What is the best thing to do if it all goes pear shaped?

A snowHead

Megamum, snowplough brakes at anything more than a slow speed are dangerous and not a get out of jail card when out of control.

as others have said, continue to learn how to side slip and practice on increasingly steeper pitches, once you can side slip it is a great confidence booster to KNOW you can get down virtually anything you come across. any techniques that you have in your armoury which reduces FEAR will allow you to retain composure and ski in control when the going gets tough. But as JT says side slips arent good for stopping when at speed

If you are skiing at speed and start to lose control turning up the hill is good advice IMO. If you panicked and feel you are going down try not to sit back but lean into the hill and keep your feet below you using the skis to brake your descent. If it goes pear shaped sitting back hurts knees, pitching forward hurts heads and shoulders. sprawling sideways reduces potential for injury.

Has anyone taught you how to correctly get up after a fall to avoid further injury or tiring yourself out?

A snowHead

JT, Mind you surely other skiers on European Blue runs ought to be aware that they are likely to be frequented by Novice skiers whose stock technique quite likely involves traversing the width of the mountain between turns. However, much we'd like to be able to fit in those neat little turns where one seems to blend seamlessly with the next (if only.............[wistful emoticon reqd.]). Mind you don't forget I've only ever skied on one run and it is possible that there may be ski runs that are >50m wide - in which case my turn width might not look too bad wink

In terms of being alone on a blue run, I can see the possibility of this, but hopefully I could get someone to scope it with me the first time - I'm sure my Swiss friends would come with me the first couple of times, and I'm hopeful that my instructor will suggest a different slope when he thinks I am ready.

thewahwah, I think all novices probably worry about going there and mainly for the embarrassment value.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

What I fail to understand is why are people so afraid of falling? I see it with my own family and friends. Unless you are totally out of control and hurtling down the mountain at great speed(as happened to me on my first trip) it is unlikely you will be hurt yourself save a bruise or two.
My wife and daughters both possess far better technique than me, probably because they get all the lessons and I just end up following random skiers down the slope that look like they know what they are doing and I just try to ape them. But they are really scared of losing control and falling. When I asked my wife about this last night she says it's when the slope gets a little steeper and she is worried about losing control and flailing down wards out of total control, but if you have technique you can control the action i say? But it falls on stoney ground , what do I have to do to get her up higher and therefore skiing down longer and thus picking up more confidence?

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northantsred, it's not the initial impact, but the perceived difficulty of getting up without sliding further. I think.
Puzzled

PS I have never gone too fast for a snowplough to work. I expect it's my unsteep hills and not any particular abductor fitness/conditioning at play.
Puzzled

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Megamum, i hope my comedy skiing story didn't cloud what i was trying to warn about which was when you are turning under panicked situations don't throw your upper body into it like i did (to try to make the turn happen more quickly) or you will over-rotate and end up looking uphill and travelling backwards downhill. i'm sure the experts understand about upper body movement more than i do but i just recall being told that for turns it's a big no-no. I'm not worried about embarrassing myself - i don't even need to be skiing to do that Smile

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northantsred, I know what you mean about this irrational fear of falling, but that's the way it is: we are not rational, and when poo hits the whirry-thing for Megamum, all the advice given here will be worthless.
I have tried climbing on one of those constructed walls. I have a harness on with safety rope so there is no way I can get injured. But I still panic about 6 feet off the ground and never relax all the way up. Its not the climbing that exhausts me but the terror induced muscle spasm.

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Lean way back, and frantically swipe at the snow with the two brakes in your hands.

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Megamum,

You'd think that people would realise this, yes, but that there are an awful lot of people who can't cope there and they run out of control as well.

I would hope that nobody encourages you to go somewhere that you have not seen before (depends how brave you are) but you may end up there anyway. So, as long as you can control your speed...it is all about speed here, you should be able to get down ok. We aren't talking about text-book here, we are talking about when it all goes wrong... slow and in control, complete the turn, control your speed and then let go into the next one. As soon as you lose control of your speed, then that stacks up trouble for the next turn.

I haven't seen you ski, so may be over-egging the pudding here.

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If you are in so much trouble that you dont feel you can turn uphill out of the problem then I think you should take a fall. Seriously. Do it before you build up more speed or get into such a position that you cant control your fall.

I'd suggest you fall by tipping your (more) uphill hip into the mountain. THis reduces the impact and the risk of stressing knees and groin by doing the splits or falling backwards. It also leaves your skis and edges below you meaning you can dig them in a bit to slow you if the snow is so hard that your hip doesn't do the job.

Simple - bail out safely before things get dangerous.

snow reports

JT, Megamum, Yep, be weary of people who say "Don't worry, it will be fine" Shocked

Prevention is the best cure. That prevention comes in two forms.

Part one is developing your skills, which will provide you the knowledge, ability and confidence to act proactively when these things happen, rather than freak and freeze. My "one trick pony" thread is in the midst of discussing those very skills right now.

Part two is exercising good tactics as you ski. Slow down as you come to a change in pitch. This is a responsible habit that should be exercised by all, regardless of skill level, when that change of pitch involves a blind spot. Prepare for the pitch transition by finishing the last couple turns prior to reaching the pitch transition more across the falline, which will slow your speed. As you go over the transition, lean more forward/down the slope to keep your body position in relation to your skis the same (thus your fore/aft balance the same) as the steeper pitch causes the skis to tip more downhill.

This forward tipping move is what's needed to maintain good fore/aft balance as you go over a pitch transition, but sadly it's the exact opposite of our natural response. Our survival instincts cause us to move away from that which scares us. The result of that innate reaction is that we move back to our heels. This is the worse thing we can do going over a pitch transition, as it puts us in a position that makes it very difficult to perform on what has suddenly become a more difficult slope. We need to overcome that natural tendency to fall back, and force ourselves to move forward.

Lastly, think about leaning out over your outside ski more as you make your turns on steeper terrain. You need to maintain good contact to the snow with your outside ski if you want to be able to complete the bottom half of your turn enough to control your speed. Fear can also cause us to lean inside, but in doing so outside ski pressure is diminished significantly during the second half of the turn where the steeper hill causes the outside ski to drop further away from us. That loss of pressure can cause the ski to loose it's engagement with the snow and start tracking away down the slope, aborting the speed controlling finish of the turn, and putting the skier into the very situation they fear.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Megamum, I just asked as a lot of people after falling struggle to get up and tire themselves out or strain something. One the flat taking a ski off is very sensible and not a cowards way out!!!

I find a lot of adults sit back on their skis and push up with hands behind their hips which makes getting up very difficult. Next time you try to get up do what you said about getting your skis across the hill and below you but try to get your head as far forward as you can and almost hug your knees whilst getting up. Makes getting up a lot easier, and as Fastman says prevention is the best cure.....

A snowHead

Megamum, The steeper the slope is, the easier it is to get up. On the flat I might well take a ski off if my centre of gravity is not close to the centre of the skis.

In answer to your original question. I agree with those who say to start learn to side-slip and to skid your skis - learning to scrub off speed without committing to a big/sharp turn is a vital skill for any one skiing crowded pistes, and can be practised easily at a snowdome. There is a lot of concentration in skiing on edging, but the ability to ski inefficiently and lose kinetic energy rapidly is very useful, and also helps you when you start skiing bumps (where carving may be your enemy).

A snowHead

Megamum, It really is mostly in the technique... and I'm afraid that yet again... practice in a safe environment is the answer.

"if it helps to show you are not alone, my side slip practice sessions usually culminate in me finally sitting down on the slope in fits of laughter"

... See, you are at least enjoying the whole fun side of the practice and are not scared by it. Gradually you begin to perceive steeper and steeper ground as being a giggle when you mess up. You are asking the correct questions... plenty of practice due next season.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

By the way, I seem to recall for beginers side slipping is easier to do on steeper slope. On shallow slopes, it simply would go anywhere, or it's easy to catch the downhill edge and tip over down the hill...

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abc, on the button.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

get yourself on an alpine coaching course pete and the gang will sort out all your problems http://www.alpinecoaching.co.uk/ snowHead

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ozwhit, It's taking all my spare cash to get in 3 trips each winter; plus my ice climbing appears to be heading out the window at a rate of knots. Maybe I can take a break sometime and get a full season in with a couple of courses combined.

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Thanks for all the support folks Very Happy

Scarpa, Unfortunately my 'season' is not exactly of a long duration - I'll get just a week in Switzerland and a week with the snowheads in France in April, but I'll practice where I can Toofy Grin

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Agree with all of the above, however if its gone pear shaped you are probably going to fall over anyway.... snowHead

However! Falling over is not always a good thing! the best fall iv seen in a long time was at the beginning of an off-peiste section under a chair lift with the instructer telling us NOT to go to close to the pylons as there will be snow drifts, so of course my dad goes right next to the second pylon Puzzled

, it all goes 'pear shaped' and he falls over. He then spends the next half an hour trying to get up whilst every single person in the chair lift above laughs at his situation Little Angel

.....

Megamum, That's not a bad accumulation for the winter though... many people count themselves lucky to manage 1 trip each year. One thing I found helpful was the old balance cushion, about 14 quid and amazing for building balance at home.

And regarding fear (from a purely mental perspective... the more you can visualise yourself in your daydreams sking down steeper slopes then the ones you usually ski, falling over left right and centre, picking yourself up yet still smiling (and it is really easier when it's steep)... the less fearful the reality is. Skiing should always be fun, I do think that the EoSB will brainwash you totally into the cult Twisted Evil

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FastMan, I will get round to getting all your technical stuff in one place and really start to examine it in depth, but I do read it all initially - I had a look at the bit above. I must admit I hadn't thought about the transition as you go over the change in pitch, my slope so far has not really had one, though it did have a slight hiccup in it this year that I mostly managed - I can't remember if I was videoed when I got it wrong. However, I do recall that the blue at Lenzerheide (10yrs+ ago) had a change right at the top - at that time I used to creep up to it with the feeling that I'd love to ski over it and down the rest of the mountain and then sidestep back up the way I'd come Embarassed

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Megamum, getting up from a fall is easier on steeper terrain, however it is mainly dependant on core muscles, rather than arm strength - the stronger your abs are the easier it generally is.

When you get to a slope that looks a little scary, and there is no other way down, take it slowly one turn at a time and if looking ahead down the slope does freak you out then look to the side of the piste instead. Looking across a slope usually makes it appear much less steep. The main problem with constantly looking aross the slope instead of ahead and downhill is that it can increase upperbody rotation, but we can deal with that once you are more comfortable on the steaper slope.

Help!!

What is the best thing to do if it all goes pear shaped?

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