Soft snow, ruts and longer skis (165cm latest Dynastar). The ruts piling up even made slipping the course difficult but Alex just went from strength to strength.
The photos from side on show equal levels of inclination and angulation on each side. High speed and maximum edge angles are now providing stability and security. Despite the ruts and piles of snow getting difficult to side slip Alex wasn’t phased by this or the poor visibility and I don’t think he came out of the course at all due to skiing technique.
The long leg guards are however getting caught up with each other due to the great angulation/inclination and I seriously doubt their efficacy in this respect.
The longer skis somehow seem to do a better job – giving more confidence to really attack – but this could also just be consolidation of technique leading to this. Identifying the fore/aft dynamics is now becoming natural for Alex so he barely has to think about it – all changed from even yesterday morning. This is what’s allowing the maximal inclination and angulation – turning with the skis fully laid over – something which looks impossible.
We stopped the successful session a little early when Alex began feeling tired – because the excessive snow surrounding the course and bad visibility is relatively dangerous for training – especially when tired. It was impressive how none of those factors actually affected Alex’s performance.
It would however be interesting now to switch to ice and see where we stand! Racing in April won’t have that problem though!
Note: When going through the hairpin near the bottom of the course the left hand should probably clear all the poles – there’s no time for switching arms and no need for big inclination.
