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OK - the term is being bandied round left, right and center at the moment.....what is....

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
skimottaret,
Quote:

basic plough/parallel turns on a Green run (MK is only 15 degrees at the top tapering off to 11) doesnt really get you to the exhalted status of "intermediate".


b8gger Toofy Grin
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
On the "plus" side, I would say, that if Megamum were to say, go to Resort Y and ask for lessons, I wouldn't necessarily put her into beginner lessons.......

I would send her on her way to ask for "early intermediate" lessons - Can ski a green nursery slope with snowplough turns, occasional parallel.

Have I just confused things again? Toofy Grin
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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?
veeeight,
Quote:

if i were you i would go in for the second level beginners lessons, or the very first intermediate level lessons


kinda what i was saying.....
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skimottaret, my bad, I thought everyone was just being quick to crown Megamum a non intermediate.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
veeeight, No worries, I didnt want to burst her bubble but also thought it wise to interject some realism should she decided to rock up for some "intermediate" lessons and they chuck her into some icy red runs......
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veeeight, skimottaret, Thank you for protecting me from myself wink - bubble well and truly burst Sad

I'll admit to being a tad disappointed since the level below is still beginner. I wish there was a system of ski school for adults like the kids have - master certain skills and advance a level, at least you'd have tangible proof that you were achieving something rather than just a gut instinct that its feeling easier. Rather like driving, where you can still start at L plates, then get a licence, then an advanced licence, train as a driving instructor, and then as an advanced driving instructor and if along the way there is the opportunity even do some police pursuit driving skills. With skiing I can have all the lessons under the sun and still there is no proof that you can ski. The kids can go to any resort that recognises their system and the instructors know where they have got to, the only way I can be assessed is to waste part of a valuable lesson whilst the instructor watches my current skill level. That's why I hope my instructor of the last two years is still there again this year. English pupils are such a rare occurence at our resort that he remembered me!!
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Megamum, to be perfectly frank, 1 hour per day is not enough. Improving is largely a matter of guided discovery - with the emphasis on "guided". In terms of technique, tactics, terrain, and mileage.

It's important to gain mileage, discovering things for yourself, but having an instructor with you.

This is one of the reasons why the program I work on, has one of the fastest progress rates for skiers/boarders. A max of 3 in the group, full day lesson, of which much time is spent skiing and exploring different terrain, improvement through mileage, guided discovery.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Is that why this BIG issue about what level you're? To find a proper lesson? If so, I'd say you need to find a better instructor!

With 4 hours of private instruction in a holiday, you're not really "wasting" a mere 10 min. on day one allowing the instructor to access your level. Unless, of course, you've had instructor who can't access your level within that time frame!
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veeeight, Full day guided explorations don't sound a bad idea, but I don't know if I could afford them! They sound as though they could be quite costly!!
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Quote:

access your level
??
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
veeeight wrote:
It's important to gain mileage, discovering things for yourself, but having an instructor with you.
...
A max of 3 in the group, full day lesson, of which much time is spent skiing and exploring different terrain, improvement through mileage, guided discovery.

I would fully agree with that at intermediate level and above (and it's sort of what I do now), but does it really work best for 'improvers' Wink ? I agree 1 hour's not enough - you've only really got going after about half-an-hour if you're lucky. I would have thought though that something like 2-3 hours per day, in a small matched group as you describe, would have been about right. However if your experience is different, then fine - I've only really got my own to cite. I remember that's what I did when around that level, and it seemed to work just about right for me. The other half of each day I spent on a couple or three blues (with some fairly reddish pitches - this was Chamonix rolling eyes ) practicing what I'd learned in the previous half day. I think this is also easiski's preferred modus operandi (although I'm led to believe her lessons concentrate more on technique refinement than terrain discovery).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Megamum wrote:
veeeight, skimottaret, Thank you for protecting me from myself wink - bubble well and truly burst Sad

I'll admit to being a tad disappointed since the level below is still beginner.



Yes, it isn't fair really. The way we decribe people's level as fitting into one of just four categories (beginner/intermediate/advanced/expert) is ridiculously broad brush.

But really it doesn't matter how your skiing is described, so long as you are skiing within or just outside your comfort zone. And this is the reason for trying not to describe yourself as "intermediate" too early. It could lead to you getting too far outside your comfort zone if you skki with somebody you don't know well.

Quote:
I wish there was a system of ski school for adults like the kids have - master certain skills and advance a level, at least you'd have tangible proof that you were achieving something rather than just a gut instinct that its feeling easier. Rather like driving, where you can still start at L plates, then get a licence, then an advanced licence, train as a driving instructor, and then as an advanced driving instructor and if along the way there is the opportunity even do some police pursuit driving skills. With skiing I can have all the lessons under the sun and still there is no proof that you can ski. The kids can go to any resort that recognises their system and the instructors know where they have got to,



Even here though, there is very little standardisation, except within a specific resort/ski area. Partly because of the very wide variation in classification of runs, this makes it difficult to have a "standard" grading that says things like "skis parallel on reds".

So for any such grading system, you will usually only find a small number of resorts who can really agree on what the gardes mean.

Quote:

the only way I can be assessed is to waste part of a valuable lesson whilst the instructor watches my current skill level.


That is not a waste, because it is the only way he can be sure of where to pitch the lessons.
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