Diva Ski Tips

I've spent a lot of time trying to correct this thing when I would just shove my hips to the side to edge by skis then I dumped by body inside. To fix this, I spent a lot of time working on edging from the feet up. Caveat: It’s pretty common for people to do this and move purely laterally. Make sure your instructions and demos emphasize forward and diagonal movement. Also, keep an eye out and fix it quickly. Start statically by rolling the uphill instep towards the little toe. You might have to point out where the instep is. You can enhance this by moving to the corner of the boot. I try this out using a garland moving from the corner one boot to the other. You will likely see students try to twist the ski instead of tipping it. Remind students that we want to tip the ski before we twist it. Then I bring up the focus to the thigh. Moving the thigh forward and inside the turn will draw the hips and upper body inside. Thanks to the Elk guy who taught me this and helped me m...

I love teaching bumps. I’m a recovering bump-a-phobe. Learning lots of tactics and tricks really helped me love them. I like to think I can help someone make a similar breakthrough. This post has general ideas on teaching bumps. But I’d like to talk about how I develop tactics and skills before I take someone in there. My mom’s family is from New York and they love their bagels with a heaping mass of cream cheese. A cheese knife, spreader or what we call a “schmearer” is a key piece of equipment. The flat blade easily spreads cream cheese or peanut butter. I like to ski bumps like I use a schmearer by standing tall and keeping the edge angle low. This makes it easier for my legs to steer my skis and create nice “C” shaped turns. Standing tall gives us the added bonus of lots of room to flex and extend later. You can pair students up and ask the follower to watch the tips. Are the tips leading the tails? Are the tips pointing across the hill before they change direction? Once...

I like to use the zones of the foot as a way to get students to feel where they are balanced and play with different movements to keep them in balance. The credit for this goes to a certain terrific teacher from Elk Mountain. Introduce the zones I draw a foot in the snow and explain: Zone 1 is the toes Zone 2 is the arch Zone 3 is the heel I ask students what they feel in each zone and what it looks like. Ski it, what zone are you in? Often students will tell you they are in zone 1.  When most will be in zone 3.  To match perception and reality pair students up and ask the follower what the zone their partner is in or give feedback directly. Explore zones to feel and see different outcomes If you have some time, you can try skiing in zone 1 then zone 3 to see and feel how it affects what you can and can’t do. Then try zone 2. In zone 2 you are centered over the skis and able to move fore/aft to make necessary corrections. How do we get t...

Depending on the child’s level of development they may move as a unit or be able to move their legs independent from their upper body. Practice getting small and tall while standing still. See if the kids can stay centered as they move. Skiing bumps is like riding a roller coaster. You want to go up and down without getting out of control or tossed around. Let’s start with the warm-up coaster ( no kiddie coasters please). Find some gentle bumps and traverse. Get small as you get to the top and get tall on the way down. Next it’s time for a big coaster , so let’s go over 2-3 bumps and then turn on the top of the next bumps. Don’t forget to say whee? Get ready, it’s eXtreme coaster time. Turn on top of every bump. Look for bigger bumps to go over. When you go on bigger bumps get small and tall in slow motion.

Goal : To release and re-engage edges in one fluid movement. We want to see 2 edges, 4 edges (or flat) then 2 edges. The first critical step is to get off the old edges and get to a flat ski. Frequently a skier will brace against their outside ski, forcing them to move up and over to flatten the ski. I like to get this started by focusing on flexing the old outside ankle towards the corner of the boot to flatten the downhill/old outside ski. To practice this I ask students to drift downhill between turns. They should feel their hips float over their skis. To help this along, I add in opening the uphill knee joint . The extension helps get the belly button moving towards the new turn Take out the drift and move off the old edges and on to the new edges. Instead of floating, we’re going to sting. What we want to: SEE – Shortening /lengthening of the legs, release and re-engage edges in one smooth movement FEEL – Hips move over feet, belly button moves in the direction of...

Harry Potter Turns (edging, directional movement) Most children, and a lot of adults, have seen the Harry Potter movies, when Harry plays Quidditch on his broom stick. Try this use your poles as your broomstick. When you want to turn, turn your broomstick in that direction and push against your leg. This will flatten your inside ski and allow you to steer it. Game Time – Most turns Wins Throwing curses – as you move to turn around a corner flick your pole out and throw a curse. It can be “jelly legs”, “eat slugs”, “experiallmus” Flat Tire Turns (Pressure) On flat terrain, show how you inflate (extend) your tires and then how you get a flat (flex). Use sound effects with children Have students inflate their tires and turn them until their toes point down hill. Then get a flat when they turn down the hill Expand on the movement, by having students move across their skis and then steer their skis to match as they get a flat Skate to Shape (Edging/Directional Movement) On...

Hockey stops are cool.  One way to get kids improving turning skills is to teach them hockey stops.  It works best with a fan progression, turns become tighter and tighter untill you complete the hockey stop. First, traverse standing tall then twist legs to get tips pointing up the hill, repeat on the other side. Next, ask students to traverse slightly more down the hill. Twist legs while keeping the upper body pointed down hill. As students become more comfortable, have them point their skis more down the hill and twist legs more quickly. Add some juice by having students tip their skis before they twist, you're will be hockey stopping in no time. What we want to: SEE - Legs turning under a quiet upper body, quick steering of the tips, ankles and knees flexing evenly FEEL - Hips centered over feet, legs turning, tightening in the core UNDERSTAND - Use legs to turn skis, quiet upper body helps turning, ankles and knees

A common trait of intermediate skiers is whole body rotation - also known as doing too much work .   The skier may turn the whole body as a unit, so that the torso is always square to the skis.  Or, they might generate rotation with upper body force - so that the shoulders turn more than the feet. There are lots of ski instructor drills to develop more effective movements - some of these drills focus on stabilizing the upper body - hold a tray, hold the poles flat, etc.  I often find that its more successful to help skiers learn to steer with rotary movements of the feet and legs independent of the upper body - once these skills are developed, upper body stability can be enhanced afterward. When we want to help develop independent leg steering, don't be afraid to go back to the basics - many of the exercises I use are similar to those in most beginner progressions .   Then, build the progression or lesson around what the student is capable of and their succ...

After a fantastic day of on snow coaching yesterday with Jeb Boyd of the PSIA National Team and Arc2Arc , he recommended what appears to be a pretty awesome update of Ron LeMaster's original book The Skier's Edge.  By the way, if you ever get a chance to ski with Jeb whether at a PSIA event or through his coaching company - Arc2Arc, go for it. Perusing it on the ride home, the 2009 copyrighted Ultimate Skiing (still by Ron LeMaster) is one of the best modern technical skiing resources I've seen.  Great pictures, examples of drills and how to use them, technical discussions, even profiles of US Ski Team athletes.  Since I just got my hands on a copy yesterday, I'm still working my way through it but already I've read clear discussions of the apparent but oft-confused centrifugal force (not a vector force!), alignment and center of mass differences between sexes, unweighting moves, analysis of the skill blends under different conditions, assessing forward lean i...

Ski instructors are as susceptible to trendiness as anyone. Remember the whole tea pot thing? This season’s trend is picking up the inside ski. If you see the following in a student this kind of activity could work: Hard finish to the turn resulting in a Z shape Issues with lateral balance or getting inside the turn Breakaway outside ski in the bottom half of the turn Settling in the knees Twisting or pushing skis to get on edge Pick up the inside tail If someone is drifting back or settling ask them to pick up the inside tail. This will promote flexing in the ankles and knees and will help center the hips over the feet. Pick up the whole ski If your student is centered, then we need to get them moving forward and inside of the turn. Start by picking up the inside ski and tipping it to pull the outside ski along with it.  It will take practice and coaching to get this to work. Why? Picking up the ski heightens the feeling of the movement forward and inside the turn. O...

Here’s a fun way to help students check their balance. The credit for this goes to a certain terrific teacher from Elk Mountain. You can start it off with a static activity so students can feel each zone and see diffences in the joints and fore/aft position. Then ask them to ski it. What your students feel may not correspond with what you see. They may also answer with what they think it is the right answer, instead of what they actually feel. From here you can take this in a number of directions. By the way, what is the right answer?

This December I skied with the wonderful Mermer Blakeslee and a group of really fun people. The lovely Jane skied with me and I'm putting our notes together to create a series of posts. We experimented with different radii turns at different speeds and on different types of terrain. Then we moved on to skiing with little or no edge angle. Mermer coached us to must resist the temptation to slip into a wedge by working the inside ski. If you work the outside ski only, the wedge will appear. Why? This drill helps you center yourself over your skis and gives you immediate feedback if you start getting back. If you can lean on an edge, you probably will. Taking the edges away means you have to center yourself. It’s a particularly a good drill to get things back in shape in early season. You can take this drill in a couple of different directions. Rotary - Add focus of turning the legs and shaping the turn Edging - Add progressive edging to shape turns Pressure - Add flexion...

Many people believe in skiing and teaching from the feet up. The theme of these variations is simultaneously releasing the old edges and reengaging the new edges. There is no wrong answer as long as the student is successful. If the student isn’t connecting with the activity, you need to try another approach. Magic pennies There are magic pennies under your little toe. To get the turn started push on the magic pennies. Big toe Ever done the cheesy thumb dance? We’ll this is like it. Pick up your big toe and rotate it to get the ski on edge. Instep to little toe My instep is that red thing on my foot when I take cycling shoe or ski boot off. Move your instep towards your little toe. Each one starts with a static demonstration then skiing practice. Watch out students may move too laterally, instead of forward and into the turn. You can develop this activity a couple different ways. Keep the focus on the foot by • Adding a focus on the outside foot Move the focus up fr...

This is the beginner progression I wrote to help my new instructor candidates. I welcome feedback on it. Here are my sources and additional resources. Introducing the lift • Organize the group before getting to the line. • Check for loose clothing and to make sure pole straps are removed. • Point out groups loading the lift and explain the process. • Explain how to unload and tell group to meet at the trail map sign at the top of the hill. • Explain how to use the safety bar Responsibility code • Always ski in control. • People ahead of you have the right of way. Look uphill and yield. • Explain the significance of trail markers. Show guests the terrain available to them. First run • Some guests may become scared looking down at the slope. Remind guests of the skills you developed on easier terrain. Ask guests to make a turn to a stop to develop confidence. • Manage your group. Tell them exactly where to stop • Give individual coaching so that each guest walks a...

This is the beginner progression I wrote to help my new instructor candidates. I welcome feedback on it. Here are my sources and additional resources. Shallow deviations Goal: Help students develop their first turns, starting with small changes in direction working towards turns and turns to a stop. Terrain: Small incline Estimated Time: 10 -15 minutes Suggested activities: • Cross the line – Draw a line in the snow, ask guests to point the tips of the skis across the line. • Follow the path – Draw a path the snow for guests to follow. • Clock face – Draw a clock face in the snow. Ask guests to point their skis towards 11 and 1. Coaching Points: • Ankles, knees, and hips evenly flexed • Active steering of the legs Turning and stopping Goal: Develop the shallow deviations into turns and stops.  Terrain: Slightly steeper incline Estimated Time: As long it takes Suggested activities: • Slalom course – Put cones, gloves or poles up for your students turn ar...

This is a pretty classic drill that hits on all the elements of the skills concept . The “standard” version involves making small steps throughout a series of turns. There are many variations on the theme of 10,000 or 1,000 steps (depending on how you say it). It can be customized to work for different skills, skier levels, ages and parts of the turn. Beginners Any hopping, stepping, or shuffling style activities work on the two most important skills for beginners: balance and rotary . You can use them with just boots and/or one ski then repeat with both skis on flat or very gentle terrain. Intermediate Using this kind of drill can help facilitate matching skis. For wedge turners stepping or shuffling drills will improve balance and rotary movements of the inside leg. You can help more advanced intermediates become parallel skiers by working on engaging and releasing edges. Step to the edges, then flat, then to the new edges. Your student may be reluctant to pick up a ski....

I picked this up from a clinic with an examiner. I just wish I was this clever. This is a simple, fun progression you can use to teach speed control tactics in the bumps. You can use it with adults as is or make it a bit more serious. We have a mission, a great destiny to create castles in our hilly kingdom. Where should we put our castle? Why on the top of the hill of course. Stop on the top of each bump to place your castle. By focusing on stopping on each bump, you use turn shape to control speed. Also, your students will be able to easily pivot on the top of the bump since there isn’t much resistance. Now, all castles must have a flag pole right? What color is your flag? Plant your flag like this when you get to the castle on top. Then motor around the castle to cut the grass. You can demonstrate touching pole on the top of the bump or the downside of the bump depending on your student. Touching on the top is the most neutral. Touching on the downside helps the student mo...

There are as many different ways to ski bumps as there are different bumps. Here are some tactical and technical ideas to use in your bump lessons. Funnel This is a way to work into the bumps and help students transfer effective movements into the bumps.  Start with medium radius turns and progressively reduce the radius of the turn while maintaining good movements.  On the road Here’s another way to work into the bumps, imagine the trail is a four lane highway.  Start off by making turns in one lane, then practice moving from lane to lane. Schmear it My mom’s family is from New York and they love their bagels with a heaping mass of cream cheese. A cheese knife, spreader or what we call a “schmearer” is a key piece of equipment. The flat blade easily spreads cream cheese or peanut butter.  This tactic uses low edge angles, progressive rotary and an emphasis on a tall stance. Castles You can find the complete description of this kids drill here. Wah Wah...

This is the beginner progression I wrote to help my new instructor candidates. I welcome feedback on it. Here are my sources and additional resources. Why teach rotary? If a student can stand on skis then balance is working. The skis are in a wedge, so there is edging. Pressure is created naturally. Leaving only one of the four basic skills we need to introduce: rotary. You are also using a movement will serve guests as they continue to improve. Old school pressure turns are a dead end. Two ski Goal: Maintain balance while moving, reinforce rotary movements. Terrain: Flat Estimated Time: 10 minutes Suggested activities: • Skating • Sliding • Step around – Step in a circle with tips in and then tails in • Duck walk/Herringbone • Sidestepping Coaching Points: • Actively flex ankles to remain in balance • Take small steps to avoid tripping • Use edges to move uphill and stand in place on the hill Straight run Goal: Maintain balance while moving, reinforce go...

Often skiers ski with a very straight or arched back. This position puts the skier’s head slightly back and limits the range of motion to absorb terrain. I was looking for something else and found these notes from skiing with the wonderful and awesome Megan Harvey at National Academy. Softening and rounding out the spine allows for a greater range of motion and a more balanced position with the hips over the feet. In Megan’s words this creates “options and opportunities” in all types of terrain and conditions. Try this by doing a cat stretch, relax your spine, pull your stomach in and tuck your tail  in. Or imagine someone dropping a 10 pound bag on your back from above. What position would you be in? In a skier with a soft and rounded spine you can see a half circle in both the arms and back. To reinforce this, Megan had us do a drill that brought on basketball practice flashbacks. With our skis off we partnered up, partners faced each other in an athletic stance. One part...