Stowe stoke thread...2018!!!

[saltyant]

3 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

If you like pizza check out Piecasso..it's an nice atmosphere if you like architecture and mosaics 

Ordered wings and Stromboli on Sunday night and took it back to the room because I was tired and wanted to watch the world series. Maybe I'll go there tonight and eat in. The food was really good. Looking for a cheap meal because I just spent $60 on new gloves, $94 on another ticket, and $35 on lunch. It makes me a little nauseous writing those out.

Edited February 6, 2018 by saltyant

[indiggio]

12 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

If you like pizza check out Piecasso..it's an nice atmosphere if you like architecture and mosaics 

QFT!

[saltyant]

Here you go! Criticize away!

 

[saltyant]

Lesson Report: Overall, I think the lesson was helpful. There was only 1 other person in my group, so it was basically the same as a private lesson without the cost. The instructor was very knowledgeable and gave me good criticism. I think the main things I need to work on are:

• Consistently staying forward throughout both the turn and whole run. He compared to proper position to an "athletic stance", like how a person stands while playing tennis. I already knew I ski in the backseat and Atomic mentioned that, so I think I need to work on this more than anything else.
• Pole planting earlier. I had no idea that I was pole planting too late into the turn.
• Stop pushing my heal out. He said I am making mini hockey stop like motions in some of my turns, but not always. I'm still trying to figure out when exactly I'm doing this, and am not sure how to correct it other than by making more gradual turns.

These habits are ingrained in my skiing from doing them repeatedly without knowing any better, so it will take a lot of time and conscious effort to fix them. I would have benefited from taking a lesson sooner, but was stubborn until I realized that I could use a few pointers because my skiing seems to have somewhat plateaued this year, although I definitely think I've improved somewhat compared to last season.

Ungroomed terrain is my biggest weakness in skiing because I don't have a lot of opportunities to practice it regularly. We took a run down Chin Chip, and I was struggling and felt out of control at first. Then the instructor recommended I stop trying to bomb down ungroomed runs, and instead go back to basics and traverse the slope until I feel more comfortable. Doing that helped, and I started pole planting on top of the moguls. I found it helpful to look forward to the point where I want to pole plant to make the turn. After a few minutes I felt somewhat more comfortable in soft moguls and this helped later in the day when I returned to Chin Chip.

The other thing he demonstrated is turning the ski on a flat surface to help make short radius turns. I'm still trying to figure this out because I feel that my turns are too wide, and I have a difficult time making short radius turns on steep slopes.

I asked a bazillion questions, such as "am I leaning into the turns too much", but he told me to focus on the things above for now which I think is good advice.

Edited February 6, 2018 by saltyant

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

27 minutes ago, saltyant said:

Ordered wings and Stromboli on Sunday night and took it back to the room because I was tired and wanted to watch the world series. Maybe I'll go there tonight and eat in. The food was really good. Looking for a cheap meal because I just spent $60 on new gloves, $94 on another ticket, and $35 on lunch. It makes me a little nauseous writing those out.

Mussels were $35?  You probably made that much money while skiing today from paid time off. 

[saltyant]

1 minute ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Mussels were $35?  You probably made that much money while skiing today from paid time off. 

I got a brownie with ice cream also. Mussels were $14 a little overpriced but to be expected on the top of the mountain at a fancy ski resort.

Edited February 6, 2018 by saltyant

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

Have you fallen at all Salty??  Chin clip isn't an easy run so way to get after it. 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Just now, saltyant said:

I got a brownie with ice cream also. Mussels were $14 a little overpriced but to be expected on the top of the mountain at a fancy ski resort.

$14 is cheap for mussels..you're on vacation live it up.  You can budget when you're back home and enjoy your free meals when you are on the road for your job. 

[saltyant]

2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Have you fallen at all Salty??  Chin clip isn't an easy run so way to get after it. 

I only fell one time here on Upper Smugglers because it was out of my league at the time. Deep moguls, narrow, and steep. It was more of an "oh shit" fall rather than accidental, because I thought I was going to collide with someone or just get out of control, don't really remember.

Leaned back a little too far the last Chin Chip run and felt like I was going to tear my ACL or something, since that's always in the back of my mind when I'm skiing. I recovered from that and then did better on that run.

Edited February 6, 2018 by saltyant

[eaf]

5 minutes ago, saltyant said:

• Stop pushing my heal out. He said I am making mini hockey stop like motions in some of my turns, but not always. I'm still trying to figure out when exactly I'm doing this, and am not sure how to correct it other than by making more gradual turns.

He actually said it? That's funny because while I saw you doing this too at JF when you said you were carving, this is just the matter of a skiing style, and is unavoidable on steeper terrain. What was the lesson about?

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

1 minute ago, eaf said:

He actually said it? That's funny because while I saw you doing this too at JF when you said you were carving, this is just the matter of a skiing style, and is unavoidable on steeper terrain. What was the lesson about?

Welcome back Eaf!!

[saltyant]

Just now, eaf said:

He actually said it? That's funny because while I saw you doing this too at JF when you said you were carving, this is just the matter of a skiing style, and is unavoidable on steeper terrain. What was the lesson about?

Yeah you were right. I guess I'm not actually carving yet. The lesson was about parallel skiing fundamentals and criticisms, and working on ungroomed terrain.

[eaf]

And what's "turning the ski on a flat surface to help make short radius turns"??

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

1 minute ago, eaf said:

And what's "turning the ski on a flat surface to help make short radius turns"??

Eaf they do flat drills in the race clinic as well. 

[saltyant]

2 minutes ago, eaf said:

And what's "turning the ski on a flat surface to help make short radius turns"??

He had me stand on a bump so the front and rear of the skis were off the ground, and then move the ski in the same motion as a windshield wiper. I think this was to demonstrate that short radius turns are done in that manner, and that it's easier to make turns on top of moguls if you do that. Still not sure how to translate it into my skiing but it was a good concept to understand.

[eaf]

1 minute ago, saltyant said:

He had me stand on a bump so the front and rear of the skis were off the ground, and then move the ski in the same motion as a windshield wiper. I think this was to demonstrate that short radius turns are done in that manner, and that it's easier to make turns on top of moguls if you do that. Still not sure how to translate it into my skiing but it was a good concept to understand.

I'm also trying to digest how or what this skill can be useful for...

[saltyant]

5 minutes ago, eaf said:

I'm also trying to digest how or what this skill can be useful for...

Yeah I'm not sure either but they're the experts and I guess it has a purpose since we spent a few minutes on it. 

I guess my takeaway from that was to use less edge on short radius turns and keep the skis relatively flatter...???

[RootDKJ]

1 hour ago, saltyant said:

• Consistently staying forward throughout both the turn and whole run. He compared to proper position to an "athletic stance", like how a person stands while playing tennis. I already knew I ski in the backseat and Atomic mentioned that, so I think I need to work on this more than anything else.
• Pole planting earlier. I had no idea that I was pole planting too late into the turn.

Hands out front, like a boxer. When you want to turn left, extend your left arm, like throwing a punch. Right for right. First thing I noticed in the vid is your hands are at your sides. 

[guitar73]

Salty....sounds like you got solid advice from the instructor....except for the ski width. Yes, we do a lot of drills on flat terrain at first in the race clinic. Then we take them into steeper terrain once we are comfortable doing them on the flats. I thought your video was pretty solid....no need to feel discouraged. A lot of times it's hard for us to soak in and apply all the instruction from a lesson. I consider it a win if I can apply one or two things from clinic in a season, lol. Keep it up!


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[tarponhead]

I agree. The run down Easy Mile was boring and wasn't worth the 15 minute lift ride. I did Easy Mile because after doing full Toll Road I took the lift and saw a lot of untracked. Now I know why it's untracked down there at 3 pm because it sucks and seems to just be a way to get to the main trails from Toll House.
Regardless, glad I did that area once just to check it out. I like skiing the whole mountain and also enjoy the long trails once in a while, like Toll Road and Great Eastern. It's relaxing just cruising and enjoying the scenery for over 10 minutes.

I love hiking toll rode during summer/fall. 10 mile round trip to summit. Plus you get to mess around on ski trails. There is a fall race that races to summit. Lots of people run that trail.

[saltyant]

10 minutes ago, guitar73 said:

Salty....sounds like you got solid advice from the instructor....except for the ski width.

He wasnt hating on my RTMs. He mentioned that he owns 4 pairs of skis, and said 1 pair is narrow like my 81s. Lol. But he said they're fine for my ability level. Thanks for your words of encouragment.

[saltyant]

30 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

Hands out front, like a boxer. When you want to turn left, extend your left arm, like throwing a punch. Right for right. First thing I noticed in the vid is your hands are at your sides. 

Thanks Root, that's a good analogy. I frequently notice my hands too far back, which is out of habit, so that's something I'm working on. I found it helpful to focus on the spot where I plan to pole plant and kind of reach out towards it. 

[tarponhead]

$14 is cheap for mussels..you're on vacation live it up.  You can budget when you're back home and enjoy your free meals when you are on the road for your job. 

Mussels are the baloney of the sea! $14 is a lot. Regardless, he is not on the coast and mussels are one of my faves. He’s skiing Stowe and eating well. One more 1/2 gold star for NaCl-ty. My guess is Moe Ghoul vibes rubbed off on him

[saltyant]

4 minutes ago, tarponhead said:

I love hiking toll rode during summer/fall. 10 mile round trip to summit. Plus you get to mess around on ski trails. There is a fall race that races to summit. Lots of people run that trail.

 

The scenery is really nice along it, and the chapel is a nice touch. I think I'll do that run at least once a day. It's pretty nice and since it was groomed today it wasnt nearly as tiring as yesterday.

[tarponhead]

And what's "turning the ski on a flat surface to help make short radius turns"??

Rotary motion. Off piste skiers do it all the time. Required technique in bumps.

Carve carve carve = no soul