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L4 Candidates in final training prep

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead

http://youtube.com/v/hsHmqW603Dc&feature=related

With skimottaret placing some footage up I thought people may also be interested to see this. Its all from April last season


This is footage of some training with L4 Tech candidates. Of these Ed/Mark/Joe/Dave now have their L4's (3 of them passed just after this in Zermatt). Its only shorts and longs footage but gives you an idea of the kind of turn BASI are looking for at L4. Myself and Mark W were just there for the experience. Its quite interesting for me to look back at now, Im very much BASI looking there, too rigid. Its great to look back just one year from now and see the changes!

(just link through to the other vids at the side if you wish)

With regards to short turns we were meant to have minimal movement, working the legs below the hip, extending and flexing with the legs but not massively with the upper body to keep the hips low. Mark had a clear idea of what the examiners wanted here, he had participated in 3 L4 tech exams by this time. My biggest problem was getting rid of all of the obvious extending and flexing you have to show in your L2 exam and really working the ski and building that resistance. ( that huge arm carriage doesnt look great either Shocked )
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R555MAC, who was the trainer?

interesting to see the standard, i wish basi would publish stuff like this to get a feel for things, on my tech my trainer ran through L3 and L4 exam footage and everyone was pretty good at picking who ws at the mark and who didnt make it.... so first mark did his tech 4 times? ouch... but good skiing and cool that he got it!...

got any bumps footage?
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skimottaret, I think they're planning to put some videos on the website, showing people who are just at each level. But I think they have a few concerns over people using this as a picture to copy.
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R555MAC, Cheers, interesting stuff. Out of interest can you remember if they were on the 17m, or slalom ski's ?
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skimottaret, Peter Kuwall was the trainer, Mark helped out by explaining what the trainers were currently looking for. Mark had failed his L4 tech on a different part of his skiing each time, twice I believe in the bumps and once on short turns (this seems to suggest each trainer wanted to see a slightly different turn). Never on longs. Unfortunately there isnt any bumps footage. We did a lot of moguls aswell, made our own rut line which was fun. Best practise there seemed to be cat and mouse, especially for me getting to follow the L4 candidates made me improve very fast! Even more so when the poles were taken away!

It will be good to see BASI put up some videos. Even the ones above are not amazing quality but you still get an idea of what the turn should look like. You can identify early pressure.
Also the other thing worth noting is that in the variables there should be no bounce in the turn (like I do a bit). They are looking for the ski to be grounded through the entire turn getting the max performance possible. You can do aired edge changes but only if it is obvious that you meant to do so.

david@mediacopy, think most were on a SL ski. Ed wasnt IIRC but everybody else was. Ive just ordered my self a 175 Head WC GS ski for all of my L3 stuff. I love a stiff ski everywhere and the lower radius will be easy enough to handle on 1 ski etc. (unlike my current 185 Stockli with a 27m radius, Eurotest only I reckon, think it would make the ADC courses pretty challenging!)

these were the final set of exams before the 17m plus rule was introduced. I recall it being mentioned that I would have to be on a larger radius ski the following season. I was on Supershape Magnums there, they are great but having since been on my FIS Stocklis I cant get enough! Always a FIS ski from here on out when it comes to the piste.
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Damned tidy skiing from those fellas...but hard to say too much technically as the snow is soft and they all seem to be skiing pretty much well within themselves. Think at the higher level you've got to be pushing it a fair bit.
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Yeah I think they were all skiing pretty comfortably. Not having to push as such, just making slight changes. It was incredibly soft snow as well, very slushy we spent most of out time in the bumps as a result of that. Very easy to make a deep rut line. I think come exams when the trainer wanted to see them push to 100% they can do so. I ski within myself almost all of the time, when a trainer tells me to push to 100% thats when I am willing to do so, if it is necessary for that change in technique (pushing 100% in bumps I feel makes much quicker changes) or just that extra speed (in race training). It was pretty mellow though, the bumps is where people pushed most, certainly in cat and mouse where you have a pace and line that dont suit your normal style.
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I liked Joe's stuff the best - he looked like he was having the most fun (& had brightest kecks) though his arms didn't look very BASI to me.
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Quote:

though his arms didn't look very BASI to me


so last century dude snowHead

Quote:

Joe/Dave now have their L4's


Toofy Grin
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skimottaret, so there is more freedom of expression now allowed with arms? Though it would take a particularly liberal BASI examiner to interpret my Morrisseyesque handplants as passworthy.
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I think the examiners are more concerned about arm carriage in pre ISIA exams. The only reason I have been given by an examiner for the classic wide are carriage is that it is an effective teaching tool. You can easily determine when there are separation issues. My arms are generally significantly less basi esq now, the only time I have them very wide is in short turns looking for good rotational separation. I think that is better to have a slightly unique style and that nice relaxed look that Joe shows in his skiing (as I am sure you agree)

Joe's skiing is good. He is a very good off-piste skier. You can see his comfort when we are in the off-piste.
He's not your typical BASI kind of skier, but he still gets the performance and has a nice individual style.

I think as long as it is tidy the arm carriage is not a huge concern to trainers. Its also reasonably easy to change. Racing changed it for me! very big help, I kept slowing myself down by emerging from the GS gate into a hug gorilla like stance NehNeh
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here is some footage of an ISTD tech course this april in Tux...
http://youtube.com/v/noDNnerNbpk not hugely impressive, would be interesting to know who made it (Perhaps 1 i recon)
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fatbob, the guy in the vid you liked passed wink
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You know it makes sense.
skimottaret, That last video, what is the Tech course and what are they training for?
If it has anything to do with instructing I would not be happy being taught by any of them.
I have been skiing for many years and was looking to perhaps get ripped apart by an instructor next time out to bring myself more in line with modern techniques.
But to be honest none of those skiiers to me looked at all fluid.
I am 37 have been skiing for 33 years with a couple of seasons thrown in(In Mottaret), so in no way amateur but fail to see how these guys can be looking to teach guys like me.
I may well be completely missing the point, so could do with some enlightenment!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Chattonmill, I suspect that the video doesn't show the difficulty of what they were attempting.

The ISTD tech course is the technical training \ examination element for the top level BASI qualification.
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david@mediacopy wrote:
Chattonmill, I suspect that the video doesn't show the difficulty of what they were attempting.

Maybe, I think the cameraman would have done a lot better.
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rjs, Toofy Grin quite possibly.
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david@mediacopy, Fair enough, video does tend to flatten a slope. Are there any videos of them that would let me see their level more realistically?
Just interested as I may be buying a Chalet in Les Gets and if so would be interested in progressing a BASI qualification ot two!
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Chattonmill, have a search of youtube for ISIA or ISTD and you will get lots of training sessions from various course providers, i stuck that one up as it seemed to be an actual recent exam situation, everyone puckers up when on film and to be honest i would think not too many passed on that course, look at the video on the opening post for some addtional footage.. the variables at the end looked quite steep to me as david says...

if you have done a couple seasons L1 and L2 should be a breeze but you may need to tighten things up for L3 and certainly L4
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skimottaret, I was more impressed with the first video, I think I may have a look into this after all.
Thanks
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Chattonmill, not to be salesy or anything but we run single day courses for people considering BASI. we had just under 30 people do these last month and they all seemed to get a lot out of it. next one is 13 july at hemel have a look at http://www.insideoutskiing.com/pro.html
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skimottaret, I have seen that, but unfortunately Hemel is a bit of a trek for me! I would love to though.
I would however like at some point to have an instructor for a day to pull my technique to pieces.
I think concentrating on something like BASI would make me focus more, which can only be a good thing!
On another note I have been reading the last couple of threads about anticipation and countering and have realised that I really don't think about much when skiing.
I just ski as hard as I can, I think I need to be taken way out of my comfort zone....wherever that may be!
I suppose the only analagy I can make is that skiing is like walking, you put the ski's/shoes on and do it. It feels natural so I don't think about what I am doing, perhaps that needs to change!
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skimottaret, any plans for an occasional day course up North, Leeds or Manchester way???
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Hmmm Leeds is getting better, I would be up for that!
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kitenski, Chattonmill, nope sorry chill and xscape leeds are prob out bounds for us
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To be fair to the guys and gals doing their L4 tech, the video from Hintertux doesn't reflect the gradient or snow conditions that they had to contend with.
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