 Poster: A snowHead
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I guess this is related to the somewhat contentious topic of different 'levels of skier'. However whilst I am not particularly bothered about what level I am on on the snow and rock or whatever other scale is used. I wold be interested if anyone has any idea about how you measure progress after the obvious 'handles blues reds blacks'.
I have been skiing for over 20 years now and for the first ten years or so it was fairly obvious whether or not I was getting better. Subsequently I am really not sure if I am a better sker than I was ten years ago I can probably hadle slightly more difficult conditions but I really don't know if that is due to differences in my skiing or improvements in equipment.
Does anyone know of any objecitve ways of measuring imrovement or lack of it .The only way I can think is the races with a standard opener but without doing several races per year so you can get a reasonable average and not being a racer I can think of no other way.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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T Bar, I just look at the videos of 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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Wear The Fox Hat, Yeah - videos would be the thing. Or the same (honest) ski teacher.
T Bar, Do you feel more relaxed, more balanced, can you control speed and trajectory any better? Can you handle more difficult snow with less effort? Are you willing to go to places where you weren't 10 years ago? TBH if you haven't had any lessons for the last 10 years, I should think the answer to most of those questions and the original one is probably "not much". Not wishing to be negative, but after about 4-6 weeks, very few people improve much on their own as the improvements they seek to make become more and more difficult and precise, and therefore need input from others.
You are right about the racing - it is an objective test (which is why it's included in Ski Teacher exams).
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I don't have any videos of me skiing so I am afraid that one is out for previous comparisons however I might try and get some this year for future comparisons, sounds like a good idea.
I have had lessons but not in the last six years or so untill this year when I had one. Actually one of the reasons why I ask was because I was wondering how to measure if lessons were helping.
I think I handle more difficult snow slightly better but I am not sure how much is due to technique and how much to equipment. In all honesty tough snow still finds me out.
The terrain I ski is probably much the same as it has been for quite a while.
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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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OTH you could now be skiing stuff that a few years ago you wouldn't have touched but because you have no obvious reference, you have not noticed the progress. We recently invited a friend who hadn't been with us for 10 years and the difference was startling in what we were prepared to ski and what he wasn't/couldn't.
How this stacks up when you meet other people with their own 'reference' I don't know. I might find out this year.
When people talk about high level skiers, and pro-obsessives etc, I have NO idea what they mean..
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JT, What is a "pro-obsessive"??? I haven't a clue. 
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High level skiers only ski above 3000 metres 
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Yoda only skis in fenced off areas...
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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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T-Bar... I usually set myself some shorter term and longer term goals.... in my case as I have a couple of regular instructors this is a joint process where we sit down and map out some things I may wish to achieve on skis in the near and not so near future.... then a bit down the track i can see how I'm progressing towards that goal (or all my goals etc)....
I realised this year that I had run out of long term goals except for one VERY long term goal... so either I must set more or move it forward a bit more into the nearer future....
Video also helps - as does having various ski partners some of whom I may not see for a year or two....
Likewise having a lesson with a non-regular instructor allows me to get some feedback on the changes that I am making as these days they are smaller and take longer to effect....
Having said that so far I have made progress EVERY season - despite being warned by my regular instructor i was hitting teh point where I could expect progress to be very slow and that i must try NOT to get too frustrated with this as the instructors he trains have the same issues and no disability to contend with in the learning stakes....
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I have skied a similay time to you, T Bar. My main skiing goal now is to ski off piste better and better. I measure my success by the reduction in falls per holiday. I do not keep records but I remember finding off piste terribly difficult but now a little less difficult. Another measure is how much energy it takes to ski or how tired I feel after a day of skiing. The more I get tired the worse my skiing gets and I can feel that it is bad but cannot persuade my tired limbs to ski properly. I think that really good skiers have a technique that works even when they are tired.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Does anyone know of any objecitve ways of measuring imrovement or lack of it
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Well how about can you ski breakable crust as if it didnt exist? Can you ski sierra cement? Do you ever say to yourself "blimey that's a bit steep"? Do you float effortlessly through the deepest and steepest powder? Can you ski any run top to bottom wearing only one ski? Can you ski a big mogul field without problems in a white out? Can you ski hard rutted lumpy crud with any semblance of "style" or is it a complete nightmare?
Not sure if those are objective, but would they do to measure yourself against as a start? And maybe give you some ideas about what you would like to do, unless you want to focus exclusively on racing.
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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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Some interesting thoughts.
JT, I think the terrain is much the same as the resorts are often different I am not really sure though.
little tiger, I only really have time for occasional not regular lessons and not usaully with the same teacher.
Adrian, I agree about energy levels but find a lot has to do with who I am skiing with as with better skiers they tend to go faster so I am more knackered. Also fitness levels end to vary a bit year on year.
Yoda, I think these are great aspirations and are more in my ambitions than racing but I am a very long way from any of them so don't really see them as measures of progress but as a distant and probably unrealistic goal.
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T-bar...
Goal setting - you can do it for yourself... or in your ocassional lesson while riding lifts....
My longer term goals may carry over a few seasons... shorter may be very close to my current standard...
One instructor I have huge respect for suggests a notebook goe skiing with you... you record all this info and can then look back later on it...
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You know it makes sense.
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T Bar, Even on occasional lessons, your instructor should tell you what you need to do to improve from this point, and help you to set a realistic goal. If they don't help like this, they're not up to much.
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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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| little tiger wrote: |
| One instructor I have huge respect for suggests a notebook goe skiing with you... you record all this info and can then look back later on it... |
You can enter the info into a spreadsheet, keep up with your e-mail and even post on snowHeads from the slope!
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Poster: A snowHead
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I've considered most of the instructors that I have had to be reasonable but I don't think any have suggested any goals. One problem is that though I may remember what they have said for the rest of the season I can never remember what I have been taught the following season. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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T Bar, which suggests it wasn't tailored to you, or related to you. You probably remember more than you think though, people always do. Where you want to go with your skiing is the first thing you should discuss with your instructor. He/she should then (hopefully) set you ont he right track, give you "homework" to practise, and tell you at what point you'll need your next lesson. 
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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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T Bar, could this be another place where the "Laminated List" TM comes into play. A quick squint as you get unexpected air in the middle of the bumps would prove invaluable.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| T Bar wrote: |
| I've considered most of the instructors that I have had to be reasonable but I don't think any have suggested any goals. One problem is that though I may remember what they have said for the rest of the season I can never remember what I have been taught the following season. |
ummm - yeah you may have to suggest the idea of goal setting to them.... tell them that you need help... it a) makes them feel good and b) allows you to veto any that you may dislike(should be built into a decent instructor to help with this but...)
memory - that is why you get a nice small notebook and pencil(keep in a ziplock bag I can say from experience).... even if you scrawl notes immediately after at least you have a reference that YOU understand because it is in YOUR words....
(Don't suggest the notebook is too hard as one instructor wanted me to keep a full daily DIARY for all my skiing days... it was to include how I felt on rising/after warm-up and stretching/after eating.... etc etc ie it was to record how I felt TOTAL both on and off snow and I was to review periodically.... Let me just say this guy is a high level athlete in a couple of sports and quite obsessive re doing it right!)
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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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spyderjon, it was the way you two got on... 
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Wear The Fox Hat,
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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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Woohoo!
(I'm guessing that means I won't get lumbered with the thankless task of organising transportation and accomodation for you in future)
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