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How to be the best competition skier I can be

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
clarky999, yep, it's all about the journey. And we've kinda been here before with The Snow Leopard http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/outdoor-activities/5038812/2010-Winter-Olympics-The-Snow-Leopard-earns-his-spot.html

I was on a race camp in Solden one summer and there was a guy in his mid 80s - he did everything we did, including the afternoon fitness stuff and he was no slouch in the gates. Clearly, nobody had told him he couldn't do it. So Montles, just go for it and see where it leads.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Bode Swiller, Yes the Snow Leopard did get to the Olympics, but he was the only skier from an African nation, not GB which has many more people to compete against & a much much more difficult qualification standard. Which is actually probably going to get harder!
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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?
Plugboy, Sounds like the OP has the ability to represent a non-traditional snowsports nation. Mind you the standard there can be pretty high - Errol Kerr was the Jamaican ski team in the Vancouver skicross and he's a lifelong Tahoe skier and training partner of Daron Rahlves etc
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Plugboy, There is also a guy racing for Haiti that I met last winter. The OP did write that he could get a passport from somewhere else, I agree that he is never going to compete for GBR, getting a start licence from somewhere unusual avoids any problems with national quotas for race entries.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Plugboy, that wasn't really the point I was making.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
Montles I would say go for it but make sure you enjoy the journey.

I'm mid thirties and have just started to learn to be an instructor: most people on this forum know more than I do but here's my opinion/experience for what its worth.

I moved to France and skied every day, regardless of weather, I was also lucky enough to find someone that could coach me and help me change the way I ski. This was purely trial and error. If you love skiing then changing the way you ski to become a better skier will be a rewarding experience in itself. I still recall a session when I started to get short turns right and the coach gave me a hard won compliment - it was way more satisfying than any bonus I got in my previous IT sales job.

What advice can I give you based on my limited experience ??

1. Skiing is a great sport practised by mainly great people but as with any cross section of society you will meet negative people: often when I told people in France that I wanted to be an instructor they raised eyebrows and reminded me about the speed test. I don't let this put me off. If I train hard and am dedicated enough why shouldn't I pass ? I'm not offering any opinion on whether you can reach your goal but I know I've reached a level I wouldn't have thought possible a few years ago, so aiming beyond what you first think possible isn't totally crazy.

2. Lots of people who have posted before me have said ski as much as you can, which I agree with too but you need some structure. I chose the BASI instructor exams but this may not be right for you. The earlier BASI levels help you deconstruct your skiing and put you on a path to a good technique. They changed me from a holiday skier skidding around on reds to someone with still a long way to go but an idea of what is needed to be done.

3. Once you have a decent general technique choose a race camp for your chosen discipline. This will probably be the first time you will get any quantitive idea of the gap between you and the person you want to become.

4. Ski training for a purpose is very different to holiday skiing. Not enjoying myself on skis (when a training session went badly) was a new whole experience. It took me a while to develop the right mindset, hone my focus and block out distractions. I've seen people who are way better skiers than me fail courses that I have passed purely because of their attitude/approach. Similarly I've nearly failed courses because I got anxious and needy of praise.

Finally I'd say that if you don't achieve your goal at least you won't be wondering about what could have been. You may well find something along the way that you like and pursue that - if you hadn't chased a crazy dream then you would never have found that.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
pshambro wrote:
Montles I would say go for it but make sure you enjoy the journey.


So true!!! Ski as much as you want but try new sports and enjoy yourself on the way. The number one 'rule' in skiing is to have fun The second rule is not to forget the first rule.

To hell with the haters. Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.


http://youtube.com/v/63p5FqY5aes
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
pshambro, great first post welcome to snowHead '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.
Great video. My sig even got a mention!

'There is no reason to have a Plan B because it will distract from Plan A'

That's positive thinking!
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
pshambro, very good post. Thanks for sharing. Very Happy
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Thanks to everyone especially JJC (I will drop you a line) and pshambro for a thought out and positive reply.

Hambro, why do you think people focused on the speed test as the reason for their scepticism? Is it amply that that's seen as the hardest part of the test to master?

Would anyone care to say more about why the barriers to entry are higher in downhill or skier cross than in freeride? Other than being quick enough, what are the barriers? Skier cross always seemed like something where the competitive field is fairly thin, to me, but I'm all ears.

Re the effect of age on strength, all the evidence I've seen says that before 55 or 60 the tail off is marginal and mainly concerned with fast twitch fibres. Downhill, I would have thought, uses mainly slow twitch as powering yourself through bends is a pure resistance exercise (traditionally a case of slow-twitch strength) rather than an explosive exercise. Different for bump skiers I would have thought. Happy to be corrected mind u.
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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.
The big variable of course is time. 99per cent of adult developers don't have the the ability to go and live on the slopes. I do. That's a big advantage, I can ski ten hours a day for five years.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:
Would anyone care to say more about why the barriers to entry are higher in downhill or skier cross than in freeride?


Montles, Freeride and skier cross are relatively new competition sports compared to the established Alpine events.

The English HNGB has a freestyle\skicross section on it's web site, along with a 'start competing' page.

http://snowsportengland.org.uk/what-is-freestyle-skiing

Snowsport England has it's annual Coach Conference coming up in September and I'm sure there will be presentations on Ski-Cross competition. Ether way members of the UK coaching team and FIS technical delegates will likely be there so it could be worth attending. You don't have to be a member of SSE to attend.

The last one I attended was very inspiring with regard to opportunities in Ski-Cross.

For initial coaching you might also check out Derek Chandler at http://www.skimarmalade.com who helps coach Emily Sarsfield, one of the top UK ladies. He often works in Tignes early season and I can recommend him.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Montles wrote:
Would anyone care to say more about why the barriers to entry are higher in downhill or skier cross than in freeride? Other than being quick enough, what are the barriers? Skier cross always seemed like something where the competitive field is fairly thin, to me, but I'm all ears.


For Freeride there isn't the same level of organisation structure to deal with. Its also a judged sport rather than timed so the performance criteria are a bit different. Competing at the top level still requires you to be an exceptional skier but you are doing something rather different that is pretty new in a comp format.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
In some ways I think freeride is a little less technical than racing. I don't mean easier, but it doesn't (so much) come down to minute split second timing differences, where you need mm-precision to get the fastest line around a gate. Whilst you would obviously still need excellent technique, it's more open to interpretation and creativity, and you are more able get away with/recover from the little errors -being 30cms offline, edge angle not 100% correct, etc - that would equal an extra second on your race time and thus a blown race. With freeride being more about style, you have the opportunity to re-compose yourself and fix the situation without such harsh and complete penalties.

I think you are focussing too much on the fitness as your challenge. I think getting race-fit should definitely be doable. The problem you'll face is learning the absolute perfect technique you need for racing, at your age. Being totally honest, I think you can only really learn that properly and completely as a child (I know I couldn't do it, and I'm 22, ski a lot, and have reasonable ability - it's not until you start to get fairly good that you realise just what a gulf of ability there is between even the very best recreational skiers- people who have grown up in ski resorts and raced since they could walk - and the pros.

Nothing wrong with trying to get as close as you can though.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:


In some ways I think freeride is a little less technical than racing. I don't mean easier, but it doesn't (so much) come down to minute split second timing differences, where you need mm-precision to get the fastest line around a gate. Whilst you would obviously still need excellent technique, it's more open to interpretation and creativity, and you are more able get away with/recover from the little errors -being 30cms offline, edge angle not 100% correct, etc - that would equal an extra second on your race time and thus a blown race. With freeride being more about style, you have the opportunity to re-compose yourself and fix the situation without such harsh and complete penalties.



Yup, it's about the skiing we all actually do, anyone restricting themeslves to the piste and gates, is well, not getting it, IMO.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
A bit like driving, those that do it "Freedrive" the "Racing" is Formula 1.
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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?
Montles, The physical demands on your body when you ski a Downhill course are tremendous. Some of the courses are brutal! Even Bodie Miller admitted to TJ that he was scared at the World champs in 2011 the course was that bad.
To actually get to a decent level in 5 years in Downhill would be very difficult as there are far fewer DH races around to score your world ranking points in than the Tech events. The skis you have to race on are 215cm with a 50m turn radius and very stiff. They will take a long time to learn to race on.
It has taken TJ 8 years racing DH as a full time athlete to break into the top 200 in the world. To race at the olympics in DH you have to be in the top 500 in the world regardless of your nationality for safety reasons. Team GB's criteria for the next Winter games is probably going to be top 100 in the world.
If you want to race in the tech events (GS or Slalom) you have to get below 120 FIS world ranking points in that season. I think that is the level of the Eurotest exeption? So I think it would be far more realistic to try to do that instead of DH. Again though GB selection criteria will probably be top 80 in the world for that too.

A lot of people just do not appreciate how hard it is to get to a decent level in Alpine racing.

If you are really seroius I would definately use your other passport and register for their skiing federation. You need a FIS licence before you can do any races, currently about £250 for GB Alpine skiers. If the country you are eligible to ski for does not have a ski federation then you will need to set one up as the Snow leopard did for himself.

I can't speak about Skier-X as I have had nothing to do with it, but I do know that alot of the guys & girls doing it at a decent level are ex Alpine racers, most of the GB team are.

Good luck, maybe you will join TJ in Team GB in 5 years time! wink
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clarky999, not strictly true, blowing a landing basically puts you out of contention and lots of people are putting more tricks into their runs. Technique is also one of the judged criteria as well as control and fluidity so small mistakes do count because they are looked for. It's obviously less pass/fail with subjective judging versus timed events. I guess the best way of putting it is that it is technically different in a much different situation than ski racing so the two are pretty hard to compare.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'd class blowing a landing as a pretty big mistake tbh! What I mean is those little errors, like slightly catching an edge or whatever - easily recoverable enough to avoid falling. That in a race puts you out of contention, easier to get away with in a freeride comp.

Such as here, in Candide Thovex's winning run in the FWT in Cham:


http://youtube.com/v/W4FDSCGWcUg

There are several times he's a little out of balance, but recovers fine, and due to the overall line/style/performance still wins. In a race, those sort of really-minor mistakes would likely cost you the whole race.
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clarky999, you need to look at the score breakdowns across all the competitors, it's quite likely everyone is a bit out of balance at times skiing down that terrain. Wink
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
clarky999, anybody can catch an edge on a unexposed rock (for example). Its a totally different competitive environment. Highly variable and much more unpredictable than a race course.

But I can see what you are saying. Racing is a lot more established (than freeride) with history and well developed training programs for children.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
mmmm first thing i would be doing is busting your balls on the fitness side, biggest problem in competitive skiing here in the uk is people think that the only way to be quick in gates is to ski gates...wrong, you need to be a very fit athlete and a very good all round skier first then work in the gates /courses (skier x or alpine)

so between now and when you get on the snow bit of the journey (which should start by october on a glacier if not earlier) invest in a road bike and a gym membership and be fitter than anyone else you know... if you want to see the difference this makes have a search of Dave ryding and see how his results have changed in the past season by spending his off snow time either in the gym or on the bike

oh yes and if you want a good read then get "bounce" the myth of telling against the power of practise
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CEM, Great point - myself and another Irish snowhead are racing FIS Masters this coming season and have spent the last 5 months at 5x 2hr cardio/strength sessions in the gym,the previous 12 mths were 3 sessions a week, I haven't been on skis since early April and won't be til mid September and then it will be 5 x gym + 3 x 3hr slope sessions a week until the racing gets going - and I have no ambition other than to improve my racing standard (I'm 44), I raced last year and the fitter/stronger I got the faster I got improving my times by about 15% over the season - Daves stats speak volumes.
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....and join us on the 'get fit' thread Smile

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=89620
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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meh wrote:
clarky999, you need to look at the score breakdowns across all the competitors, it's quite likely everyone is a bit out of balance at times skiing down that terrain. Wink


My point exactly! There are more important qualities needed than absolute mm-perfect precision in freeride, hence how it'd be (relatively lol!) easier to get into when older.

Not trying to put down the freeride stuff/skill involved for it at all btw, much more appealing and exciting to me personally than racing!
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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.
clarky999, but you completely ignore the entirely different terrain and scoring which is my point. It is easier to get into no matter what your age but not because it is easier on your technique because the required technical skills are pretty different to ski racing due to the difference in terrain. What you are seeing as things that would penalise a skier in racing are a fact of life skiing down very steep, completely unprepared bits of mountain and the scoring effectively penalises the skier for them as well!

From your posting here you sound like a very competent skier yourself and an instructor. Do you recognise there is a significant difference in the skills required between skiing on and off piste? Clipping rocks and getting out of balance is a fact of life of skiing off-piste, the snow conditions change nearly constantly, not so in piste skiing. Extrapolate that out to racing versus freeride.

Neither is better or worse but they are such different approaches to skiing competitively the technique comparison is pretty bogus.
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