So you have finally decided to try skiing. You're probably
asking, "what is the best way to go about it?" Learn from
your buddy who professes to be an expert? Or, shell out $65
an hour to a professional instructor? Well, there are advantages
to both options, but you'll be interested to know--regardless
of your choice--that most entry level ski lessons are very
similar in content, and once you master a few basic concepts,
you can, even on your own, find dramatic improvement. In the
27 years that I've been involved with skiing, either being
coached or teaching, I've heard the same pointers dribble
from ski instructors' mouths over and over again in all lessons
from beginner to advanced. After a while, I began to think
that maybe there are only a few major pointers that really
matter. To support my hypothesis, I polled 40 ski instructors
at one of the country's largest resorts, Heavenly Ski Area
in California, and asked them how often they taught four basic
concepts. The results showed 75% to 93% of every beginner
to intermediate lesson they taught contained a segment on
one or more of these four pointers.
The support for my hypothesis came from the gracious ski
instructors of Heavenly Ski Area on beautiful Lake Tahoe.
They volunteered to take a lengthy survey (thanks guys!) I
chose Heavenly because the 300 member ski school is the home
for many world-class instructors, some from South America,
some from Europe, and others from the many backwater ski towns
across the U.S.--representing a good cross-section for the
survey. Their education and training seemed as diverse as
the snow-crystal structure on which they skied, yet, interestingly
enough, they all taught the SAME material during their lessons.
One of the highest nationally recognized ski instructors
noted, "The similarities of our methods are phenomenal.
A person can take a lesson in Killington one week, and the
next week take a similar lesson in Aspen or Mammoth,"
says Mike Porter, director of Vail/Beaver Creek ski schools
and PSIA Demonstration Team coach.
Before we look at each pointer, it is important to know exactly
why the professionals teach the same thing over and over again.
The reasons can be found in the common learning progression
of any skier. Ski instruction is different from traditional
grade school education, because you are not required to attend
beginning lessons and advance through each of the nine "levels"
of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) lesson
format (each level requires the mastering of a specific task).
A person can come to a lesson as a beginner, intermediate
or expert skier with no prior instruction. Therefore, lessons
focus on the most important pointers necessary for improved
skiing regardless of experience. In the following paragraphs,
I will identify which pointers were taught most often in all
beginning to novice lessons at Heavenly and explain each pointer's
importance and proper execution.
As you read, remember that the survey can mean a head start
on your lesson. That is, if you learn and understand the concepts
behind the lessons before you "hit the slopes,"
you will not have to waste time trying to figure out the "secrets."
The Top Four Lesson Pointers
1. Balanced stance was taught in 90% of all beginner
and novice lessons. This particular tip is the building block
and the most important aspect of skiing at any level. Without
balance, you might as well head to the bar, because you'll
never stand up long enough to learn how to ski. If you think
about it, balance is the foundation to all successful movement
on or off skis. If you keep falling down, it would be very
difficult to become good at anything. The secret here is not
to start-off over your head. If it looks to difficult, it
probably is. When students come for a beginner lesson, the
instructor will spend the first half hour or so just teaching
students to walk around with skis on. Then, the next half
hour is spent overcoming the frustrations involved with sliding
10 or 15 feet on what seems like flat ground. In fact, many
students think this portion of the lesson goes a little slow,
but taking the extra time to stabilize your balance and build
confidence will be well worth it later on. Want to save $65?
Do this on your own before the lesson.
The actual mechanics of a balanced stance are quite simple.
First, the body's weight should be centered over the front
balls of the feet (just ahead of the arch) making a slightly
forward leaning position. You will find the hard plastic shell
of the boot will support some of your weight--it is designed
for just this purpose. Here's a neat little sensory que that
will help to illuminate a properly balanced position. Picture
yourself standing perfectly still, then, suddenly, starting
to walk forward. What did you do with your body's vertical
axis before taking that first step? Next picture yourself
breaking into a run from a standing position. What did you
do with your body now? This "pitching forward" of
the body puts your weight over the balls of the foot giving
you a forward orientation--which is crucial to becoming a
good skier.
The feet should be somewhere around hip width apart, but
whatever feels comfortable will do. Because you are moving,
It is important to realize that there is no perfect spot--balance
is a zone that you must constantly try to stay in to efficiently
maneuver the skis. It is important to consider that balance
will be continually buffeted by snow drifts, ice and other
irregular terrain and that you must constantly struggle to
re-achieve your optimal point of balance.
2. Foot steering was taught in 93% of all beginner
and novice lessons. "Foot steering" is one of those
confusing ski instructor terms that seem to confuse more than
clarify. The gist of this tip is found in what foot steering
does. It is used to turn the ski by using a twisting motion
of just the feet. As before, we can use a sensory que to feel
the intended motion. If you pick one foot off the ground an
inch or so while in a standing position, you can twist the
foot left and right a quarter turn. Notice that you don't
have to move any other part of your body from the waist up
while moving the foot.
For the beginner:
This steering is used when learning how to stop in a wedge.
At the end of our 10 or 15 foot sliding path try to steer
the skis gradually into a wedge by brushing out the back of
the skis a couple feet while keeping the tips somewhere around
an inch or two apart. It is easiest to make a good wedge when
standing up fairly tall in posture. The secret here is to
slowly work the skis into a wedge shape. Again, take it slow.
If you feel like you're going to fast or doing it wrong, you
probably are. When you have learned the wedge properly, you
should be able to glide along in the wedge over the whole
length of the runway.
Once you have the wedge perfected, try making a small wedge
turn near the bottom of the runway, first to one side, then
the other on your next run. You will find three things have
to happen to make a good wedge turn. First, you must maintain
the wedge at all times. You will not be able to turn if the
wedge isnąt stable when gliding down the runway, and this
stability only comes from experience. Second, you must steer
both feet while in the wedge in the direction of the turn.
Third, you will find the turn is easier when the you stand
with more of your weight on the outside ski--use a 60/40 weight
distribution ratio.
For the expert:
When making your turn, try to maintain the shoulders and
upper body pointed toward an object at the bottom of the hill.
Let your feet do the turning INDEPENDANT of the upper body.
as you get into the double black diamonds and moguls, minimize
all upper body movements. You will be amazed how easy it becomes!
Foot steering is another crucial element to good skiing,
and it will be used in all levels of skiing, not just the
beginner stage. As your steering skills increase, you will
be able to maneuver your skis independently whether they are
in the wedge or later on when you start to ski parallel (it
will generally take three or four days to reach to parallel
ability level). Ski professionals call foot steering, or "educated
feet" the most important ability of any skier.
3. Hands forward was taught in 84% of all beginner
and novice lessons. The hand position, simply stated, is like
holding a tray in a cafeteria--all the time. This tip is one
of the easiest to explain, but the hardest to actually do--it
is not something that we commonly do. We don't walk down the
street with our hands holding an imaginary tray, or at least
we shouldn't. Nevertheless, the teaching of quietness, or
stillness in the hand-arm-shoulder region is often the start
of a major breakthrough.
Don't confuse "getting the rhythm" with swinging
the arm. This is the most common misconception in all of skiing.
If you can find a picture or video of a professional skier,
you will notice the forward position of the hands. When you
try to imitate this hand position, try to keep the hands out
in front with the elbows flush with the front of your stomach.
Imagine this, if you have six-pack abs, you could draw a line
from elbow to elbow and it would not touch your gut.
Quietness is the priority of this pointer. It is why a good
skier looks like he is moving effortlessly down the hill.
Undoubtably your hands will move around some, even when you
get really good, but if you can stay in the "zone",
you will be very close to finding the reason for this position--balance.
It's quite simple really, if we hold the arms out front, we
will maintain a forward orientated balance point, and just
like the action of starting to walk from a standstill, the
body will pitch forward and be balanced in movement.
4. Shin pressure was taught in 75% of all beginner
and novice lessons. Again, this little pointer has to do with
maintaining balance. Mechanically speaking, the shin, or front
of the lower leg, should be in constant contact with the front
cuff of the boot at all times. Try to use the stiffness of
the hard plastic boot to support 10 or 20 pounds of pressure
from your body's weight. When the shin is pushed against the
cuff of the boot, that pressure is transferred to the front
of the ski making it easier to steer. Furthermore, when the
front of the ski is pressured, the sidecut and design of the
ski can be used to assist in turning, even when you don't
know it's happening. This helpful tip is again used in all
levels of skiing from the bunny hill to the steepest avalanche
chute.
Since new technology in ski design has taken the media by
storm, a word should be said about the usefulness of the "shaped
ski". Simply stated, this new ski is a dramatic cure-all
for poor balance and lack of shin pressure in the beginner
and novice level. As a beginner, you will like the shorter
recommended lengths making them easier to turn. The wide tip
of this ski will dig into the snow with very little forward
pressure, and thus, start the ski turning with minimal effort.
If you have learned the balanced stance properly and already
have a forward orientation, the shape ski will allow you to
make tighter turns and more quickly progress while passing
through the intermediate ability levels.
In conclusion, it makes sense that the most important part
of skiing is learning how to stand-up while moving down the
hill, whether it is on the gentle learning flats, or on the
steep avalanche chutes like we see on the TV commercials.
If you can learn anything from the professionals of the Heavenly
Ski Area, you should realize that balance is the secret necessary
for becoming a better skier, and furthermore, a balanced stance,
foot steering, hands in a forward position and shin pressure
are the pointers that are considered to be the most important
characteristics of good skiing. Don't let yourself get caught
up in the jargon of contemporary learn-to-ski articles and
how-to materials or think that skiing is so complicated that
it's almost impossible to learn. If you can just get a grip
on the four basics and forget about the jargon, learning to
ski will be easier and more enjoyable.
Author's Biography: John Mukavitz is District Clinic Leader,
(DCL) certified with The Professional Ski Instructors of America
(PSIA) and Level 3 (national) certified with The United States
Ski Coaches Association (USSCA). He has taught skiing at the
Heavenly Ski Resort in Tahoe (four-year undefeated employee
race champion), Squaw Valley USA, Diamond Peak and the Portillo
Ski Resort in Chile. Currently, Mukavitz is an adjunct professor
at University of Nevada, Reno.
If you would like to arrange a lesson, Send
John an Email |
