 Poster: A snowHead
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OK so having whinged about the lack of interesting threads a poor attempt at starting one.
Not strictly technical but relevant to us all I'd guess. Heard some snippets on the radio this morning about Andy Murray having to work more on getting his head right for every game and maintain concentration etc. If I look back at my skiing this season I can clearly identify days when I was having a truly unenjoyable time, things weren't going right. Yet within a day I could be completely different.
Triggers for "bad days" were numerous - sudden temperature drop turning previously enjoyable mixed off piste into hardpack, foot pain, a few missed turns/cock ups in tight situations but I found that once things started going badly it was very difficult to turn around the day. However sacking off a few hours in the afternoon and going to do something else worked wonders and I rarely carried a poor day over to the next. in fact the bounce back days were some of the most enjoyable.
So has anyone got any tips for a mental reset during the day? Its not really a matter of concentration as I feel skiing is most enjoyable and flows more when I'm not thinking about it too hard (or rather thinking about lines than what I'm doing physically).
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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fatbob, a really good thread if I may say so. I suffer the same things. Poor visibility and flat light are my main triggers, but this year also included back pain/sciatica and cold feet (have bought boot warmers to solve that one).
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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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fatbob, if I am ever skiing like a dog I say to myself "put more energy into it" and the movement and flow seems to return. When the viz goes or I an "not feeling right" this usually works...... until fatigue destroys everything quite dramatically.
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I find a truly extravagant, 2-3 hour lunch often turns things around. And if they don't, I still have a big positive to take away from the day 
Other thing that affects me is the people I am skiing with. It is easy when it is just me and Mrs Monium to just decide that it's no fun and call it a day, give up early, go back and have a snooze. When there's a few more people there's a different dynamic, everyone is having fun, there's usually someone doing something different or silly in the group, so I tend to stick out longer on the hill.
Finally I tend to find that not giving a toss about it helps. If you go out trying to achieve great things, then you can be disappointed. If you go out assuming it will probably be a bit messy but focus on just relaxing and taking it easy, then you get what you aim for  Then again, I don't see skiing as a competitive sport, so personal development and improvement is nice, but actually just being on top of a mountain and cruising around is all I really need.
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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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Professional athletes in most sports use mental triggers before each performance to 'reset' and get their mind into gear. You see ski racers click poles in a certain way. I expect that the routine they have as the approach the start gate will be very uniform and almost ritualised to get their minds into game mode.
Outside of skiing you see the likes of Valentino Rossi in MotoGP with a very specific ritualised routine, crouching by the bike almost prayer like, and then pulling his leathers out of his ar$e on the exit of the pitlane.
When I'm climbing I tend to have a short routine where I hold the start holds for a few seconds while I get my head 'ready' which where I sort of clear my thoughts and have a mental 'shrug'. I'm usually still looking up thinking that it looks pretty improbable, but then I remind myself that it usually works out ok and trust that I'll know what to do once I make a start.
I guess I have a similar thought process in skiing before a tricky pitch.
For skiers generally I'd suggest things like putting your ski's on in a specific way \ order, getting the pole straps just so, clicking the poles etc. etc. to remind your mind & body what you are about to ask it to do.
Not sure if it's going to help on a 'bad day'. That's when I go snowboarding 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Aussie Rules football always looks like a totally mental game. Does that count?
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jjc,
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takes your mind off things
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Not to mention the opposition's! 
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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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jjc, like it  How long did you need to 'drill' the trigger word technique before it would work\help ?
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Jeez! If I'm skiing it means I'm on holiday which means switching my mind off from my humdrum life. I don't think too deeply about skiing, I might stop enjoying it if I did.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'll have to try the trigger word technique in my tennis games.
As for skiing, the most impressive change in my skiing within the same day was a few years ago in the Dolomites. I was having a totally crap morning and then the guide suggested recreating the James Bond chase scene and I volunteered to play Bond. Next thing I knew, I was FLYING through a gulley in the forest. Bond would have been proud, no, envious. I went so fast that I lost the bad guys (one of whom was snowball, if I remember correctly) in about 3 seconds, so we never got the scene on film, but I skied like a secret service agent's stunt double for the rest of the day.
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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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Not being hungover is good. I find even a couple of pints the night before can be problematic. If I'm intending to ski seriously the following day then I may not drink at all or will have a panache the night before.
Three things other that work for me:
1) traverse first - feel the snow underfoot and bounce like Tigger at the same time. Adjust stance/get weight right. This tends to eliminate or reduce worries about the snow - will it be hard to ski/does it feel stable?
2) don't stand there and look at it. If it is genuinely cake or death then focus on where you are going, not where the objective hazard is. Like other handy lines (turn before the gate) this is easier said than done.
3) rituals work. I tend to relax myself by thinking of something funny and then empty my head (some may find this harder than others). I don't find trying to generate aggression works - that tends to happen all by itself once I'm actually moving.
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Something I've noticed is that if I fall twice in quick succession I'm going to spend most of the rest of the day face planting if I try to carry on. One fall is fine, but if i go over again my balance seems to go, I become defensive, stiff, back on my heels and then I'm all over the place.
From a mental games perspective I suppose that the realisation that I ski like a narse after two falls has it's own benefit. I've learnt to take things easy for a while, potter about on blues and reds, or go for a quick pitstop. Let the body and balance 'reset' then maybe I'll be skiing better later in the day.
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You know it makes sense.
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Hells Bells,
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Poor visibility and flat light are my main triggers,
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Me too, I rely far too much on my eyes and not enough on feeling the conditions through my feet. I have found no cure save for an improvement in visibility. Occasionally giving myself a stern talking-to does the trick. An overall improvement in my skiing has led to bad days occurring less frequently, though.
gorilla,
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don't stand there and look at it
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I suffer a bit from vertigo and not stopping for too long at the top of a steep bit is crucial for me (in relative terms, that is - I don't do 'cake or death'!)
Spud9, hmm, thinking about it, shouting at myself to get out of the back seat is most often the best cure of all. 
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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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Hells Bells,
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Poor visibility and flat light are my main triggers,
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Me too, I rely far too much on my eyes and not enough on feeling the conditions through my feet. I have found no cure save for an improvement in visibility. Occasionally giving myself a stern talking-to does the trick. An overall improvement in my skiing has led to bad days occurring less frequently, though.
gorilla,
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don't stand there and look at it
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I suffer a bit from vertigo and not stopping for too long at the top of a steep bit is crucial for me (in relative terms, that is - I don't do 'cake or death'!)
Spud9, hmm, thinking about it, shouting at myself to get out of the back seat is most often the best cure of all. |
On the EoSB while we were still in the "intermediate" group we did blind skiing. You have two of you on a very quiet and fairly flat section, just enough incline to keep you going at first, the person behind just calls "turn" or "open" to tell you to put in a turn or to stop and open your eyes. The first attempt showed us all up a bit, but the second attempt we got better, by the third and fourth time we'd worked it out a bit.
Might help with the flat light and confidence building. It certainly gave me a lot more awareness of not looking at the ground under me, and feeling my way down a bit.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Kafi Lutz does wonders...
Difficult snow conditions I usually revert to a few turns each of a couple of basic drills... gets feeling dialled in and totally changes the day... I always skied at least 1/3 of my warm up run with undone buckles for the same reason when I skied in Oz... My canadian instructor likes a few bounces and skiing on one ski... whatever - we all have stuff that dials us in... for me that may change depending on conditions but knowing what to try sure helps a lot...
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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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I'm in two minds re: this thread. Do I have 'bad days' skiing? It's true that from a 'being out in it' perspective I would happily sign the 'blue sky skier' chit. However, I am not certain that this is when I do my best skiing. My ski partner resists skiing in adverse conditions and I guess I would not choose an adverse day - flat light, howling gale, harpacked icey terrain - to ski in. Though I guess I end up skiing in adverse conditions just because a holiday is too short not to, or because an associated ski party has decided to. However, when I look back at things I think I have done my best skiing in adverse conditions - maybe because the brain is more engaged in dealing with what it doesn't like than on the skis. Most of my recalled 'most satisfying skiing moments' have been as a result of skiing in adverse conditions. How about that for reverse psychology  ?
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FAQ
