 Poster: A snowHead
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Here is another success story video that hopefully highlights that by getting some early coaching, combined with targeted training and practice plus a lot of mileage for fun can do for your skiing.
Mike came to us in November 2009 with a simple goal, he wanted to become a fully certified ski instructor. Having done a little research he figured it would take about 5 years and wanted to work with us at Hemel to develop a plan of action on how to achieve this.
This is a very tough challenge, especially for someone with only 5 weeks skiing under their belt but Mike is a great athlete who had competed at international level as a player, and, as a coach guided the England touch rugby team to their first ever World Cup final. We were delighted that someone with such a strong coaching background placed his trust in us to help him meet his goals.
We started in November 2009 and from the video you can see the tremendous progress Mike made in the year we worked with him. He is on track to meet his goal having passed his level 1 instructor course in June 2010, his L2 award in March 2011 and should conclude his Level 3 exams this coming season before moving on to the final hurdle of the Level 4 modules.
A fantastic achievement, we were delighted to be part of his journey and we wish him well in the coming years.
https://vimeo.com/74525886
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wasn't that fantastic? I just loved the bumps sequence. How I wish I had more time and money to put into it. Clearly a lot of hard work from everyone, absolutely envious here.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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skimottaret, Guys. Awesome. Just awesome. Very, very well done all of you. I am humbled and impressed. The bumps sequence in particular highlights the excellence of coaching.
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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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Excellent, excellent, excellent!! 
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It's been very rewarding to play a part in Mike's development. Had the pleasure of skiing with him in Niseko a couple of times, and really love this shot of him. Makes all the time at Hemel more than worthwhile!
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Wed 18-09-13 10:15; edited 1 time in total
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Good vid. Loved it at the beginning when he wasn't skiing well. Previous instructor favoured thigh steering and solid pole plants? No prize for guessing who that was! 
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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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Great progression I think I've had the pleasure of sharing a few turns with Mike, he's a lovely guy as well as a very competent skier
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Great progression I think I've had the pleasure of sharing a few turns with Mike, he's a lovely guy as well as a very competent skier
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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kitenski,
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he's a lovely guy as well as a very competent skier
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Absolutely. And to see him practising at Hemel is awe-inspiring - he is tireless.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Wow! Thanks for all the flattering comments folks!
ALQ, I have been accused of a lot of things, but having good dress sense is DEFINITELY not one of them! 
rob@rar, what a brilliant few days those were and thanks for putting your body on the line to take that shot
kitenski, we have had some great turns together (and one not so great one if I recall  - apologies! ) Hopefully see you in early November in Tignes
Pedantica, great to see you again the other day and to see your fantastic progression too!
I still have some way to go and lots to learn, but as I have said before, I really feel the MAIN reason I have been able to progress the way I have is due to the solid foundations that were laid by skimottaret and rob@rar in my first year of 'proper skiing'.
You can be the most motivated sports person in the world, but without the correct coaching and guidance as I received from Inside Out Skiing, you will certainly find things a lot harder and may never even reach your goal.
A big thumbs up and thank you for their time, effort and expertise in shaping my skiing.
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That video is well worth all the time it must have taken to make - fantastic job all round. That bump sequence just made me smile out loud, sitting here with my morning mug of tea. Reminds me of a guy I knew who is a Yachtmaster Instructor and delivers yachts. My daughter, as a 16 year old instructor, had taught him to sail on a beginner course. We sailed Toppers together in a fun race, shortly after. I undersood what the tide was doing and was a basically competent dinghy sailor who had sailed for years but without much coaching or conscious "development"; he was still just a beginner. Afterwards, in the bar, he was determined to find out how I had beaten him and had me drawing diagrams. Not that many years later he was a Yachtmaster Instructor and I was someone who had once been a competent dinghy sailor but was very out of practice, moving much less well in the boat and lost my "eye" for how much to aim off for the tide. Years later I went on one of his cruising courses and found that he was a really great instructor - he enjoyed telling my fellow trainees that my daughter had taught him to sail and was not too hard on me when I screwed up.
He put in hours, weeks, months, of work, had good instruction, dedicated himself to learning and practising, gave up the day job. People who have been "skiing for 20 years" often ski less well than Mike at the beginning of that video.
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You know it makes sense.
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Touchguru, awesome work, the username suddenly makes sense as well. How many days skiing did you put in per year?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Touchguru, and others - out of interest can you give some background to the improvement above.
Sounds like lots of people on here know you from previous trips etc, but just out interest it would give an interesting perspective to others if you could give a bit of information on age, occupation (outside of skiing), status and also how much time / trips / courses were put into the above?
Don't worry I'm not trying to fish for your bank pin-code or anything, but it's something I've always wondered how long and how much effort it would take to achieve something similar.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nice moves in the bumps!
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People who have been "skiing for 20 years" often ski less well than Mike at the beginning of that video.
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Yup. That's me.
Was starting to create a list of areas to work on in December. Watching the first half of that vid made my list a whole lot longer. Think I'll need more than 5 years for such a plan though.
edit: and have to agree with Iski, there. The only time anyone has mentioned to me that my skiing technique has improved, was on the birthday bash shortly after the first IO bash in Sölden. So Rob and Scott must have had something to do with that.
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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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I have not skied a lot with Inside Out because I live too far from Hemel to go very often. But about to do my second Tignes trip. I'm sure there are plenty of good instructors out there (and some poor ones, obviously) but working with the same, very good, instructors over a period of time does seem to make a big difference. More like having a "coach" which is, after all, what top sports people do - they don't have a different coach every whipstitch and changing coach is a very big deal. The IOS "model" seems to be an unusual one, making that "coaching" model accessible to occasional recreational skiers rather than serious competitive athletes.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rob@rar, any chance of reducing piccie size please?
Touchguru, I'm out for the weekend arriving 7th Nov.....
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Great vid and progression. Congrats to Touchguru on the success so far and good luck on the last hurdle
rob@rar, skimottaret, fab x
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Touchguru, well done, I really enjoyed that video.
Now; no making me look silly next monday!!
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flowa, did you get your L2 yet?
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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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Mosha Marc, I suspect you won't need any help to do that next Monday
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Watch it kitenski, I was going to invite you over for a ride round Calderdale early next month.
I may have to point you down the wrong bit 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks again for all the comments everyone Really kind of you as I still have a fair way to go as far as I am concerned.
meh, My username was actually a crib of another friend of mines. I would not wish to be as presumptuous as to assume to be a 'guru' at anything!!
I skied 6 weeks last season, 2012/2013, with only one of those being an instruction week with skimottaret and Ski Marmalade and the rest of the time it was just skiing for fun.
reded78, without meaning to come across as rude, your questions do seem a little personal for a public forum, so I will answer them as accurately as I can in light of this.
Age - between 20 and 50. In my estimation, this is less important than attitude and physical ability, which some 50 year olds have but some 20 year olds do not.
Occupation - ex-City 'slave' until 2003 and now involved with a sports leagues and events organisation. I was involved with the sports business when I started skiing.
Status - Really happy with life in general.
How much time/trips/courses -
Time - No exact idea if I am completely honest. At least 6 weeks per winter season over the last 3 years 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 as well as some summer training and a few weeks pre-season training with Inside Out Skiing and others in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. Allied to this are days at Hemel doing drills in 2010 and 2011 and 2013 so far. I took almost the whole of 2012 off from any any courses or drill work (besides the one week in December 2012) to just ski for myself.
Trips - As above
Courses - All the courses to complete the BASI Level 3 (ISIA) Pathway except the Technical and Language modules, which I hope to complete this season. The skiing weeks are included in the above.
kitenski, see you there then.
Mosha Marc, no danger of that Look forward to meeting you on Monday.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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skimottaret, rob@rar, I've been very impressed by these videos, you're obviously very good at what you do!
Touchguru, Congrats, too! Nice skiing and very impressive progress! If you don't mind me asking, how is the last stage of you plan progressing? Do you feel L4/Eurotest is achievable? I ask as I'd ruled out any chance of me being able to pass it (particularly the Eurotest), but maybe I'm just lacking application.
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hi mate, did not mean to sound to be too personnel, just wanted to see if it was something that could be fitted around a family life - by the sounds of it probably not?? But well done, I for one am very jealous.
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You know it makes sense.
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| reded78 wrote: |
| just wanted to see if it was something that could be fitted around a family life - by the sounds of it probably not?? |
I'd say that getting to BASI Level 2 can be achieved within the constraints of family life, if you can use your available skiing time available in a technically focused way. It certainly helps if you have year-round access to an indoor or artificial slope where it is possible to continue your skills development when you aren't in the mountains. To get beyond Level 2 requires a significant step up in terms of time, money and commitment, and is probably more than most people can manage with a full-time job, family holidays, etc.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| pam w wrote: |
| I have not skied a lot with Inside Out because I live too far from Hemel to go very often. But about to do my second Tignes trip. I'm sure there are plenty of good instructors out there (and some poor ones, obviously) but working with the same, very good, instructors over a period of time does seem to make a big difference. More like having a "coach" which is, after all, what top sports people do - they don't have a different coach every whipstitch and changing coach is a very big deal. The IOS "model" seems to be an unusual one, making that "coaching" model accessible to occasional recreational skiers rather than serious competitive athletes. |
Really pleased that you recognise that, because the "coaching" model is one that we strive for.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| reded78 wrote: |
| hi mate, did not mean to sound to be too personnel, just wanted to see if it was something that could be fitted around a family life - by the sounds of it probably not?? But well done, I for one am very jealous. |
I'm working towards my L2 with a family of 2 kids aged 10 and 13. They will need to expect that you will need to be away sometime during the year, at a minimum the L1 course is a week 9-5 + homework at a local snow slope, the L2 is a solid 2 weeks in the Alps, full on with work most evenings.
Depending on your current level you would need to supplement that with extra training. I am hoping to do L2 resit in May 2014, planning a weekends training in Nov sans family, a weeks training in Jan (with wife, kids with grandmas), a weeks family skiing in Easter (where I will need to do drills, but I can do that whilst skiing with my kids).
That's supplemented by monthly trips to XScape currently to ski moguls.....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Good luck with that.
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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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Cacciatore, cheers - I'm really looking forward to doing it as soon as time/money aligns again
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| reded78 wrote: |
| just wanted to see if it was something that could be fitted around a family life - by the sounds of it probably not?? |
I'd say that getting to BASI Level 2 can be achieved within the constraints of family life, if you can use your available skiing time available in a technically focused way. It certainly helps if you have year-round access to an indoor or artificial slope where it is possible to continue your skills development when you aren't in the mountains. To get beyond Level 2 requires a significant step up in terms of time, money and commitment, and is probably more than most people can manage with a full-time job, family holidays, etc. |
That's my read on it too. The step up to L3 (from what I understand) is exponentially greater than from L1 to L2 in all respects - and L2 (again from what I understand) is a BIG step up from L1 but achievable, as rob@rar suggests, if you've got access to indoor/artificial slopes.
One recent example of this is the son of one of the staff at HH who passed his L2 earlier this year .... he'd never skied on a mountain before he went for it - only skied HH. Who says you can't advance your technique on a small slope? 
PS: no comment on mountain safety and experience - I don't know him personally and have no idea what training etc... he may have undertaken to bring these up to a standard a client might reasonably expect. So, please don't have a go at me about that. I just wanted to celebrate/acknowledge the technical achievement.
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Great video skimottaret, good to see the progress.
touchguru's plan sounds very similar to mine, but its only started to be put in action very recently, so I'm further behind. Think it goes to show what's possible with a plan, focus and some fitness to help with stamina. I've gone from "never ever" to L1 in 9 months: I've only spent 2 weeks in the Alps and nothing like as much time at the indoor slope as certain !
Well done Mike and keep at it.
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Great video skimottaret, good to see the progress.
touchguru's plan sounds very similar to mine, but its only started to be put in action very recently, so I'm further behind. Think it goes to show what's possible with a plan, focus and some fitness to help with stamina. I've gone from "never ever" to L1 in 9 months: I've only spent 2 weeks in the Alps and nothing like as much time at the indoor slope as certain !
Well done Mike and keep at it.
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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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Nice skiing Touchguru, I think I actually saw that clip from August shared somewhere (was it Warren Smith?) and thought at the time that you skied well. Nice to have your progress documented so well, there was video taken from the start of my training course in 2005 when I had similar experience to you at the start of this edit, would love to see it now!
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FAQ
