Where to start?

[Captain]

For about 2 decades now I've wanted to become a very good skiier and even compete if I can. So at some point I actually started skiing since no one in my family does. Now my friends dont ski anymore either so I think its time to learn how to ski for real. I'm not even sure where to start looking for info on where to start looking for training. Should I find some sort of ski camp? Should I be looking to move out west to some big moutain? Where does one go to learn to ski correctly and fast? Also if my free skiing is any judge I dont think I'll like gates at all. so the slolam and gs are things I want to stay away from. Reall I just like the downhill but super g might be ok. Is it possable to get lessons, train, whatever and then compete in just those compeitions or are gates a nessisary evil to "work your way up" to the fun stuff? I'm not even sure what info I should be provideing here to get the help I need. so if anyone can point me somewhere. anywhere. That would be great.

Thanks all for your help

[beachiegirl2ski]

i would like to get my son into racing too. i too have no clue as to where to start. he did nastar last week and loved it! i think i need to get him a private lesson with a racing person to see if he has what it takes to race

[Captain]

Thats excelent. I wish my parents had skiied. Starting at 18 or 19 or whenever I did might have been a bit late

[VTmark]

that this point your pretty much stuck with nastar or asra. i'll be at bear creek racing nastar tonight.

[Glenn]

For about 2 decades now I've wanted to become a very good skiier and even compete if I can. So at some point I actually started skiing since no one in my family does. Now my friends dont ski anymore either so I think its time to learn how to ski for real. I'm not even sure where to start looking for info on where to start looking for training. Should I find some sort of ski camp? Should I be looking to move out west to some big moutain? Where does one go to learn to ski correctly and fast? Also if my free skiing is any judge I dont think I'll like gates at all. so the slolam and gs are things I want to stay away from. Reall I just like the downhill but super g might be ok. Is it possable to get lessons, train, whatever and then compete in just those compeitions or are gates a nessisary evil to "work your way up" to the fun stuff? I'm not even sure what info I should be provideing here to get the help I need. so if anyone can point me somewhere. anywhere. That would be great.

Thanks all for your help

 

Ok, I'm going to try and answer as much as I can. I am a lowly snowboarder, but I try to take in as much as I can about all snow sports. Also sking and snowboarding aren't too terribly different in many reguards.

 

All forms of instruction are postive assuming the instructors are good. Which is to say you can a ski camp could be good or bad, a group/private lesson can be good or bad, a race team can be good or bad etc etc etc. It all depends on how the teacher is. I would recommend going to your local mountain and taking some "advanced" lessons as a start. Usually the better instructors work their way up to teaching the more advanced lessons and you will likely end up with someone that is worth while. If racing becomes a serious focus then camps will make more sense, as they are rather pricey for the "casual" racer.

 

Racing (as I see it), is about perfecting the turn (with perhaps a few other skills thrown in, but these additional skills are just the icing on the cake). Speed events like super G and downhill aren't even available in PA because of the distance needed to run such a race. However, that should not discourage you from getting into racing, since speed events are for WELL seasoned racers who have developed their skills. You probobly like going straight down trails because it makes you go fast. Racing is the pursuit of that kind of speed while manuevering.

 

I've talked about racing so far because that seemed to be what you were interested in your post. There are other options for competitive sking, which include moguls, freesking (not available anywhere around here to my knowledge), freestyle, and probobly other disciplines I'm not even aware of.

 

There are ceratin things PA sking will not provide. It will not provide the steepest trails available, if your goal is to ski the steepest terrain available you need to look westward. PA does not provide cliffs and extensive tree sking, and similar natural "features." If you are looking to be the sickest tree skier or cliff hucker you need to look to the north or the west. Even if you are looking to be a world class racer, or freestyler you need to look to the north or west. However, what PA can provide is a close affordable way to develop skills. The most important thing (as I see it) to getting better is sking alot. Practice makes perfect. While instruction is great, you can sit for thousands of hours listening to the best coach but if you never get on the snow and practice what you've been taught you won't get any better.

 

Perhaps Atomicskier can explain his progression. In a matter of a few season he went from a total newbie on skis to a pretty good racer. I don't think he had any formal training, but I may be mistaken.

 

Also I should point out finding people who are better than you to ski with is a great way to get better. Having a visual of what to work towards can be really helpful.

 

Hopefully this helps a little. I'm sure if you have more specific questions there is someone who can address them.

[xNick11]

racing hmm to get better at racing u can work on ur legs alot in the summer and stay really active...during the winter u can get really good at bumps that would help u in alot of ways.Ski camps might help but i dont know any ski camps that deal with racing i know of some that do bumps/freestyle tho.But if i were u i would really get into the freestyle sene..its alot more fun then racing and u would get alot more respect on the mountain if u can throw down some cool stuff.

[Metz the Jersey boy]

As glenn said, you will not find super-g or downhill events in PA for the most part unless they might be part of a USSA event. USSA is only open to persons 17 and under. ASRA hosts two Super-G's a year, one at windham and one at Sugarbush. As I started racing this year, I have to say that no matter how fast you think you are, you're going to need a lot of work. Unfortunately for you, you're going to need to get into GS and Slalom. GS at the least. Understand that you will need to be turning even in downhill or Super-G. There are, in fact, gates that you must pass through in Downhill. I can't tell you enough how much you should work on your turns, as being unable to turn upright sufficiently will mean you won't be able to turn in a tuck...

[beachiegirl2ski]

will anyone be doing nastar tomorrow night at bear that might be willing to watch my son do a run and tell me if he has what it takes

[skidude]

will anyone be doing nastar tomorrow night at bear that might be willing to watch my son do a run and tell me if he has what it takes

I am not going to be up there tomorrow, and probably not next week either, but perhaps the week after that (Mum has too many meetings)...

 

Anyway if he is ever around when I am there, I would be more than happy to give him advice.

 

A good step from there might be for you guys (depending on how old he is) would be to try a junior racing program, like the 'snowcats' at Camelback. Not sure what other mountains have along those lines. From the development team, skiers (once they get the basic things down, and the coaches feel they are ready) move up to the race team.

 

How old is he?

[Metz the Jersey boy]

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it down there... how old is your son? If I remember correctly I think he's rather young, like 9 or 10? If so, it doesn't really matter much what he's got now. Get him into a race program like the CAT development team at camelback or something similar at one of the other mountains. He's still young enough to learn. You're going to spend 450 for the season next year, and its a heck of a time commitment, but that is what racers give up- a social life. As a parent its as much your decision to make as his, due to the fact that you, too will be giving up your weekends. All of them. And driving a lot. A whole lot.

[skidude]

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it down there... how old is your son? If I remember correctly I think he's rather young, like 9 or 10? If so, it doesn't really matter much what he's got now. Get him into a race program like the CAT development team at camelback or something similar at one of the other mountains. He's still young enough to learn. You're going to spend 450 for the season next year, and its a heck of a time commitment, but that is what racers give up- a social life. As a parent its as much your decision to make as his, due to the fact that you, too will be giving up your weekends. All of them. And driving a lot. A whole lot.

 

 

With the development team you can either pay per day as you go, or pay for all of them at once. If you get a chance go up a weekend this season to see if he likes it enough to do it more next season.

[beachiegirl2ski]

my son is 9. the money isnt a problem to put out. his uncle is all ready looking to get him racing skis. the problem is we cant get up to the mountains on the weekends cause of work. our nights on the mountain are wed and thurs. so im guess im going to be stuck with private lessons unless there are programs on those days

[skidude]

That will have to change for next year

[sibhusky]

USSA is only open to persons 17 and under.

 

This is incorrect. Junior racing goes up to age 19. After that you are an adult and you can either ski as an adult or a master. Perhaps what you meant is most of the mountain teams in PA only take up to age 17. But Siblet is a USSA racer and she is 18. She will still be a junior and skiing next year for our team (I think...who knows with teens...) Some of the mountains here take racers even older. A girl who graduated from Montana State is currently skiing for Big Sky.

[sibhusky]

For about 2 decades now I've wanted to become a very good skiier and even compete if I can.

 

So, it sounds like you are at least 20, but might even be in your forties. Your age will impact what is available to you in the way of competition. I'd recommend starting out with NASTAR, it's easiest. Once you know what you are doing, there are other venues, but if you didn't race as a kid, you'll look like a geek showing up without any idea of what you are doing at some of the other race situations. NASTAR is more casual, even easier to get into than your local "beer league".

 

 

So at some point I actually started skiing since no one in my family does. Now my friends dont ski anymore either so I think its time to learn how to ski for real. I'm not even sure where to start looking for info on where to start looking for training. Should I find some sort of ski camp?

 

There are adult race camps, but let's make sure what your level of ability is. Can you pretty much handle all the terrain in the Poconos with ease? They don't want they guy who has only skied 5 to 8 days a year in those camps. If you're fairly comfortable on most of the Pocono runs, you're probably fine. Most of the race camps for adults are up in New England or out west, and there are even some at the summer ski areas.

 

Should I be looking to move out west to some big moutain?

 

Not necessary.

 

Where does one go to learn to ski correctly and fast?

 

The ability to ski fast needs to be secondary to technique. Any bozo can go fast....just point them down the hill and hope no one is coming. Speed should only be the goal of an accomplished skier, otherwise you are looking to be part of a negligence lawsuit. Too many people think that fast equals good. It doesn't.

 

Also if my free skiing is any judge I dont think I'll like gates at all. so the slolam and gs are things I want to stay away from. Reall I just like the downhill but super g might be ok.

 

Sure gates are a pain. I don't race myself because I don't like having to turn at a certain point as much as turning where I feel like it. BUT, gates make you a better skier. Gates teach control. And racing is all about control. By the way, downhill has gates. They are spread further apart, but since you are moving WAY faster, they are coming at you just like a GS gate would be. Racers start out with SL and GS years before they do SG and DH. In fact, many never do DH. DH is not casual racing. To hold a DH event, or even a SG event, is a major undertaking. The safety and prep levels maintained by the mountain are HUGE. Even speed training without having an event usually involves training before the mountain opens to the public. Our mountain provides this to their racers before speed events. But the kids get there two hours before the mountain opens. And I guarantee you not one of them gets to train SG or DH before they've demonstrated their abilities in SL and GS.

 

Is it possable to get lessons, train, whatever and then compete in just those compeitions or are gates a nessisary evil to "work your way up" to the fun stuff? I'm not even sure what info I should be provideing here to get the help I need. so if anyone can point me somewhere. anywhere. That would be great.

Thanks all for your help

 

NASTAR racing is your first step, so you realize your limits. The courses are easy, many mountains barely having enough offset of the gates that you have to do anything other than tuck the course (some do, I know, but many don't). Once you've realized there is a lot you need to learn, then call around and ask about what is available for older skiers. Make sure that the group will actually do gates as part of the training. I know I took some Masters lessons at CB one year and none of the group wanted to do gates, so we didn't do gates. After you learn what it is you don't know, then is soon enough to think about the beer leagues and ASRA or USSA Masters.

[Captain]

Ok thats alot of good info and thank you all. So first of all I know technical ability is important thats why I stated that befor speed. I'm fast enough. too fast if truth be told. I'm 25. I'm self tought. I allready ski better then the 1 or 2 friends I have who grew up skiing even though I have skied less in my life then most people do in one season. Being self taught has to be bad. I'm sure I have many many bad habbits and I garontee I look like a crazy ungangly fool shooting down the moutain. My 6'6'' frame dosent help that either. I know the DH has gates I just dont think of them as gates. I like that event not just because of the speed but because I like the large high speed turns that are made in the event. As far as my skill. I love ice. skiing on a sheet of ice has to be the best thing in the world. I can ski all of blue mt. the only local mt ive really been to much. Challenge and razer's edge I have to press forword a bit but if I keep forword I do well enough. I can also ski all of white face except the 2 real steep dropins at the summit. I didnt do those because ive never had done a drop in like that and it was only open the first day I was there when the conditions werent so good. Chunky piles of snow throw me all over the place. My skis I use for screwing around are 187cm dynastar course 66 GS in race stock flavor. they seem very fast but at least at aplace like blue there controllable for my level. As far as camps Mt Hood offers race camps year around apprently. I dont know how good they are or if its right for me. I was considering moving because I feel PA's seasons are so short. I was also hopeing if I got into competitions I'd have a reason to go more since my friends dont go anymore.

[Metz the Jersey boy]

Well, your recommended first step is to come out to the Blue Mt. NASTAR on Thursday nights. There are a group of 4 or 5 of us that show up religiously. I'll be in Sugarbush this week, so i won't be there, but I'll be back next week. If you want someone to show you the ropes, AtomicSkier would be the one to do so. He's at blue every week on thursday night. It starts at 6:30. You can register for free online at nastar.com, and unlimited runs down the course will cost you 15. They tend to set a course that is fantastic for the intermediate or beginner. I struggle with it myself. Hopefully I'll see you out there next week. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

Also, if you move out to Mt. Hood, you're living a dream my 23 year old rookie racer self would love to be living.