold at altitude. The snow should be good down there now.

Derin Day 5

Today Derin skied her first black run – an icy Face de Bellevarde. She managed without any difficulty. I’d been concerned that on the ice her tendency to rotate the body might cause problems – but either she adapted to the challenge or the work on angulation with the pelvis that we did yesterday helped.

We managed to use the “up and over” chair to Le Fornet and then came back over to Solaise on it – skiing non stop down the “L” and taking the bus back to the centre to ascend the Face on the return journey. Derin did start the session today with her usual request to ski on the Bollin – but I successfully deflected that!

The video is of Derin’s first linked carved turns with no skidding in the turn transitions or initiations. Now that she has a proper feel for this she will be able to develop it much further. Getting to this point is the hardest part for most people. Carving is the basis for racing. Speed is no longer controlled by skidding to any degree – the skis are completely locked on edge and it’s the line and trajectory taken that control speed.

We worked on arm carriage (Elbows out and thumbs turned in) and used skating on the flats.

Pivoting from the uphill ski was practised and the link between this and short turns explained in more detail. Derin needs to pull her skis closer together – bringing the uphill ski down to meet the lower ski before initiating a turn – and getting on the uphill edge (of the uphill ski) to pressure it before moving the body downhill. The effectiveness of this development in technique also depends on how well the skier can angulate. There’s a lot of work to be done… Derin doesn’t like working on technique and says “Can we just ski normally!”. Well “normal” right now might be appealing but I think we have to change that idea of “normal” slightly…

 

Derin Day 4

Work and play today! Derin actually allowed me to train her in technique – in exchange for a little bit of playtime in the snow! In reality she didn’t have much choice – it’s time to strengthen her technique and move forwards.

We worked on four specific areas:

• Arm carriage
• Skating
• Pelvic Awareness
• Angulation

Arm Carriage

Derin skis with her elbows close in by her sides and fists (thumbs) turned outwards . We need the exact opposite. Although we did drills (as in the video) this is really a postural issue and it will be more profoundly dealt with through developing awareness of the roll of the pelvis.

Skating

I explained to Derin that efficient propulsion in skating mainly comes from falling forwards. This is not only an exercise for getting the legs working and developing a feel of appropriate timing in skiing – it is specifically at the moment to help Derin move away from her tendency to lean on the backs of the ski boots.

Pelvic Awareness

Much more can be found written about this from the menu tab at the top of this page on “ChiSkiing”. The aim here is to become aware of the pelvis and separate out its movement and actions from the rest of the body. Derin has never really thought about her pelvis and tends to move everything else along with the pelvis. In skiing the goal is to counter rotate the pelvis against the direction of turning – so as the skis come around the turn the pelvis doesn’t. This slightly twists the spine in a favourable direction – tightening the abdomen and activating the involuntary postural muscles.

Angulation

Correct hip angulation commences with pelvic awareness. When side slipping Derin tends to push her bottom downhill and lose all angulation – instead of moving her head and shoulders downhill and the bottom uphill. Working from the pelvis we started to correct this today.

Alp Day 6

Today was all about getting Alp onto some far longer suitable runs that would provide far more opportunity for feedback and repetition. There was a minor battle with the lift company due to the only suitable lift immediately braking down and wasting about 50 minutes of our time – leaving us freezing in minus 16°C and needing to go indoors to warm up. Eventually we got going and managed to include two complete runs of the Fresse piste. Alp was only assisted on the short but overly steep start for about 150 metres – then he skied the rest by himself – half a kilometre of altitude.

There’s nothing to report today about “technique” – it was a management day but very critical for development and progress. Alp did extremely well – picking his own path in front of me when I was filming.  His exclamation at the end probably sums it up best “It was my best day ever – in my whole life!” I’m sure there will be many more “best days”!

The Grande Motte glacier to the left and the Grande Casse to the right.

Derin day 3

Quite an impressive amount of skiing today from Derin. We started with a non-stop descent from the Grande Motte chair, short turns all the way – and when asked at the end if her legs were tired she just said “Nope!”. The idea today was to stay warm – using the Perspex cover on Les Lanches chair. After our “warm up” run we went over to Val d’Isère to ski up and down the new telecabine at La Daille – also to stay warm (We met Berin and Bruno there for a run – and we filmed it). It was great to see Derin being so active and when I gently suggested we work on some technique tomorrow – the response was another “noooo!” We’ll get there – I’m still the boss! (I think).

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.

Derin Day 2

Derin – after riding up the Funicular for the first time ever. (Mont Blanc to the right – Mont Pourri to the left)

Understandably Derin just want to ski and not to work on technique – but skiing is much better, more fun, safer and more interesting when technique is improved… so we have been working on a few things.

Dynamics

We did a very quick revision of dynamics – but Derin was clear on this subject so we didn’t have to take too much time. Dynamics can however be taken to completely different levels but we are not interested in that for the moment. I simply wanted to help Derin develop a narrower stance as she tends to ski with her legs wide apart as a substitute for moving her Centre of Mass.

In the video above Derin pulling her legs together with her adductor muscles while working on dynamics – actually pushing up from the uphill edge of the uphill ski just prior to the end of the existing turn. The job of a ski is to “bring you up” so it actually doesn’t matter too much which one is used! Getting Derin to modify things in this way encourages a narrower stance and this is clearly visible in the video.

Cold

Derin was asking to finish early but it wasn’t until we eventually were indoors that I saw her hands were freezing. She has been told now that she must let people know when this sort of thing is happening because it can be dangerous. It’s not “complaining” it’s just necessary! I’d made her put on a thick extra upper body layer before going out. When temperatures are as low as they are currently you can’t put on too much clothing.

Alp Day 4

Another freezing day – but no complaints from Alp. Today’s focus was mainly on building confidence. Greater speed provides clearer feedback from the skis and allows a stronger connection with the appropriate feelings and outcomes.

Magic Wall

For the first time we consciously added “dynamics” through the “Magic Wall”. This is fully described on the fixed “Dynamics” page accessed from the menu at the very top of the blog.

Foot Forward

Our attempt at skiing on steeper ground made Alp defensive again so he was given a lesson on “Foot Forward” technique – which he is seen doing in his ski boots at the end of the video clip. Pushing the ski in the same manner as he is pushing the ski boot dramatically tightens the turn radius on steeper slopes – especially when combined with dynamics. Alp is already partially pivoting but that in itself is a harder skill to develop for steeper slopes initially – and “Foot Forward” is an important skill in it’s own right.

Derin Day 1

Derin’s return to skiing began with a slightly wobbly few runs on the Bollin and then we were off – her request being the Fresse – which she skied well. There was a point blank refusal to work on technique and that presented no problem because an afternoon of strong skiing was probably the best thing we could do anyway. Derin promised to work on technique tomorrow.

Starting to get a little bit grownup for playing in the snow – but hey, I think I was still playing with my toy cars at age 10 and quite honestly never really wanted to stop!

Alp Day 3

Today Alp’s boots were one full size smaller – which he didn’t really notice because we told him they had shrunk a little due to getting wet yesterday. His feet were absolutely fine in the boots and this must have helped a great deal with respect to edge feel and control.

Almost immediately I started to get Alp to attempt short sections of the descent on his own. Sometimes technical development problems are actually because the person is being supported and dependence on this support prevents them from adapting and correcting properly. Today this risk proved to be justified because Alp responded very quickly and never made any serious misjudgements or mistakes.

Technically the focus was on the same things as when he skied supported – but now he was on his own – with only verbal feedback from me. Alp continued his progress on every descent – just as he had done on the previous two days. There’s still a little lack of coordination with the left leg – hence a bit more of a snowplough safety mechanism cropping up occasionally. We attempted the “blue” descent but it was icy and made Alp defensive – however, on returning to the easier “green” descent he had once again improved.

On the video Alp is being encouraged to skate/step his turns to diverge the ski tips and avoid snowploughs. I know that he works with his adductors and is generally making the right moves but it’s easy to become snagged in a defensive plough regardless. In the middle part of the video he is generally turning parallel – on day 3.

Alp Day 2

Alp began the day with his batteries fully charged up and with impressive confidence – showing mastery of all the skills and adaptation he had picked up from yesterday’s hard work.  Despite a wobbly start yesterday he has clearly taken up the challenge and is on his way – with determination. The fear of steeper slopes and speed was no longer visible so we were able to move onto better terrain and soon start using the Bollin chairlift.

Today’s objective was to cover much more mileage – assisting Alp all the way – helping him to apply new skills (never in a snowplough) and to feel the effects and feedback from his actions. During the morning Alp was given progressively more autonomy with him leading the turns and my just holding the supporting pole lightly.

Swinging the Ski – Adductors – Side Slipping

While assisting Alp I’m paying careful attention to his body position, motion of his centre of mass and which edges each of his skis is on. Without explaining I’m introducing the feeling and experience of “pivoted” turns – which is “braking” skiing and the safest way to control speed.  To help with this we would sideslip down steep sections together. Rather than allow Alp to push his uphill ski tail outwards and place the uphill ski on its inside edge Alp had to learn to pull the front of the uphill ski downhill – inwards – effectively starting the turn with the ski on its outside edge. This overall cultivates very short turns with a built in braking effect – because in all sectors of the turn the skis are on uphill edges working against acceleration. Alp did a few static exercises to learn how to use the adductor leg muscles to swing the ski tip inwards without using a twisting action. Visually, it’s hard for an observer to distinguish this from a slight snowplough – but technically it’s extremely different.

Traversing

Alp is understanding how to use the edges of the skis for traversing across the slope. Side stepping, side slipping and traversing area all ways to move down the mountain – each having its place and each promoting different skills.

Resistance

Alp made great progress when his right leg was leading the turn. His left leg was not so cooperative. When asked what was in control – Alp’s brain or Alp’s leg – Alp decided it was his leg that was in charge. Personally I wasn’t sure because on checking his ski boots the appeared to be a bit on the large side – which doesn’t help – especially when someone is determined to damage their calf muscle with serious pressure against the back of the boot at times!

With most obstacles we have to tackle them with a strategy leading to progressive changes. Skating gets the legs to bend (knees, hips), so does side stepping. Directly trying to bend down into a turn can help too – combating the tendency to be pitched back into the rear of the ski boot (which in this case was causing the ski to flatten and be unable to control and direct the turn). Regardless of the boots, Alp was locking his left leg rigid and using the bone structure for strength. When all the muscles are locked tight like this nothing can bend anyway. Good boots, exercises and increased awareness will sort this out. When this is fixed Alp will be able to ski unassisted.

Turn Structure

Alp is being constantly drilled to use the width of the slope to turn, completing each turn until properly slowed down. People have to be told that instead of braking defensively – as with a snowplough, we control speed by the shape and line of the turn – and through the turning technique of pivoting which naturally brushes off speed.

Yesterday evening’s moon seen from Tignes…