Good to Know – Ski Federation

Ski Tips: Deceleration lives in the future

skifeder — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 02:10:55 +0000

Riding the bumps in Big Sky. PHOTO BY JEN BENNETT

Ski Tips: Deceleration lives in the future

January 11, 2021

By Dan Egan, EBS ski columnist

Many skiers try to slow down each turn they make because they are living under the delusion that the purpose of turning is to slow down. Skis are not designed to slow down. I’ve never met a ski engineer that has designed a ski to go slow. Skis are designed to make a predetermined radius of a turn, and to accelerate. Each company has its theory of what materials make up the best flexing ski both tip to tail and torsional. Some are softer to absorb the energy created—they flex and dampen, which allows them to slow down easier. Others, like race skis, are stiff for pure acceleration. The wider skis these days are really fast because of the increased surface area—the ski floats and glides forward free of the friction of being down in the snow.

If you turn with the purpose of slowing down every turn, my guess is your legs feel tired by mid-morning or midday, and because you are skiing slow and making short turns, you are overturning during your descent. Not only is this not efficient, but it is also exhausting.

Deceleration lives in the future. It is too late to slow down in the turn you are making, and here’s why: when a skier attempts to slow down at the end of their turn by pushing or bracing against the downhill ski, this action stiffens the ankle, knee and hip causing the ski to skid and puts the skier out of balance. If you do this every turn, you’ll never gain balance, flow or efficiency.

So how do we slow down the technology we have invested in? I spend a lot of time in my camps and clinics convincing skiers that with a slight increase in speed and a mapped-out route, you can ski efficiently, save energy and have more control. The end result will be a longer more enjoyable ski day and eventually you will expand your mastery of the mountain.

Slowing down is an intentional strategic move while skiing, and the how, where and when is an important decision made in advance of a run. I start each run with an intentional plan and break it down into sections. That way I know where I am starting, where I am going and where I will stop. Once I determine the different sections of the route, I then look for deceleration points along the way of each section. Sometimes it can be pillows of fresh snow, or in moguls, the top and downhill side of bumps, or I search for plateaus that make a good target to aim at and longer slower arcs.

The key is to not slow down every turn, rather, I’ll ski three or four turns, letting the skis flow down the fall line and then slow down over a series of turns. I call these turns my “slowing turns.” In other words, I’ll ski three or four turns, then make three “slowing turns”, that are slow, slower and slowest. At that point I’ll either stop, regroup and go again, or I’ll carry one with another sequence of three to four turns in the fall line and then make my “slowing turns”—slow, slower and slowest and stop.

This is what I mean when I say deceleration lives in the future, if you want to slow down, turn. When you release the built-up energy of a turning ski and enter into the new turn, you are gaining control and can slow down while remaining in balance.

You can experiment with this on different slope angles. Start on your favorite blue groomer run and then once you feel comfortable venture out onto a steep pitch, or off in the trees and or powder.

It is important to remember when I make my series of “slowing turns” I compress and extend more—I’m not static. The more I move up and down the more I am able to control the pacing of my skis and control the speed.

The “slowing turns” commit skiers to slowing down in the future, because they release the turn they are in, enter into the new turn with more motion, which absorbs energy, and as control is gained speed is dissipated over a series of turns.

So as a review, map out your run, ski it in sections. Tell yourself, decelerations lives in the future and that it is too late to slow down in the turn you are making. Then head off down the slow, turn in the fall line and as you enter into one of your planed areas to slow down, make your three “slowing turns”—slow, slower, slowest. Stop, smile and continue.

Extreme Skiing Pioneer, Dan Egan coaches and teaches at Big Sky Resort during the winter. His steep camps run Feb. 25-27, March 4-6 and March 11-13. He is newest book, Thirty Years in a White Haze will be released in February, for pre-orders visit www.White-Haze.com for autographed copies.

Posted from Explore Big Sky via Facebook

Learning from Injury

Joe Harvis — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 05:29:19 +0000

Learning from Injury

Correspondent Ends Her Season In “Routine” Fall, Provides Us With Lessons Learned.

[Editor Note: We’ve heard correspondent Yvette Cardozo’s story numerous times, especially the part about immediate post-incident denial. Perhaps there is some biological reaction, perhaps a form of shock, that masks the pain of more serious injury. In any case, her advice is well worth heeding.]

Igor, the medical boot, keeps the broken ankle stable.
Credit: Yvette Cardozo

I don’t remember exactly how it happened. It was the bottom of the last run. I was tired. The snow had devolved into slick slush, and it was snowing and foggy. I caught an edge and before I knew it, I was on my back, one ski released, the other leg bent awkwardly. A few more turns on the trail, and I would have been within sight of the lodge.

A ski cliche if there ever was one.

My ski buddy came up and got my left ski off. I was sure that was an injury down there and knew enough not to try and stand. So we called the patrol. They came, strapped me into a toboggan and down we went.

Me, head first, on my back. If I could have gotten to my cell phone, I would have videoed the trip down. The view was like being in a soupy blender.

At the lodge, we got my boots off and decided the injury was to my right ankle—probably a bad sprain. I went home, actually driving myself. And went to a business event in downtown Seattle that night. Driving. In the rain. I still thought it was just a sprain.

Two days later, I gave up and went to a doctor. Indeed, it was not a sprain. It was a break. He called it a distal fracture. All these years skiing, all these crashes and I had never broken anything before. And this was an ankle. I didn’t know that was even possible with modern ski boot tech. Ankle breaks are the stuff of 1950’s ski lodge pictures —a guy in front of the fireplace with his leg in a cast, resting on a pillow.

But, I had just left a message for my boot fitter days before, saying my boots were getting loose. He came back into town and said, “Yup”. And also, yup, you certainly can break an ankle today skiing. He’s got three pins and a plate in his ankle to prove it.

The good news is I’m not in a cast, not on crutches, didn’t need surgery. I’m just wearing a medical boot (I’ve named it Igor) for six weeks. The bad news— my ski season was over three days after it began.

Yeah, at age 73 I don’t bounce like I used to. And yeah, I’m grateful it wasn’t a knee. Ankles heal. Knees are another matter.

I canceled one ski trip but am doing another where I will be writing about all kinds of non-ski activities as a non-skier and trying out something called a “snow limo” that gets non-skiers up on the hill, and also down, via a run at Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia, Canada.

So there are a few lessons learned:

1. Don’t get sloppy about your gear. If you think your boots need re-fitting or your bindings need a check or your skis need tuning, do it NOW.

2. If you just want to do “one more run” and you are tired, DON’T.

3. Don’t assume you know what the injury is. If it’s swollen and getting black and blue, it may very well be a break. SEE A DOCTOR.

4. And don’t grind your teeth too much or overthink this. Get back into the gym or on your bike or walking or whatever when you can and get back into shape.

Snow Limo: Non skiers get up the mountain and down a ski trail.
Credit: Sun Peaks Snow Limo Tours.

Posted from SeniorsSkiing.com

Why Do Nordic Skiers Nordic Ski?

Joe Harvis — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 02:27:00 +0000

Why Do Nordic Skiers Nordic Ski?

And answers to other unanswerable questions, by Sweet Jane

January 24, 2018

My boyfriend won’t shut up about how ‘Saturdays are for the boys.’ Help!

–Jennifer, Leavenworth, WA

Asked by women everywhere, Jen. It would seem there is no comeback, deep eye roll, snide remark, nor passive-aggressive action that will shut this down. Being annoyed by the Boys Club and their catchphrases just fuels their fire and gives them liberty to blow more smoke up each other’s asses. Ever see a toddler fall down and scrape their knee, only to start crying when he’s realized Mommy noticed? Same, same but different. They’re just looking for a reaction and you’re better than that. Do. Not. Engage. Avert your eyes and let the boys think they have Saturday. We know women are running the show all damn week.

Why do these young guns in the park ski without poles? And if they do, they use teeny miniature poles… I do not understand.
–Steve, Mammoth, CA

No idea. Why do tele skiers refuse to lock down their heels? Why are tall-Ts a trend? Who decided to wear their goggles under their helmet, but over their beanie? Why is the ratio in the chili bread bowl always too heavy on the bread? Why do Nordic skiers Nordic ski? Who are we to tell anyone they can’t ski as they please? Except for that tall-T. You look absolutely ridiculous.

I’ve been fired from my last three jobs because I skip work for powder days. How do I hold down a job and still get out to rip the blower?
–Sully, Breckenridge, CO

First off, screw you. I know someone like you and I’m the responsible one that has to miss double the pow days filling in for your no-call, no-show shifts. Seriously, I’d rather pay your welfare than have to pick up your slack. Don’t be such a snowflake. You cannot have your pow and rip it, too. That’s life. But secondly, I sympathize, so here’s some future workplace advice (assuming you are still considered employable):

Step 1: Call up a co-worker on the first storm day of the season and offer to cover for them so they can go rip. Now, they owe you.

Step 2: Learn that karma is a bitch and there is no way they’re ever paying you back. You just missed a pow day, bud. Joke is on you.
___________________________

Other trends we don’t understand: POV cameras, Fireball, unbuttoned jackets, crowdsourcing for established ski gear companies.

Market Club Trips on Value

Jo Simpson — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 00:51:17 +0000

Ski trips are a prime activity for many ski clubs. This is especially true of clubs in areas far from skiing and riding opportunities. Club members, however, have many travel options. So, how do clubs compete with discount packages offered by resorts and others?

The National Ski Council Federation brings ski council presidents from across the nation and representatives from ski resorts, tour operators and service providers together yearly to discuss items of mutual interest. A chief topic of these meetings is club and council trips.

Industry and council leaders agree that clubs and councils should market trips as a good value for money spent. Going on a club trip can be compared to gassing up a car at the full service pump instead of self-service.

Pack your bags and show up at the airport where the trip leader hands you a plane ticket and off you go. Board a bus at the destination airport to the resort where the trip leader gives you lodging keys and lift tickets. No searching the Internet for the best package, arranging air and ground transportation, and searching for your lodging in the dark on arrival.

Bus trips can also be lots of fun if you are within a few hours of a resort. They can be less expensive than air trips and provide a rolling party to the slopes. U-drive trips are another popular option for short distance trips.

Use the bus ride to the resort for introductions. Have a mixer on arrival to let participants unwind and get further acquainted or reconnected. Resorts often provide a wine and cheese reception. If not, check ahead of time with the resort or tour operator about a nearby bar that can accommodate your group.

Skiing or riding is a more enjoyable experience on a club trip. Members can link up with people of similar skiing or riding ability, meet up with more friends at lunch and make plans for dinner. Some clubs include dinners, sleigh rides and other activities in trip packages.

As clubs and councils begin planning trips for next season, survey members to learn where they would like to go and what price points they are willing to pay. Programs are available to create on line surveys that don’t require higher order computer skills.

Provide participants with a quality experience. Remember, you are selling the trip based on value. Trip leaders can make or break a trip. Choose them carefully. Train potential trip leaders by having them assist experienced trip leaders. Have them lead a small trip before taking on a larger, more complicated one.

People often are attracted to join a club because of the variety of trips offered. If they have a good experience, they will become loyal members for many years and may take an active role. Trips are a great way to attract “new blood” into a club.

9 Ski Resort Bloody Marys to Try

skifeder — Tue, 19 May 2015 18:18:32 +0000

Ah, the Bloody Mary: that spicy, savory, tomato juice-based, vodka-laced drink that is enjoyed with such relish (literal and figurative relish) during brunch, on a ski break or as a hangover remedy. Few “classic” cocktails have as colorful past as the Bloody Mary, which has been enjoyed for more than 80 years.

History of the Bloody Mary
The first iteration showed up in Paris at Harry’s New York Bar in the 1920s. This combination of vodka and canned tomato juice was known as a “Bucket of Blood.” When the drink was brought to the St. Regis Hotel in New York around 1933, it was lauded as a hangover cure and called the “Red Snapper” (you can still belly up to the bar there and order an original Red Snapper). It’s not certain when bars started calling the drink “Bloody Mary,” a reference to Queen Mary I of England and Ireland, who took it as her personal mission to rid the country of Protestants, but recipes for drinks named “Bloody Mary” can be found in print starting in 1946.

These days, anyone can enjoy a Bloody Mary for breakfast, lunch or whenever the mood strikes. While the original recipe is fairly simple (vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce), bartenders and restaurants alike have taken the drink and made it their own, spicing it up with Sriracha or adding enough garnish to make the Bloody a meal in and of itself.

Perhaps one of the most refreshing places to enjoy a Bloody Mary is at a ski resort. There’s something about the combination of spice and veggie, cut with smooth and (sometimes flavored) vodka, which makes it a perfect beverage for a mid-morning ski break-especially if you partied a bit too hardy the night before. However, the restorative powers of the snack-bar selection of garnish are equally as pleasurable at après. Here are some of the most interesting–and tasty–Bloody Marys that are popping up at ski resorts around the country.

Click to see what type of Bloody Marys are being served at Jackson Hole, Timberline at Mt Hood, Whiteface, Deer Valley, Squaw Valley, Aspen, A-basin, Whistler