 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm seriously thinking about having a week at the Warren Smith Academy next year but not sure how good a skier you need to be. It just states Intermediate to expert. I'm certainly at the low end of that scale with my last lessons in Canada at New Year being Level 4 (out of 6). Anyone any experience of this?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Colin B, I'd not worry, the standard varies between not very good at all to halfway decent. Warren's a an approachable bloke, give him a ring and have a chat, he'll be a bit tied up this week with the Verbier ride though (if you want to wind him up, ask him about the avalanche control work the Verbier pisteurs did  )
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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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ise,
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the standard varies between not very good at all
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Sounds like I fit the bill then  Hopefully it will move me closer to half decent. I'll try to make contact but want to book early while I can still get a flight with my BA Points. Thanks for the help.
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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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ise, I've sent a Pm to you but it seems to be stuck in my Outbox so not sure whether it's got to you.
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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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I did a course in the first week of this season, and as ise said the standard was really wide. I am a reasonable intermediate and was somewhere in the middle of the group. There was a guy who had only skiied for a week but he did hold the group back alittle. Well recommended though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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justapurrin, Thanks, I've done about 5 weeks (with a few more days next month) so hopefully would fit in pretty well.
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You will be OK. It is no good for beginners, and you will really only get the best out of it if you are committed to improvement.
It is not "follow me" type instruction. Warren is a very good guy but he is not afraid to keeep on, and on, and on, about a particular point until you have got it into your skiing. We did the course 2 years ago as a family (kids were 9 1nd 12 at the time, I think they were the first kids he'd ever had in the course, they had to be pre-checked by him before the course) and the spectrum in the group was varied, but everybody could ski all the pistes already....but with a variety of "styles" and speeds.
By the end of the week our family had progressed a lot, as had the rest.
Since then we have had privates with Warren on several occassions, and will be refreshing with a course in April.
The kids are now fantastic skiers, proud Dad I know but they really do have style, ability and confidence. Us parents have made a lot of progress but we are not ready to stop learning yet.
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| Colin B wrote: |
| I'm seriously thinking about having a week at the Warren Smith Academy next year but not sure how good a skier you need to be. It just states Intermediate to expert. I'm certainly at the low end of that scale with my last lessons in Canada at New Year being Level 4 (out of 6). Anyone any experience of this? |
I've done two of his course. Highly recommended. I'd say the entry requirement would be parallel & comfortable on reds.
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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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rungsp, Your not wrong about relentless nagging until you've mastered the point he is trying to make. 
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Colin B, the PM will stay in the oubtox until ise reads it, then it will move to your sentbo
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| justapurrin wrote: |
| rungsp, Your not wrong about relentless nagging until you've mastered the point he is trying to make. |
That doesn't sound very good to me. I'd have thought it better to try some other method of explanation, or try some other form of exercise to accentuate the point, rather than nag.
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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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Warren is a very good guy but he is not afraid to keeep on, and on, and on, about a particular point
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Ankle flex.
Ankle flex.
Ankle flex.
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Thigh high
Thigh high
Thigh high
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You know it makes sense.
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| Colin B wrote: |
| ise, I've sent a Pm to you but it seems to be stuck in my Outbox so not sure whether it's got to you. |
I was out skiing
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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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Well, the entry level can't be too high or he'd get few customers. The best investment, if you can afford it, is to have a private lesson which focuses upon a particular aspect of your skill base that requires addressing. For me, that'd be putting my boots on.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| ise wrote: |
| (if you want to wind him up, ask him about the avalanche control work the Verbier pisteurs did ) |
Tell me more! Did they blast away all the fresh snow on Mont Gele?
Colin B, I agree with ise and spyderjon - the lower end of the standard isn't too high. As long as you are keen to learn and you don't mind doing lots of drills you should be fine.
If the Academy is too much commitment you could enquire about some private tuition. We've done a 1 week Academy course (same one as ise), and then 2 sets of 3 day tuition since then. No guarantee that you'd get Warren for the private tuition but the rest of the team are superb as well.
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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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I got alot from the week. Improved my skiing and understanding of what I should be doing. He can be relentless, although it depends on how quick you pick stuff up. Despite being nagged about 'O' frame and continually told about the sartorius muscle it was a great week. Very enjoyable ( which for me is what it is all about ) and with a great group of people. The whole team is great and bring their own ideas to the job.
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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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ise,
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I reckon there was only two decent skiers on the course I went on
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Were you included in your count 
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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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snowbunny, along with Mr Smith, I expect.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If Warren's courses aren't what you're looking for, Phil Smith and colleagues at snoworks.co.uk have a similar setup, a range of different courses and a wider number of resorts that they work in. I've skied with snoworks on a few occasions and always considered the tuition (and the whole experience) to be first class.
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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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| Quote: |
ise wrote:
(if you want to wind him up, ask him about the avalanche control work the Verbier pisteurs did )
Tell me more! Did they blast away all the fresh snow on Mont Gele?
So I'm told by my source, apparently he'd asked them to be careful but they just blitzed it.
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and if you really want to wind him up ask him why they didn't run the lift up to Mt Gele for the final. Goodness knows why Televerbier want to wee wee everyone off the first time the event gets on the freeskiing circuit.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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DB,
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Just for anybody else who like me was thinking, WTF is a sartorius muscle?
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AFAIK Also commonly called "The Tailors Muscle". You use it when sitting and crossing your legs at the knee.
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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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DB, Mrs Laundryman says I'm sartorially challenged and she's a doctor, so she must know.
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It's the muscle that you use to sit on the floor with legs crossed like you had to at school. This is the positions that tailors used to sit in to sew hence the name.
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You know it makes sense.
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During the course you do warm up excersises each morning and one of them is to develop the sartorius. I have kept up with that and it has helped with my turn initiation alot.
When he first started talking about it most of the course looked on blankly, except for people who had been before.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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alan empty, I've you have a private with Warren you will do the warm up exercises.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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spyderjon, yep, that really doesn't surprise me 
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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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Privates with Warren...yep, you get the warm up excercises. They really do help I think...we have incorporated them into our daily ski.
My point on the nagging on about a particular point (though nagging is not the word I used) is that the instruction is not the "try this-shoulder shrug-follow me" style of teaching that I observe in the great majority of ski lessons.
I'd like to be clear on one point though: only do the course if you are personally committed to improving your skiing (I emphasise the word "committed"). If you just want to pick up a few tips and have some people to ski with then go to somebody else. You could spend a whole day with Warren, just doing drills and hardly cover any mileage at all. If you pay attention and put the effort in...your skiing will improve a lot.
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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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You could spend a whole day with Warren, just doing drills and hardly cover any mileage at all
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isn't that the case with all good quality tuition? you don't learn much blasting around in your usual way, consolidating all the old habits? I did cover bit of mileage on a Phil Smith week, but very much in between drills and with very small groups and taking it turns to follow (2 metres) the instructor, you were still being intensively drilled (they have eyes in the back of their head - "You're still leaving that inside leg behind"). But we only had 3 hours in the morning - it was good ski-ing with others in the group in the afternoons, or having a rest.
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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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rungsp, I agree. On my last course Warren was visibly hacked off with a couple of people who just wanted to tootle around, pack in at lunch & then spend the rest of the afternoon in the restaurant bar. What we couldn't understand is why someone would pay good money to go on a 'performance' course & then not bother! Warren commented that he'd turned people away who wanted to learn because the course was full.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| laundryman wrote: |
| DB, Mrs Laundryman says I'm sartorially challenged and she's a doctor, so she must know. |
laundryman,
Mrs DB just says I'm challenged, going into specifics would take too long.
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DB,
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Mrs DB just says I'm challenged, going into specifics would take too long.
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Perhaps we should ask her directly, for a summary 
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Thanks all I've been offline since yesterday morning and there is a lot of food for thought here.
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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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I've have been on a Warren Smith course complete with husband. We were 9 week skiers with a fair amount of previous instruction from British instructors. We were split into three groups of 8 and husband and I were in the weakest group. Suffice it to say that we both felt that we learned more from instruction with Easiski earlier this year. As a female tail end charlie I was largely ignored, and I'm not easy to ignore!! I'm sure that you will enjoy Warren's course but in our opinion you can't beat one to one, or two with Charlotte Swift (Easiski).
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FAQ
