Skating
Lizzy was a complete beginner and had zero skating experience. Immediately after familiarising Lizzy with the skis the first task was to teach her how to skate on the flat. Diverging skis and falling forward – using gravity for propulsion – and Lizzy was skating within minutes. Skiing is fundamentally, skating!
Skating is all about how you move your centre of mass (magic belly button in this case!)
Feet
To make sure that Lizzy could do this properly we went back indoors to the Hotel reception lobby and I showed her how to use the feet – specifically the subtaler joint between the heel and ankle for rocking the foot. For skating you need to rock the foot onto its inside edge – effectively causing both forefeet to diverge just like the skitips diverge when skating. The muscles on the inside of the upper legs have to be tensioned when the feet are rocked this way – to protect the knees. She was also shown that when we incorporate the snowplough into our program we have to do the opposite with the feet – roll them onto their outside edges – relaxing those same leg muscles so as to be able to open up the legs from the hip joints.
Skating Turns (developing basic dynamics)
With this achieved the path was clear to work on skating step turns – moving the centre of mass.
The main goal was to develop dynamics (physics of disequilibrium) from the very start – making this Lizzy’s default setting.
Snowplough (with dynamics)
We had to use the snowplough – but in a modified form that allows dynamics to be employed. The target was to preserve the active displacement of the centre of mass – pushing the body into the turn from the new (usually uphill) turning ski. This is the opposite direction from “ski school” and their incorrect “transfer of weight” to the outside ski. Lizzy proved to be very capable of sensing the subtlety involved and the outcome – perhaps this has to do with her horse riding experience.
The plough was provided as an “add-on” not as a basic principle for skiing. “Dynamics” is what generates parallel skiing and that’s what was already happening in Lizzy’s skiing on day one – while still effectively a complete beginner.
Skating Progression
The beginner’s exercises and detailed explanations are found here…
http://madeinmountains.com/beginners/
This provides a more in-depth insight into how Lizzy was taught today.
Dynamics
We also worked directly on dynamics with proper exercises dedicated to cultivating dynamics…
http://madeinmountains.com/dynamics/
Pivot
We even worked on side slipping and on pivoting – how the skis turns even more quickly when travelling sideways. This is “braking” skiing – the real way to accurately control speed.
http://madeinmountains.com/pivo/
Today’s views…
