 Poster: A snowHead
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I've seen this advert for 2 one day courses next month.
http://www.chrisfecherskiing.com/
I had coaching from Chris last year and he's very good. What interests me, is to find out how other teachers here would approach the course subject matter.
Is it realistic in a fridge?
Is anyone planning to go along?
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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, I suppose you could practice a couple of long turns of the type you would use off-piste. As opposed to racing turns I mean. Not that there is a big difference.
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Sat 8-05-10 14:41; edited 1 time in total
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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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I think I'll wait for the Big Mountain day.
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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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What is new indoor snow like if it isn't groomed?
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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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snowbunny, probably nodding off thinking about the necessity for both RECCO and a transceiver at all times.
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arv, Good point, though I suppose it's useful being able to work on skills without worrying about being swept away 
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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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Whole day at Tamworth on a Sat? Well the morning is going to be really busy if today is anything to go by, 2 Junior club ski sessions take the whole morning as do 2 Junior snowboard club sessions, and a load of us junior club member parents have a play while the kids are whizzing about so pretty busy all morning! Looks like the discount lesson sessions are drawing the punters in pretty well as well so today was the busiest I've seen it in 2 or 3 months.
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Fridges are good for under 10secs of slalom turns on slalom skis and not much else. I say save your money.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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narc, yes, more like 8 seconds of ordinary turns, I'd say. Really, so far from proper off piste conditions that I cannot see the point. I'd like to try skiing un-bashed indoor snow, it might be more fun (?). ie require a tiny bit more skill.
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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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| snowball wrote: |
| narc, yes, more like 8 seconds of ordinary turns, I'd say. Really, so far from proper off piste conditions that I cannot see the point. I'd like to try skiing un-bashed indoor snow, it might be more fun (?). ie require a tiny bit more skill. |
It's also 10-12 degrees of uber-gnar
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I have spent a weekend up at Glenmore Lodge doing mostly off-piste stuff when the mountain was storm-bound and all the lifts were shut. Perhaps not realistic but we still did things like skiing roped up down their plastic slope and belaying off skis embedded in the snow round the car park.
Is it Maslow's hierarchy of needs that says you cannot learn if you are frightened, cold, hungry or the like?
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You know it makes sense.
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I'm not sure I get the negativity - is it going to be a full on freeride course? I'd guess not. Are there important "foundation" things you can work on indoors? Absolutely.
If Wozzer Smith can run freeride courses on a Swiss glacier I don't see how a fridge is that much different. if you go on one of these expecting to huck cornices and be **** deep in powder then you really need to examine your expectations.
Personally i'm more of the "just go ski with soemone better than you" school of learning but I'd think if you appraoched these with the right frame of mind you could get a lot out of it with a coach who can definitley ski better than you.
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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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| snowbunny wrote: |
I've been told that I look as though I've nodded off in long turns, so I suppose that there is plenty to work on |
The low speeds you can get up to indoors really don't warrant any more on longer turns.
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Poster: A snowHead
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snowball, the small runs wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the disproportionate time it takes to get back up the damn thing. I was in the Tamworth snow-dome about 3 years ago and the moving carpet they had was a joke. I understand they are designed for learners, but can't they install a "rapid ascent" for more confident skiers? If they did I'd be more inclined to go more often.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| snowbunny wrote: |
| I've been told that I look as though I've nodded off in long turns, so I suppose that there is plenty to work on |
Ah, the old park 'n ride problem.
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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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| snowball wrote: |
| Dr John wrote: |
| snowball, the small runs wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the disproportionate time it takes to get back up the damn thing. I was in the Tamworth snow-dome about 3 years ago and the moving carpet they had was a joke. I understand they are designed for learners, but can't they install a "rapid ascent" for more confident skiers? If they did I'd be more inclined to go more often. |
At Hemel I reckon the round trip is about 3 minutes when there are no queues at all. |
About 5 min round trip at Tamworth but hardly ever any queue holding you up more than a few 10s of seconds
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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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Plenty of ways to challenge good skiers on an indoor slope, all of which will help build good foundation skills to help you ski the entire mountain.
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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, good point, clearly and succinctly made
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Chris taught me more in one day at Tamworth than I'd learnt in two weeks in Austria and one in Romania - both full day ski school.
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| youspurs1 wrote: |
| Chris taught me more in one day at Tamworth than I'd learnt in two weeks in Austria and one in Romania - both full day ski school. |
Was your course also on Freeride skills?
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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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rob@rar, well yes, of course, but snowbunny's implied point is my one.
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snowball, I'm not sure how "freeride skills" are defined, but I can't see, for example, why you can't teach jump turns on the equivalent of a blue/red piste, or slow, controlled transitions for long radius turns. You can do a lot of work on stuff like rotary separation, edge control, timing & coordination all of which are foundation skills important to skiing complex terrain and snow conditions. So I think you can easily address the technical skill set required for off-piste skiing. What is difficult is to address the tactical skills set, so in that sense there are, understandably, limitations to what can be achieved indoors.
Unbashed snow in the snow domes, if Hemel is typical (Tamworth is atypical I believe), is very heavy with a high water content. Not very enjoyable, IMO, and not much use for simulating off-piste skiing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well, there are a huge range of off-piste snow types, including old, stiff ex-powder and heavy, waterlogged snow (which I skied a lot at Andermatt this year). Learning to carve a turn in snow which does not allow any sideways drift is fundamental so it sounds like it could be very relevant. Whether that might be enjoyable would be a matter of opinion - sounds quite fun to me. Is there any way I could find out?
Jump turns on the (almost) flat are really hard! Not much like doing them on a steep slope. Though I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the same thing you mean.
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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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There are a wide range of snow types found off-piste, and how you approach skiing that snow is a tactical decision which is difficult/impossible to simulate indoors. But you can do a lot to equip skiers with the skills which form the foundation of their tactical decisions.
| snowball wrote: |
| Is there any way I could find out? |
I don't think any of the indoor slopes would build up a depth of unpisted snow.
| snowball wrote: |
| Jump turns on the (almost) flat are really hard! Not much like doing them on a steep slope. Though I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the same thing you mean. |
Indeed, so a good way to hone the skills of skiers who can do them, and a non-threatening environment for teaching skiers who can't do them.
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I suppose I was just idly wondering if, before it is redistributed and bashed there are ever any appreciable local depths of new snow after snow-making.
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You know it makes sense.
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snowball, no, it doesn't accumulate that fast. No more than a few centimetres per day, and it falls in piles underneath the snow cannons so has to be moved around the slope by pistebasher.
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brian
brian
Guest
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snowball, I'm guessing you've never tried to ski through unpisted cannon snow? Because it's pumped out as little crystals rather than flakes, there's practically no air so it's really, really dense. A bit like hurricane force Scottish windslab.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| Plenty of ways to challenge good skiers on an indoor slope, all of which will help build good foundation skills to help you ski the entire mountain. |
Yup, the Tamworth snow certainly taught me how to deal with the icy first thing in the morning conditions on the EoSB, thought they were perfect conditions! And I think I had a far easier time learning to deal with the afternoon slush than some of the other low hours skiers who were only used to soft stuff had learning to deal with the icy stuff.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Hello Everyone,
Its interesting to hear your opinions on the Freeride Foundation Days, and thanks to you all for the honest remarks.
The idea behind the days is really to run something a little different. Freeride skiing to a good level requires a solid foundation of basic skills.
You can't get away with 'park and ride', even if you go and buy yourself some super fat big mountain skis. Do you really want to be that guy doing 100mph in the back seat.
Watch any of your extreme skiing hero's skiing, and you'll no doubt see a super solid foundation of skills. Including a centred and balanced stance and the ability to move quickly back to centre.
Skiing all over the mountain also requires a big range of skills and the ability to be really flexible with these skills and to mix them when and where appropriate.
I can't promise perfect snow or powder at the indoor slopes, give me a shout during the winter though and I'll see what I can do
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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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Sorry to go back to the same point - it isn't that important, but:
Yes, of course basic skills are important in freeride as they are with most other things. But if I watch the class will they be doing different things from the normal classes because this is a freeride class? If not, the claim that this is specifically a freeride class is bogus. No harm in that if you get people to practice technique who might not otherwise - and perhaps they will be doing different things.
However it seems to me that freeride differs from other off-piste skiing more in attitude than technique. The difference becomes real only on the big slope.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| snowball wrote: |
However it seems to me that freeride differs from other off-piste skiing more in attitude than technique. The difference becomes real only on the big slope. |
AIUI Freeride differs only from other off-piste skiing by being a sexier marketing term for the vast majority of us punters. In snowboarding freeride became a term for people who didn't go in park or carve trenches on an alpine board i.e. most recreational snowboarders.
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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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| skierchris wrote: |
Watch any of your extreme skiing hero's skiing, and you'll no doubt see a super solid foundation of skills. Including a centred and balanced stance and the ability to move quickly back to centre.
Skiing all over the mountain also requires a big range of skills and the ability to be really flexible with these skills and to mix them when and where appropriate. |
Julia Mancuso looked so solid skiing at the Verbier Xtreme this year - WC racers have such solid fundimentals.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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snowball, Thats down to me I guess, and what I can come up with. Freeride big-mountain skiing is my back ground, obviously I'm hoping I can inject some of what I've done every day for the last 20 winters in Chamonix, into a fun and effective format. Freeskiing, freeride, bigmountain or even extreme skiing all share many parallels, whats more important
for many skiers is that they have a solid foundation that becomes so automatic, they are able to relax ski and focus on the more important stuff like having fun, your line, speed and dangers etc etc. I could have pitched it as a race camp, like many do. What do you think would be any different?
narc, Julia is a real smoothy, I watched her training in NZ a few years ago. Inspirational skiing, in fact I found watching the WC girls training in the mornings very helpful
whilst training for my Eurotest. The girls are better to watch, as arguably they have better technique than the guys, maybe more obtainable technique anyway, as guys like Bode
don't count!
Cheers 
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