Ski Thoughts
Here's some random thoughts on my personal journey to learn to be a skier garnered from the last few evenings of ski school. (For those that don't know anything about skiing see here for descriptions of the V1, V2 and V2 alternate or stop reading now).
1. It's funny how you think you're doing something which you are not doing. Case in point . . . last night we were doing intervals up Hill 1 and 2 at Blackhawk. Yuriy was watching all of us and pointing out things to work on improving. He told me that I needed to pole at the same time on both sides when I was V1ing up the hill. My initial thought was "that's what I'm doing" but, of course, I actually wasn't. That gave me something to distract myself from skiing up those hills as I worked to correct my timing which was off. I had distinct improvement by the time we were done.
2. It's funny how a well-timed comment can really improve your skiing. Not unlike the V1 poling comment, on Monday we were doing double poling drills at Elver (which was a sheet of ice and fit for nothing else). Yuriy was skiing with me and let me know that I needed to spring up more after poling as I was waiting too long before I brought my poles back up. I could immediately feel the difference. I feel like it totally revolutionized my double poling (which is really the foundation for all poling).
3. It's amazing how sometimes when you least expect it you figure out something that has been plaguing you forever. The V2 alternate has been my nemesis. I could never seem to get the pole to skate timing correct. However, last week Monday we were skiing at Blackhawk and it was rather icy and I was not motivated to be there. We were doing these annoying drills where you ski on one ski almost to a stop which I was not loving because it was too icy for my liking. Then we did this drill where we did the arm motions of poling without poles and I was sucking at the drill. As we started our next drill of doing the ski drill with the pole drill Yuriy gave me a "special" drill (which happens a lot and I always think of as the remedial learner drill). However, the drill he gave me was exactly what I needed and suddenly the timing of the V2 alternate all started to make sense to me and I could do it. I was throwing down the V2 alternate at Minocqua every chance I got last weekend. It felt good to finally be able to get the timing down and feel like I really can do the V2 alternate.
4. This won't mean anything to people who don't mountain bike at Blackhawk Ski Club but I have to post it anyway. I would like to note for the record that last night I skied up Hill 6 at Blackhawk Ski Club all the way to the fence line for the first time. I would also like to be on record saying that it isn't any easier than riding up on a bike but it wasn't any more difficult. Skiing or biking up that hill is just plain painful. I did have one advantage over some of my ski school mates though in that I knew what I was in for when we started up. A couple guys didn't realize that once you get to what appears to be the top you have to make the slight turn and keep going up until you reach the real top of the climb. For once I actually got to pass people as they stopped to regroup while I toughed it out and skied it all the way. Yuriy claims that climb is worse than any of the Birkie climbs which I would like to believe but people always like to tell you stuff like that and then it ends up not being true. (Like that the half Noquemanon race is all downhill . . . sure it is, except for the climbs).
The cool thing about skiing is how much there is to learn to really be an efficient and smooth skier.
1. It's funny how you think you're doing something which you are not doing. Case in point . . . last night we were doing intervals up Hill 1 and 2 at Blackhawk. Yuriy was watching all of us and pointing out things to work on improving. He told me that I needed to pole at the same time on both sides when I was V1ing up the hill. My initial thought was "that's what I'm doing" but, of course, I actually wasn't. That gave me something to distract myself from skiing up those hills as I worked to correct my timing which was off. I had distinct improvement by the time we were done.
2. It's funny how a well-timed comment can really improve your skiing. Not unlike the V1 poling comment, on Monday we were doing double poling drills at Elver (which was a sheet of ice and fit for nothing else). Yuriy was skiing with me and let me know that I needed to spring up more after poling as I was waiting too long before I brought my poles back up. I could immediately feel the difference. I feel like it totally revolutionized my double poling (which is really the foundation for all poling).
3. It's amazing how sometimes when you least expect it you figure out something that has been plaguing you forever. The V2 alternate has been my nemesis. I could never seem to get the pole to skate timing correct. However, last week Monday we were skiing at Blackhawk and it was rather icy and I was not motivated to be there. We were doing these annoying drills where you ski on one ski almost to a stop which I was not loving because it was too icy for my liking. Then we did this drill where we did the arm motions of poling without poles and I was sucking at the drill. As we started our next drill of doing the ski drill with the pole drill Yuriy gave me a "special" drill (which happens a lot and I always think of as the remedial learner drill). However, the drill he gave me was exactly what I needed and suddenly the timing of the V2 alternate all started to make sense to me and I could do it. I was throwing down the V2 alternate at Minocqua every chance I got last weekend. It felt good to finally be able to get the timing down and feel like I really can do the V2 alternate.
4. This won't mean anything to people who don't mountain bike at Blackhawk Ski Club but I have to post it anyway. I would like to note for the record that last night I skied up Hill 6 at Blackhawk Ski Club all the way to the fence line for the first time. I would also like to be on record saying that it isn't any easier than riding up on a bike but it wasn't any more difficult. Skiing or biking up that hill is just plain painful. I did have one advantage over some of my ski school mates though in that I knew what I was in for when we started up. A couple guys didn't realize that once you get to what appears to be the top you have to make the slight turn and keep going up until you reach the real top of the climb. For once I actually got to pass people as they stopped to regroup while I toughed it out and skied it all the way. Yuriy claims that climb is worse than any of the Birkie climbs which I would like to believe but people always like to tell you stuff like that and then it ends up not being true. (Like that the half Noquemanon race is all downhill . . . sure it is, except for the climbs).
The cool thing about skiing is how much there is to learn to really be an efficient and smooth skier.
posted by MadCross at 12:23 PM
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