Ski Drills to start the day

[Plai]

In another thread, I mentioned that there's a series of drills that I do on the first run of the day. Since that post, I've been asked what my drills were, and the question was answered... but.... I can't be the only one that has a favorite ski routine to warm up.

So, what's your favorite series of drills to help you warm up at the start of a ski day. Do think it's useful, or just something you do? What would you change? What would like to accomplish?

At the beginning, it started out with hockey stops:

Now, it usually starts with Pivots Slips on the first hill right off the lift on a green run:

On green and blue slopes I'll throw in Falling Leaf just to keep things interesting. Here's our own (pugski) Josh Matta doing them...

On green flats, I'll throw in 360s just for fun...

and skiiing switch (backwards).

Now, I'm trying to add 1 ski drills:
Javelin Turns

White Pass Turns

I find that I have a better ski day if I at least do the pivot slips. It gets my feet/legs separated from my body quicker.

What's missing from all these drills? The glue that binds/transitions from one to the other. I've been an aspiring bump skier and would get thrown still. There's still a gap between practicing and doing, and it took a fellow pug to point out (encourage) me to do some things that made them flow better. So, there's still something between my ears that needs to be fixed.

 

[KingGrump]

I'll usually start the day with couple of warm up runs on groomers with my boots unbuckled. It allows me to stand on my own two feet. Rather than lean on my cuff.
Learned that one from a race coach at Taos more than fifteen years ago.

Gets me nice and relaxed. Much better connection to the skis.

It also tell you tons about your boot fit.

 

[Josh Matta]

Honored to be included by you. Some of these are pretty good for warming up for bump skiing, some are missing the point and one in particular I do not like the demo being done(flat spin 360s).

I think one thing you can modify about the javelin turn is you can make the turn radius MUCH tighter while letting the ski ski instead of fully carving the turn. This will teach you the balance on the outside ski while you turn that outside foot and guide it where you want to go. As an aspiring bump skier the two biggest almost unrecoverable mistakes are 1. letting you center of mass leave the Base of support during the apex and 2. using to high of an edge angle. You can also do the same turn with the lifted skis tip touching the snow.

and one of the best warm ups you can do to practice not letting your body get away from your feet and staying on a low soft edge angle is to go find a green and learn to make parallel turns as slow you can go in many different radius and shapes but keep it slow, painfully slow. I am unable to find my video of this exact drill but IMO its one of the most underrated for good bump and tree skiing at the intro to inspiring level.

Past the aspiring level let say comfortable in bumps level agility drill, like hop turns of all sorts(dolphins, sequential, normal, short R leapers, pivot leaper) can build the agility and versatility needed to first recover, and eventually be able to just change lines as you need in a irregular bump field......and they are ALL irregular.

On the flat spin 360 drill you referenced my issue with it is, the demo skier is ALWAYS up the hill so they are not moving their body over their COM, especially when going backward, this cause the spins to looks really labored and he is using a ton of up unweighted to get the skis to pivot.

 

[Jack skis]

At Crested Butte lift lines permitting my warm up run would be from top of Silver Queen non-stop down International to the base area. Was a good way for me to warm up the body and make sure I was still alive (that's an age thing).

 

[Plai]

I do not like the demo being done(flat spin 360s)

Sorry about that 360 spin video. I was lazy and just wanted "A" 360 spin video and it was the first to pop up on a youtube search. No, I don't use it for reference. The way I learned was a gentle prod on pugski from @Kneale Brownson a couple of years ago to just "try it". What fun! ;-)

I think one thing you can modify about the javelin turn is you can make the turn radius MUCH tighter while letting the ski ski instead of fully carving the turn. This will teach you the balance on the outside ski while you turn that outside foot and guide it where you want to go. As an aspiring bump skier the two biggest almost unrecoverable mistakes are 1. letting you center of mass leave the Base of support during the apex and 2. using to high of an edge angle. You can also do the same turn with the lifted skis tip touching the snow.

and one of the best warm ups you can do to practice not letting your body get away from your feet and staying on a low soft edge angle is to go find a green and learn to make parallel turns as slow you can go in many different radius and shapes but keep it slow, painfully slow. I am unable to find my video of this exact drill but IMO its one of the most underrated for good bump and tree skiing at the intro to inspiring level.

Thanks for making the javelin turns more fun. I'll attempt it once we actually get some white stuff in Tahoe.

I've seen (and been amazed at) your (and others) dolphin turn video. I think I need to learn how to jump/hop first before modifying the jumps. Got any tutorials in that direction? I tried to "hop" similar to the what's described in this powder progression video without success.

 

[Bad Bob]

1st run (if on groomer) will take the pivot slip drill and start increasing edging to it till I'm skiing short radius turns in a corridor.
1000 steps is normally in that 1st run too if there is appropriate terrain..

Anybody else mess around with the tip drag 180? Will use this on all day long on packed snow. From a slow traverse, or pulling off at the edge of the trail at the end of a turn, pickup either ski bend your knee to place the tip at an angle to the other ski and put the tip down in the snow. Let the lifted ski pull you around. A fun little move that is good for controlling and feeling edging.

 

[razie]

A couple pivot slips / braquage often and some PJs (Phantom Javelins) - so you're on the right path .

What do you think about technical free-skiing, i.e. skiing with a specific purpose, running through your "cues" for the different movements? That's my usual - start on a light blue, work from the snow up, couple runs.

I don't use a lot of drills for warmup. I use a dynamic warmup, i.e. light technical skiing instead, starting at 50% intensity. A good drill is meant to put you a little outside your comfort zone (especially the one ski drills), which may result in recoveries, which may result in sprains and pulls if you're not warmed up... and if you're not going to do a drill properly, might as well not do it...

 

[geepers]

 

[François Pugh]

I'm kinda lazy, just want to have fun and am not interested in passing an CSIA or PSIA level tests, so not a lot of drills for me. However I do the picture frame drill and the horizontal poles drill (and less often other drills) because adequate separation makes me a better skier, which makes skiing more fun.
I also sometimes concentrate on pulling feet back as a drill, getting the inside knee out of the way as a drill, and multitasking, making all the right moves in my turns as a drill. Other times I just go for it and let my mind only think about where I want to go while trying to ski faster and make harder turns.

 

[razie]

You gotta love how they were focusing on the style and execution of that turn, although the entire thing is horrible, technically! But hey, if you do it nice, at least it looks good!

 

[Plai]

Wonder how long you've been waiting to post that ;-)

 

[pchewn]

"Ski Drills to start the day"

 

[4ster]

As someone who skis daily I look at it as early-season warm-up and then when the season gets going, it’s more of a first run warm up.
Early-season my go to‘s are first staying on moderate groomed terrain with somewhat firm and consistent snow.
Skiing with boots unbuckled.
All outside ski focused drills & variations.
Slow as you can go turns. (I agree with Josh that this drill is underrated and underused)
All of the above at the same time.
Pivot Slip drills with a variety of emphasis & focus
Railroad Track turns.
Skate to shape.
All the above drills really help to hone the basic skills. They are at their most useful when done with focus and accuracy.
If there are fresh tracks to be had early season, all bets are off.

Once the season begins it becomes more just focused skiing. If it’s not a powder day then certainly first-run would be spent on a moderate groomer fine tuning movements & balance with a variety of turn shapes. If I find myself losing balance to the inside at all, I will focus on the outside pole drag drill.

 

[Doby Man]

I'm kinda lazy, just want to have fun and am not interested in passing an CSIA or PSIA level tests, so not a lot of drills for me. However I do the picture frame drill and the horizontal poles drill (and less often other drills) because adequate separation makes me a better skier, which makes skiing more fun.
I also sometimes concentrate on pulling feet back as a drill, getting the inside knee out of the way as a drill, and multitasking, making all the right moves in my turns as a drill. Other times I just go for it and let my mind only think about where I want to go while trying to ski faster and make harder turns.

Ah ..... yes! The classic making all the right moves drill. I use that one a lot also. I used to do the making all the wrong moves drill until I could do the making all the right moves drill correct.

 

[4ster]

"Ski Drills to start the day"

Lol, for many years that drill was literally my first run everyday.

 

[geepers]

Wonder how long you've been waiting to post that ;-)

About 20 seconds . Actually went from your thread to FB, saw that vid and straight back to your thread.

You gotta love how they were focusing on the style and execution of that turn, although the entire thing is horrible, technically! But hey, if you do it nice, at least it looks good!

Gotta love the way they use the boot to load the...ah... shovel. But mostly impressed by the push-ups whilst wearing skis and boots.

 

[Wolfski]

Lol, for many years that drill was literally my first run everyday.

Yeah but we always got to rip one, you know to get the feel Of course this was after hauling a load pins up and down to the course while be fully loaded down with gear..yeah we were warmed up

 

[4ster]

Yeah but we always got to rip one, you know to get the feel Of course this was after hauling a load pins up and down to the course while be fully loaded down with gear..yeah we were warmed up

Haha yeah, my last gig as a course setter required about 1500K' vert to get to the start shack. So there was that even though it was often in the dark!
Hmm, another good proprioceptive drill.... Skiing in the dark.

 

[ZionPow]

As someone who skis daily I look at it as early-season warm-up and then when the season gets going, it’s more of a first run warm up.
Early-season my go to‘s are first staying on moderate groomed terrain with somewhat firm and consistent snow.
Skiing with boots unbuckled.
All outside ski focused drills & variations.
Slow as you can go turns. (I agree with Josh that this drill is underrated and underused)
All of the above at the same time.
Pivot Slip drills with a variety of emphasis & focus
Railroad Track turns.
Skate to shape.
All the above drills really help to hone the basic skills. They are at their most useful when done with focus and accuracy.
If there are fresh tracks to be had early season, all bets are off.

Once the season begins it becomes more just focused skiing. If it’s not a powder day then certainly first-run would be spent on a moderate groomer fine tuning movements & balance with a variety of turn shapes. If I find myself losing balance to the inside at all, I will focus on the outside pole drag drill.

Grizzly (Bear trap)!!!

 

[firebanex]

I start by with a couple different drills depending on how I feel on the first run. Usually some one ski balance stuff, or skiing switch for a couple hundred yards, but they all end with something my race coaches called "gorilla turns" No idea if that's the real name or if that's just what they named them for 12yr old racers.. Super wide stance and emphasis on getting low. I feel like they streach out my legs and get me going for the day.