 Poster: A snowHead
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| Masque wrote: |
| I predict the winner of the Ladies race may well have a second trophy within her grasp. |
Actually, I've got two already 
Masque, I think you flatter me, but I must admit that after a couple of days of getting used to them, the Race Tigers and I got on very well. However I can't afford, and don't want, a quiver, so I'll have to stick to the Missions, when the new replacement ones arrive.
rob@rar, I quite fancy trying some gates, but would be very nervous of being a beginner amongst experts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| RachelQ wrote: |
| rob@rar, I quite fancy trying some gates, but would be very nervous of being a beginner amongst experts. |
You wouldn't be amongst experts, and the gates we do are a bit of fun (or an impossible challenge) at the end of the session. The main focus is working on foundation skills through drills and exercises, much like I think you've done with Fastman and easiski over the past week. It's a good way to improve your skiing in between holidays.
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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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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, Accepted - but there are lots of others who might have been able to come but never expressed an interest - shame really. Not to mention more than one who used to rave about both of us ....
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easiski, I don't think you can take it personally. I expressed an interest and then found work was not really going to be conducive with a week off coinciding with either week, others probably couldn't even be interested due to other holidays, family commitments etc.
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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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fatbob, Certainly there were many (and you were one) who were interested but unable to come. There are others, though 
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<sigh> I wish I had got off my sofa and come along now
Mind you I did have a lot going on here last week.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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lampbus, We did miss you.
I hear that Fast man has safely arrived at home now, but had issues with US customs!! 
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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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| Quote: |
issues with US customs!!
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he should have left all those French sausages behind!
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Glad to hear you're home safe Fast man, that was quite a journey!
I took a few pictures last week but here are just a few of them, from the start to the end of a morning (although maybe not the same morning).
The view from our hotel balcony, time about 0630.
and a surprisingly happy looking group for 0640, just about to start the walk to the lifts. Fortunately no skis to carry, we all left them up the mountain.
This was the sight that greeted us every morning before 0700. But wonderfully, Easiski had organized access straight to the lifts so we bypassed the lot of them. The booing and hissing got worse as the week went on, but we managed to mostly ignore it. 
Looking out of the gondola on the way up - the sun rising on green mountains.
But it was all white once we got there.
We started our class on Signal until it became too soft at the bottom,
and every day we were taught new exercises and positions, as explained here by Fast man
We'd finish sometime after 1230 and gather together on the terrace at the resto,
where we did a bit of training for apres skiing 
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You know it makes sense.
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RachelQ, great pictures. Sums it up nicely! 
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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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RachelQ, lovely pics - nice background on the last one 
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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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RachelQ, indeed... gnarly dude pics  ? (fair's fair....)
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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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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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RachelQ, what fun. Who was the moustache?
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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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achilles, That was deliberate1 from the US, lovely chap (as was Mrs D - lovely chapess that is)
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achilles, One of the best soup strainers I've seen and a crackin' chap to boot.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Masque, come away with any new concepts or was it just body drills and practice?
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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 - amazing photos. Glad to hear a great time was had by all at the courtesy of Fast and Easy (brilliant, lol) but I would ask all not to take offence at those who could not come.. the economic climate especially for those of us with families does make things very hard indeed. We are struggling to take the children away skiing this winter and we have given up a lot to commit to do so.. so please don't take it personally - two years ago, this event would have been over subscribed.
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| comprex wrote: |
| Masque, come away with any new concepts or was it just body drills and practice? |
I was completing alpine edging and balance skills on a centre mounted (Scott P3) twin-tip with telemark binding. It did give me further insight into the mechanical interface between the ski and the snow. . . and in this case the incompetence of the operator
I'm now quite sure that describing concentric paths is an easily defined set of forces, bending moment and ski shape . . . BUT the overriding variable is the snow itself in its density and structure.
As for how I skied? You'll have to ask fastman
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You know it makes sense.
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Libertine, I am not taking it personally, there was one particular person I had in mind ............... We both recognise that it is a difficult time for many. The shame of it is that we are not certain to be able to repeat it next year due to family commitments on Fastman's part. I'm sure we'd both like to - but with a full week rather than 2 halves.
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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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Yes, as reported already, I've arrived back in the US safe and sound. Long trip, extended slightly by US customs procedures that caused me to miss my connection in Houston. I'm now a big fan of the way more casual customs habits in Europe. Collect your luggage then recheck it yourself onto your connecting flight???? Uncle Sam I fear has gone senile!
Anyway, onto my trip report. What a fabulous 2 weeks! It was great to finally put faces and personalities to some of the names I've been interacting with here on the forum for a while now. And what nice mix of super personalities it turned out to be. On the slopes everyone worked very hard, then off the slopes found smiles and laughter abounding. The photos that have been shared here serve testimony to what a great group of people it was to spend my 2 week adventure with!
And what a stunningly beautiful corner of the world Les Deux Alps is. For the first week I often found myself lost in just gazing at the majesty of the mountains that surrounded our little village. And the trip down to the little town of Venosc, with its old and traditional architecture, seemed like a journey back in time that made for a very special and memorable afternoon.
Onto the skiing. This was the first official Building Blocks camp. easiski and I are both skills based teachers, and for never having met in person, much less ever working together, it was quite fascinating to see how closely our teaching philosophies and methodologies matched. There was a thread here on Snowheads a few months ago on Skills vs Form based teaching. At the time I felt that the message of the differences between the two, and the attributes of the skills based formula were not being adequately conveyed and understood, but the participants of these 2 camps now have a clear and first hand understanding. They were submerged in 6 intense days of skills based training, and the improvements that took place were inspiring.
We started with basic balance skills. Not how to ski in a single balance state, but rather in many. To feel the contrasts, understand the attributes and applications of each, become keenly aware of what balance state we were in at every moment, and learn how to alter that state at will. For many, it was their first introduction to base of foot pressure awareness, and by the end of camp the new balancing skills everyone was able to employ in their skiing was very impressive.
We went on from there to basic edging skills, and how to apply them to various turn shapes. Narrow track steering, wide track steering, skid angles, turn radii, degree of turn. How all these things relate to speed and turn shape management. How to use them to come to enjoy that top of the turn acceleration experience, and to avoid that fear/habit based tail push that plagues the transitions of most recreational skiers. We combined this with a buffet of various foundation edging skills; sideslips, engage/release, 180 sideslips, falling leaf, and the dreaded backslider. In the end, there wasn't a pivot to be found in the transitions of any of our Fast & Easy campers. That skill alone puts them in very select company on any recreational skiing slope in the world.
It was quite fascinating that although we spent very little time carving, our work on refining our steering skills caused carving to spontaneously spring forth. At one point when doing a non related drill, we looked back to see 8 perfect carve tracks the campers had scribed in the snow while executing the drill. I even took a picture of the tracks, and will post it here as soon as I get a chance. I should restate,,, it was fascinating to the campers. For me, it was another day at the office, as this is the common outcome when teaching foundation steering skills in this manner. Happens all the time. People can try to carve for years, but until the foundation skills are developed a high quality arc to arc carve can prove very evasive. In contrast, work on the base skills and it usually springs forth without even really trying.
We finished the weeks work by focusing on basic rotation, angulation, flexion/extension, and transitions. Campers learned about counter, what it's for, and how to achieve it. RachelQ had a major breakthrough at this point, and was suddenly linking fast and powerful turns in a strong position. Very much a cumulative outcome of all the hard work she'd put into foundation balance and edging skill building earlier, but wow, was she flying.
pam w had a breakthrough of her own when introduced to ILE (inside leg extension) transitions. She took to it like a fish to water, and her skiing suddenly took on a newfound smoothness and elegance. Her comment, "where has this transition been all my skiing life?" It was quite apparent the work Pam had been devoting to her Building Blocks training prior to coming to camp. Her balance/edging skills were well developed and it really paid off in what she was able to take out of the camp.
While singing the praises of others, Masque has been rather modest about his own accomplishments at camp. He chose to step up the learning challenge by coming to camp sporting a telemark set-up. That he was able to do the many balance and edging drills I threw at him on that gear was quite impressive. I could see him work through each new challenge I presented him, sort it out, and deduct what alterations he had to make to achieve the desired performance outcome. By the end of camp he was skiing in a totally new balance and body position, and went away with a much expanded skill set that will serve him well in whatever form of snow sliding he chooses. I told him that I anticipate he'll experience a big performance jump when he takes his new skills to his alpine skis. The modern and efficient turns and body positions he demonstrated at the end of camp was something to behold. I see more breakthroughs in your alpine future.
deliberate1 is an excellent skier who brought an old school skiing approach to camp with him. Feet locked in classic Stein fashion, with an elegant tail swoosh to start the turn. As a long time skier these embedded movement patterns can be bugs to break, but he made great strides in doing just that. D may not know this, but I created a drill on the spot to help him overcome, and it turned out to be a great one that I will be using extensively with other students in the future. Now I just need to name it. Anyway,,, D made great strides embedding a new position and movement pattern in his skiing. It will take further work, of course, but he's well on the way to building a new way of skiing that will allow him to experience the full performance capabilities of the new equipment. Keep working on those base skills that you did so well with in camp. They'll continue to help you interrupt and supplant your old skiing style with new options.
Mrs deliberate came to camp with a rushed turn entry and bit of a stem initiation. I'm please to say that those elements are history. At camp she did a great job of building new balance and edging skills, and she now has many new options in her turn shapes. I was quite impressed on the last day when playing the "pick a drill" game, that she chose as her drill one that required us to turn on our inside foot with the outside ski lifted up in the air. It's a skill that few skiers ever master, but she's well on her way. She left camp with a new set of skills that will lead her towards a new experience of what skiing can be.
Finally, dfl came to us as a relatively new skier, with limited days under his belt. His passion for the sport was infectious, reminding me of that childlike fascination that permeated my soul when I first stepped onto a pair of skis so many years ago. It was fun watching him work so hard at mastering the new skills he was learning, and seeing him achieve success. And Mrs dfl, a professional dance instructor left with many new steps in here skiing skills repertoire. But her biggest achievement may have been teaching me to salsa! No small task! What a fun night that was.
So all in all, a great camp. It's so much fun for me to watch people build their skills and take their skiing to new plateaus. Our campers had the rare opportunity to be surrounded by great skiers/racers from all over the world, watch them train, and see the product of that training. It was so rewarding for me to be going up the lift with my campers and listen to them point out a drill the racers were doing, name it, and point out it's purpose,,, because they'd done it. To not only recognize that what they were witnessing was great skiing, but to be able to identify the specific technical elements of the racers technique that made it great; the counter, the inside hip drive, the angulation, and the parallel shins. Almost all our campers experienced this same epiphany of new technical understanding.
Will we do it again next season? easiski and I have been discussing it. I'd love to, but much depends on how things progress here at home. If we do we'll present it much earlier than we did this year. I'm sure, along with the current ugly economy, the short notice of the camp contributed to the less than capacity numbers. Also, we'd probably only offer a single camp, and expand to a second week only if numbers warranted it.
Thanks everyone for your hard work and enthusiasm at the camp. I had a great time meeting and working with each of you! I'll get some pics up soon.
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Poster: A snowHead
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FastMan, Great to hear from you, I do hope you're not too jet-lagged and that the grass hasn't grown too much in your absence.
I want to re-iterate again how hard all the participants worked and how much they all improved.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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easiski, it rained here every afternoon while I was gone. As such, the grass was over my knees. I got home at 11pm and went to work the next morning, so I didn't give jet lag a chance to mess with 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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Just to echo the positive comments already voiced by the group. Many thanks to Charlotte and Rick for raising our collective game. It was an excellent way to confront bad habits and find ways to reinforce new skills. The company was great; I must fess up to taking C's beer pic, a photo opp which I couldn't resist. Right now I'm, boring the pants off my younger two with reruns and demos. A bientot
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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 sure hope there is a future camp, and that I will be of a standard to take part by then!
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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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olpanije, Nice to hear from you - I assume you're back in the heat now!
Butterfly, We will be thinking of you if we do it again.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Masque, have you been able to publish any of your helmet-cam footage yet?
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andytb, i spoke to him on Saturday - he's working on 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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This afternoon I spent two hours at xscape working on skiing on the uphill ski! Something that I repeatedly didn't-quite-get at the camp. I'm rather happy with my progress, by the end I was holding my balance pretty well and was starting to do a couple of turns, thought the width of the slope doesn't lend itself to long traverses.
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andytb, Well done! All those skill development exercises, give a whole new purpose to skiing in a very restricted area don't they. Agreed the width is a problem though. Keep trying.
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FAQ
