Luke, Leonie, Ella, Jacob in slalom for the first time ever. Simon is missing from the video as he was recharging his batteries in anticipation of the icey descent of the glacier to come…
Arrival day (prior to skiing) was used to acclimatize to altitude and attitude with a late afternoon introduction to downhill mountain biking – which went very well… (Ella was missing)
Simon was very wobbly on his skis and I hesitated about taking him up the glacier – but what assured me that he would manage was the way he had done so well on the mountain bike the previous day. He did not disappoint – concluding the day with a strong descent of the glacier all the way to the bottom.Both Simon and Jacob had to be rapidly introduced to dynamics to try to get them to stop pushing their skis outwards. They both understood the idea regardless of a minimum of explanation, exercises or practice so were able to use this to protect themselves when going from slush onto ice and in the ruts in the slalom course. They didn’t have time or enough information to develop real skill and avoid traps and errors – but both became far more secure on their skis as the morning progressed.I could let Leonie, Luke and Ella just ski meantime to get their feet back and their confidence on the special glacier snow and ice and they all managed to do that as expected.Simon in particular was wobbly due to staying vertical during the descents and being jammed firmly in the backs of his ski boots – so this was explained – and how to stand perpendicular. Entanglement with the drag lift and general temporary exhaustion brought our efforts to a halt for the day.Jacob needed more input but there wasn’t enough time to go around – I let him get on with it by himself because he is young and strong. The only emphasis was to move the body more like he had done the day previously on his bike.Leonie was working on “selective muscle use” and had to work to correct her hip and upper body rotation – which she improved in slalom. If skiing slalom ruts with rotation then expect to spin straight out of the course. Just note it’s not the shoulders facing downhill it’s the pelvis! Leonie was asked to use the fronts of her boots and skis – this helping to grip and to avoid rotation. Luke was struggling with posture on his right leg – and not managing to stay on that hip – probably exacerbated due to getting on the backs of the boots.Ella was the surprise of the day – fully understanding that she had to launch her body face first downhill to get into the next turn early – and she discovered the exhilaration of slalom.
Luke – good posture on the left leg
Bad posture…
Pelvis and upper body need to face downhill for slalom…
Strong entry into the turn – slight stemming – more dynamics needed – move the body not the skis…
Looking good…
Not so good… watch the posture (hollowing of the lower back), keep both hands in front and in sight.
Not bad – a bit back on the boots and not looking downhill – where you are intending to go…
During the end phase of the turn drive the body uphill so as to stay inside the turn – otherwise rotation is spectacular… you found out later on the Ice to at least keep the hip tucked in and not allow the bottom to fly out downhill as you try to grab the mountain in desperation.
