 Poster: A snowHead
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| Okanagan wrote: |
| comprex wrote: |
| ssh, trouble is I keep looking at the tea tray and dropping into the back seat! |
I sometimes use a variation on this one, which does address the issue of focal distance - try holding the poles vertically, and imagining the view through the poles as a TV picture which you need to keep constant. |
Okanagan, you've no idea how bad my posture truly is. I am actually _looking_ down the hill, but through about the top third of the goggles or so. In one unexpected pic taken by a pro-photo fellow, you can see the vent on top the helmet better than you can the chin, and I'm 20m uphill of the photographer!
ssh, I had no idea I was doing it until Stu C. pointed it out at ETU, and, having dealt with red herrings such as a new lens prescription and boot zeppa, I am now convinced of his words that lifting the head _will_ bring the hips forward. It's been a monstrous bugbear for more than 20 days on snow now, no fix in sight. I suspect the backseating is one reason I can still ski bumps far better on a straight ski than on a 12m radius Nordica Speedmachine, to pick a random  example. I'm more than half tempted to duct tape across the top of the goggles.
Confession time: yes, my hand position is truly horrid too, with hands well inside the body and elbows out (all in front, tho), at least when making decisive pole plants on non-trivial terrain. A blend of mid-70's Italianate and Mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania "style" , bolide swears she can spot me in the sun just from the outwards "flick" of the wrist and the A-frame of the pole shafts. If I'm standing upright, that is. When I don't really care about pole plants, the hands are well out from the body in a bastardisation of the old CSIA "hug the beer keg" method. With the above-mentioned chin drop, I'm sure that looks hilarious as well.
Eouf. Pass the gin and tonic tray, please. Ego me absolvo.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| comprex wrote: |
| I'm more than half tempted to duct tape across the top of the goggles. |
Hmmm... Why not? Why not tape a piece of cardboard over the top 1/3 of the goggles (like is done for pilots practicing instrument landings) and ski with a "guide" on comfortable terrain? If you tape it lightly on the sides of the goggles, you could rip it off if you absolutely needed to. But, the drills with it could really make a difference for you.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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ssh, With that vote of support, I will be sure to try it. Not many days left this season, but there's always grass . . .
I've only just changed over to a modern goggle shape from the thick-foam moto-style Carrera Cups (1st generation, ca. 1984?) that actually fit my cheekbones best for years and years. I have to report a somewhat sloppier fit, but a much improved field of vision along the bottom half of the goggle. With the old ones, I couldn't see except the bottom of a bottle as I drank from it.
Active and directed correction is best policy for bad habits, would you say?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| comprex wrote: |
| Active and directed correction is best policy for bad habits, would you say? |
Yep. And experimentation. Just make sure to stay safe. Other than that, try things and see if they help.
Certainly, if you can't see out of the top of your goggles, you are going to tip your head back in order to see--or you'll stare at the tips of your skis.
Other things off the top of my head: tuck a baloon under your chin. Look at the tops of the trees at some point in each turn. I'm sure you can think of others...
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Funny, I was reading your (unrelated) Waltz drill description just after this little chat and just after thinking I should perhaps try to think of myself as ballroom dancing and not swooping downslope. Alas, that was something else entirely. 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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ssh, I read the bit about Waltz drill - I think I understand it (although I take your point that it's possibly difficult to describe in writing). Are you talking about a short stint of backward skiing followed immediately by some forward skiing (etc ad nauseum) - a bit like the shuffle some people do when parking a car???
???
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Manda, yes, kind of. (I've done this drill with ssh and others at the ESA)
Rather than a W think of it more like UU
So, start at the left with your tips pointing down the hill. Go down, and arc them round until you're going UP the hill (that makes the first U), as you slow down, now start going backwards, and make the same turn across the slope but with the tails, not the tips, leading, and that's the second U. You'll now be at the right side of the slope, and facing down the hill. So, ski forward, arc round, until you're going up the hill, then do the same turn, but tails first.
The idea is to do it fluidly, i.e. without stopping during the transition.
Does this make it any clearer?
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Wear The Fox Hat, that's the difficult version. The easier version is to start tails first, ride them around until they point uphill, then pivot the feet (from the legs) and shape the second U with the tips leading.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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ssh, WTFH gave the men's (lead) version.
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