Natalie was carefully taken through a basic skills program starting from the very beginning. Skills associated with “dynamics” are totally different from those taught in ski schools – so the best place to start is at the beginning. Given our time constraints and circumstances we still used a snowplough – initially for straight running and stopping. To quickly get Natalie going independently the dynamics were incorporated into the plough exactly the same as for Darcy, then additional dynamics/skating exercises were introduced prior to ending the session. Skiing down the last run Natalie was starting to relax and use the centre of mass with the skis nearly parallel on gentle terrain. Unfortunately there was no filming.
Darcy is progressing rapidly but doesn’t quite realise that she has to “work” to make turns happen and that she needs to be in control of speed at all times. She followed me down a long run and it needed considerable coaxing to persuade her to turn and to move her centre of mass. She didn’t copy my movements that were designed to help her – but then I never took the time to explain that to her so next time we’ll get that right.
Zak was filmed before we started to work on his skiing. His understanding was simply based on the classic snowplough and he had practically been taught nothing – making even a blue run too difficult for him to negotiate safely. There was no more filming because we only had an hour and there was a lot of work to do. Zak responded well to exercises in dynamics and fully understood them. To speed up progress We skied with Zak holding on to my pole alongside me for stability and with him pushing and pulling me forcefully – skis parallel and him controlling the turns for both of us. For Zak this exercise worked a treat and assured me that he had clearly grasped the concept.
How these uninvited guests landed there safely is a mystery (photo Damon)