(on the path down to Les Breviers)
We simply didn’t hang about today – skiing entire runs one after the other without stopping. Derin impressed by sticking with me the whole time even when I turned tightly. She is developing good control. Although we kept moving due to the cold wind and generally miserable weather – and busy slopes – there was a constant focus on technique and a continuation from yesterday. Derin working on sideslip and pivot…
Without any explanation we ended up working on the pivot due to being on a steep section of the hill where Derin was uncomfortable. The message here is that in such circumstances you sideslip when you have to and turn directly from the sideslip. This is exactly what the “pivot” is for – to be able to turn very tightly without gaining speed on steep terrain. The trick is to stand on the uphill ski and pull the fronts of the skis downhill into the new turn. This is slightly scary to do – but it always works. Many of the things that really work in skiing are counter intuitive like this and so have to be learned. The work yesterday prepared the way for this today – the Magic wall, the feet rolling in and the leg adductors pulling in and pressure on the fronts of the skis. Despite this Derin has a strong tendency to use the downhill ski as a platform and push the uphill ski outwards into a stem/plough – instead of using the uphill ski as a platform then using the centre of mass to pull it downhill – pulling everything inwards. She understands this though and her efforts on the video show great progress when she is encouraged to focus.Derin was also constantly encouraged to pull both legs together using the adductors – to narrow her stance. This will improve naturally when we work on more advanced dynamics – perhaps starting tomorrow…
