 Poster: A snowHead
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Morning all. Has anyone seen my mojo?
Went out on Sunday with a level 3 ESF group. All fine, straight onto the reds, not the fastest but ok. Then fell heavily on a straight bit, a ski got away from me and I landed HARD on my chest, winded me for a few minutes. Carried on with the remainder of the lesson, then fell again, almost identically, on the way back to the chalet. Bruised but not broken.
Two days of fever later, I’m back on the slopes. Decided not to go back with the level 3 as they’d likely have moved on without me, so joined a level 2 class. Terrified, stiff, unbalanced, snow ploughing down simple blue runs, on the back of the skis, next to no lateral control. Just dropped out as I could see I was holding them back.
What on earth has gone wrong, and how do I get my confidence back? I’ll be into level 1 classes next year at this rate.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Norwegian Blue, welcome to 
Sorry to hear that. A loss of confidence after a fall is common-place (or has been with me anyway).
You might be best to get yourself a private 1:1 lesson to regain your confidence and then get them to slot you back into the group lessons.
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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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^ This. A friend of ours had something similar after a crash which scared her, coupled with an inner ear infection which was giving her vertigo when not on flat ground or looking down. She was rock bottom confidence-wise, a morning or two of one-on-one and she got her mojo back and was fine. Make it clear to your instructor what's happened and what you want to get out of your session and you'll soon be back on track.
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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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I think the likely answer is 2 fold:
1. As above - a 1:1 lesson with a sympathetic instructor.
2. Go back to easy terrain, where fear isn't an issue. This will get your confidence and enjoyment back, in a relaxed environment. Don't put pressure on yourself, have plenty of stops for hot chocolate (or whatever)....it is a holiday, after all. When you start feeling the anxiety subside, up the ante just a little. Then bit by bit, you will find your confidence again.
The instructor will help with this process and will hopefully be someone that you can put your trust in. They will also give you the necessary skills to remove the fear, which enables confidence to return. Fear/anxiety can stop you skiing well, so the instructor will highlight what you need to do, to get your mojo back.
Good luck...and remember, it's happened to most of us, at one time or another. Confidence is a huge part of skiing.
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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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Are you using your own gear? It could be bad rental boots?
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Hi all, thanks for the replies. They are my boots but rented skis: I changed them anyway, for purely psychological reasons. Don't think it helped at all, which is good.
I think I wasn't fully recovered on Wednesday, which won't have been helping.
Cheaped out on 1-1 lesson, but went out yesterday morning to do a few easy runs. Missed the greens somehow, ended up on blues but was fine. Tagged along behind a couple of people, followed lines and so on, worked a charm. Then hit a couple of runs with my nemesis: skiing fast in a dead straight line. Took it easy, copied others, realised I was probably just being overconfident when I fell.
Then went out in the afternoon with my wife, and was faster then her, so feeling a lot better...
This morning, another story again, but at least this time I can tell exactly what's going on. I've been catching the back of my right ski on right turns, particularly on flatter surfaces, and realise my left knee is really hurting (meniscus tear flare-up) and I'm not transferring my weight correctly. Not much I can really do about it this week, but has nothing to do with confidence.
Overall: mojo not back, but can see where it is. That'll do me.
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When I tweaked my knee on the last day, this year...I couldn't transfer weight properly, but was able to ski with my weight equally distributed between both skis (a bit like Off Piste).
I was fine as long as I stayed on easier runs and kept the speed down.
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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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| Norwegian Blue wrote: |
| Then hit a couple of runs with my nemesis: skiing fast in a dead straight line. |
Just a quick observation, skiing fast in a dead straight line on flat skis can easily be a recipe for disaster. Much better to roll gently from one set of edges to the other so your skis are engaged with the snow rather than being at the mercy of any small lump or bump which can easily deflect them. You don't need to turn very much by doing this, so you'll stay in a very narrow corridor, and you won't lose much speed if you simply roll from edge to edge. But this way you're much less likely to have a ski suddenly catch an edge or be deflected in to a different path, resulting in an embarrassing fall or worse.
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@rob@rar, Totally agree....especially on shorter skis with a tight radius.
My 157 SL11 are scary when going fast in a straight line.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@rob@rar, I like that tip, as I sometimes worry if I have to straightline to build up speed. I will give it a go at Easter
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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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@Old Fartbag,
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My 157 SL11 are scary when going fast in a straight line
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You should try it on my Whitedot Redeemer 180cm. Sounds like it shouldn't be a problem until you realise that the effective edge length <900mm due to the big double rocker.
Of course that's on hard snow.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Norwegian Blue wrote: |
| Then hit a couple of runs with my nemesis: skiing fast in a dead straight line. |
Just a quick observation, skiing fast in a dead straight line on flat skis can easily be a recipe for disaster. Much better to roll gently from one set of edges to the other so your skis are engaged with the snow rather than being at the mercy of any small lump or bump which can easily deflect them. You don't need to turn very much by doing this, so you'll stay in a very narrow corridor, and you won't lose much speed if you simply roll from edge to edge. But this way you're much less likely to have a ski suddenly catch an edge or be deflected in to a different path, resulting in an embarrassing fall or worse. |
Learnt this tip myself yesterday, unfortunately however I learnt it the painful way.
Was coming down of a red run that had a very steep section followed by a very long flat that you carry a lot of speed through. Did this and went through the flat on flat skis, hit a clump of snow and went head first over my skis and landed on my chest winding myself (probably almost identically to the opening poster). Lay on the piste for about 3 minutes before I could get up and give the people I was skiing with a thumbs up (had them pretty worried). Fortunately it was just winding myself but it was pretty bad. Anyway, spent the rest of the day building my confidence up again and also focusing on whenever skiing fast in a straight line to avoid just doing it on flat skis but as you suggested, rolling from edge to edge. Still not at the confidence I was before the crash, but at least by doing that I was happy to carry speed in the flats again.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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| Snowblades wrote: |
| What about ''Schussfahrt" whilst attempting to transit from steep to a long straight flat terrain? |
Not sure that's such a good drill for someone who has lost their mojo 
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Poster: A snowHead
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What really is ''mojo''?
The OP mentioned in a later post (on 1st March) that ''it has nothing to do with confidence''.
Regarding ''Schussfahrt'', it is in response to the poster Tiesto. I wonder if he attempted to do a ''Schussfahrt'', or a dash down with straight skis and upright position? With the lower body position of a "Schussfahrt", the centre of gravity is lowered, hence the risk of losing balance and falling over would be less.
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