 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Guys, appealing to all of ye great skiers out there for one good thought /reminder to help a 'trier' conquer icy steep reds/moderate blacks - the noise as one is traversing the piste in prep of a turn really puts all rationale manoeuvres out of my head! help
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I find the first turn is the hardest. Once I've made that turn, I find keeping a rhythm going really does help.
And my mantra on the bike is, "speed is your friend". On the MTB, lots of tricky stuff is easier at high speed since you have more stability. I think the same will apply to turns when on skis?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"you can do it"
"I DID IT!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Sing!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
nbt, has got it in one. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I really did remember to do my edges............didn't i????"
..................oh sh11111111111te!!!!!
also don't think about it, just do it 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
pain is transitory so it's not worth worrying about. It's tha same as boarding, as long as your weight is being put into the front of the planks and kept there you can make the turn. I know from very personal experience that the moment your weight goes into your heels and stays there, you loose all control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just get down it... I wouldnt worry about being stylish or cursing yourself for not turning in the right place. Once you are confident that you can get down it somehow... you can start thinking about getting down it with knowhow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
doogo, first make sure your edges are sharp, next make sure your edges are sharp, next try to go more down the fall line of an icy slope especially if it is only a short distance, it is always much harder to turn on a steepslope if you are traversing across it.
Finally a short prayer is often helpful, something along the lines of "Please God don't let me die !" will often suffice 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
One thought - lean down the hill
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's all about edges, it they are good enough they will bite into the hardpack, if they aren't you will slide.
Sometimes it can be quite funny doing a controlled sideslip straight down at speed. You do get some funny looks. And that takes confidence...thats all...
But it probably isn't the time to ask.. you need to prepare yourself in advance.
Practice getting your edges to bite on early morning hardpack.
For me this means turning your knees into the hill...not leaning into it...and keep looking down the hill trying to get your wait over the edges and front of your skis.
In a word...angulation
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
The one thought - face down the hill, once you let yourself start to traverse it's twice as hard to turn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Lean forward (I think "Up and forward" at the turn initiation - weird but it works for me!)....don't worry if you slide, relax....you'll stop eventually when you reach the next patch of snow!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Actually, that's pretty close - I talk myself down slopes like that: "lean forward, lean forward, and some more!!!, up and down, up and down etc...., that's crap, Steve, do it better... etc"
Works for me - might for you (except the "Steve" bits, obviously)
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Sorry it cannot be done in one line
All depends on the conditions.But in general,look for the part of the piste with the best snow, try short linked turns try to confine your path down between lines about 3 to 4 metres apart ,less if poss,avoid traversing right across the slope till you have to do your turn to avoid going off,do not let your outer/downhill leg become like a poker as you turn.
All the usual stuff that you know already but which is forgotten the second you go over the edge.
Pretty much what everybody else is saying.
I generally pretend that my upper body is just hanging over the front of the skis like a sack of cement as they pass below,and my legs are jelly(that does not take much pretence)I try to keep as low as poss and breathe in on the turns.What could possibly go wrong.Well it works for me.
Now if I could just get a body that is 40 years younger
Oh just one other thing that I have noticed,do not stand at the top of a steep piste for too long looking at it,it just makes you even more nervous,Just push your way through the crowd that is always there and ski off.everybody will think you are an expert till you go backside over tit
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Who is Luc Alphand,oh yes I remember,I hope you are not going to emulate some of his crashes,see you in the Yeti bar or in bandages next week.You can buy the first round ,now you really are nervous
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Mark Lehto wrote: |
| Just get down it... I wouldnt worry about being stylish or cursing yourself for not turning in the right place. |
Quite right. Bvgger style, if you're too involved with looking good you might forget about more important things, like looking out for other piste users, or navigating to the next bar.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just a couple more small tips. On just about every icy slope you will find that the snow has been swept out to the sides of the piste by all the people that gone down it before you. If you can hack a tight line, then stick to the couple of metres at the side of the piste. You will almost always find that there is good powdery snow there! The other advantage is that everybody else is grubbing around in the middle of the piste, so you get a free run down the side!
In fact what I usually do is ski a couple of meters out beside the piste boundary because you almost always find that if the piste is icy then the snow there has been skied enough to be like normal grippy pisted stuff.
If you really can't use the sides then remember that pistes usually only have icy patches (unless you ski down a world cup run immediately after the race, in which case you learn to respect the racers all the more). When you hit ice, just go straight down it and head for the next bump which will usually have decent snow on it to stop yourself on! It's worked every time for me so far, except, like I said, on the Hahnenkamm, which was a sobering experience...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The most difficult part is committing downhill. It's essential, but scary! Also, be gentle, but decisive on your edges.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Pole plant. If you can't then you're too scared and leaning too far uphill...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn to 'love the hill' - it's all about what's in your head.
AW
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
Great thread doogo, and a common problem for us all.
Lots of good tips: you must adopt what works best for you.
Like mountain mad and Legal Steve, I'm a great talker-to-myself when things get tough - boosts my morale and gets me more room as other skiers move away realising I am quite bonkers.
I'm the opposite of nbt: I take one turn at a time: go-for-it, turn, and stop. Relax, smile, deep breath, and off we go again. . . .
Each time you turn and manage to stop, you are reasured you are in control and have more confidence for the next turn. Then you try two turns, and stop. Then three, and soon you are zooming down with that Alphand guy way behind.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
From my limited experience...
At the top take the fall line first off rather than a timid traverse. That way your first turn will have some speed about it which should make life easier.
Fluid movements rather than rigid with fear.
Three deep breaths at the top and think confident, assertive skiing (unless your mind is a blank and you're dribbling with fear in which case reach for the hip flask...).
Don't look at the week two skiers who've found their way onto the wrong piste.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
I just tell myself that it's a bloody long walk down. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
skanky,
"on your bum"
I find 'don't f***** fall' also good in these situations...!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
| Quote: |
It's all about edges
|
Yes, the edges of the piste where you are most likely to find soft snow.
Wait for someone who loooks as though they know what thety are up to and follow them as far as you can, then wait for the next one. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Pole planting is good and try to relax, your legs won't work properly if you are rigid! As I have found out on many occasions... I always tell myself to "dig deep, you've paid to do this so bloody well get on with it!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
JT, I thought that the streaks on blacks were where it's worn through, too. Now I discover it's where someone's salopettes have worn through.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Be aggressive, not tentative.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
doogo, you should try the Luc Alphand on a mountain bike!!! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
doogo, Do not rush yuor turns. If you rush your movements then the turn will be rushed and you'll skid. Take your time with the initiation of the turn, and the rest will happen on it's own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A couple of years ago, after a particularly heavy session in Soll, the next morning several of us were waiting for a friend at the bottom of the piste and all we could hear was a pretty ropey rendition of "Happy Talk" coming down. Apparently it helped him a bit to think (and sing) about something happy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Whenever I'm up against it, be it running, cycling, skiing, I try to remember this
| Quote: |
If you think you're beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win but think you can't
It's almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose you're lost.
For out of this world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
but, sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.
|
It got me through months of training for my first half marathon, then it got me through the even itself. I think it had the effect of making me feel guilty for thinking of quitting.
Of course, there are times when youve just got to think, "Ah, dangly bits. How long will the pain last anyway? It's not as if it will last for ever, is it?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
hyweljenkins, blimey, struggling to remember all that, I think I would end up skiing/cycling into a tree! Agree with the sentiments though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
