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Mike King

AKA Habacomike
Instructor
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Nov 13, 2015
Posts
3,381
Location
Louisville CO/Aspen Snowmass
Personally, I think day one is the perfect day to practice your PSIA Level 3 maneuvers. First, start with at least 30 minutes of wedge Christies. For extra credit, do them switch. Next, now that you are warmed up, at least 45 minutes of hop turns. Extra credit do one legged hop turns. Next, some easy peezy stuff--backsided pivot slips. Finish up with some switch white pass turns.





The heat might have gotten to me...

Mike
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,444
Personally, I think day one is the perfect day to practice your PSIA Level 3 maneuvers. First, start with at least 30 minutes of wedge Christies. For extra credit, do them switch. Next, now that you are warmed up, at least 45 minutes of hop turns. Extra credit do one legged hop turns. Next, some easy peezy stuff--backsided pivot slips. Finish up with some switch white pass turns.





The heat might have gotten to me...

Mike
Maybe “firing up the ski app for the year” isn’t as neurotic as it sounds.
 

LiquidFeet

instructor
Instructor
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,697
Location
New England
Personally, I think day one is the perfect day to practice your PSIA Level 3 maneuvers. First, start with at least 30 minutes of wedge Christies. For extra credit, do them switch. Next, now that you are warmed up, at least 45 minutes of hop turns. Extra credit do one legged hop turns. Next, some easy peezy stuff--backsided pivot slips. Finish up with some switch white pass turns.

The heat might have gotten to me...

Mike

Total nutso!:roflmao:
Oddly, those things I put in my list I enjoy.
But wedge turns and wedge christies and hop turns, not on your life.
 
Last edited:

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,444
Wedge/wedge christy - fun. Good thing to do. But the Wrod is not conducive to those.
Hop- no.
Switch Whitepass? Hmmm, now I’m going to have to try. Doing it on the outer or inner ski?
 

rustypouch

Getting on the lift
Skier
Joined
Jan 30, 2018
Posts
168
Getting my feet under me, and feeling the center of the ski. After that, the basics. Mobility in all joints. Turning led by the lower body. Separation and angulation. Timing and coordination.
 

Steve

SkiMangoJazz
Pass Pulled
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
2,338
I too like @Skisailor mostly relish in the joyous feeling of sliding on snow. I also generally have a fall on a very flat section in plain view. After that I don't fall again until possibly on a Western trip.

Edge to edge. Foot awareness. Good release. Focus on the fundamentals, but not really drills.
 

crgildart

Gravity Slave
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
16,325
Location
The Bull City
After I get my boots on without throwing my back out, the next thing I work on is remembering not to over do it! Take maybe a half hour to warm up then do some hard charging for another two hours or so. I may take a break and go back out for another hour or so... or I may call it a day and schlep the gear back to the car for the three hour drive home. I no longer feel like I've got to get x number of runs or vert to get my money's worth out of a ski ticket. Pushing it just to the point where I'm not miserable the next day is my optimum number of runs regardless of how much driving or ticket window cash was involved.
 
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geepers

geepers

Skiing the powder
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May 12, 2018
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4,256
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Wanaka, New Zealand
@geepers, getting back to the thread topic, what do you like to do on day one?
Or, better yet, what did you do?

2 days so far. Mostly trying to find the middle of the ski - seems to be missing!

But guilty of fun-ing and not drilling.

Did get a chance to demo some front side skis at a demo day. Would have preferred more time on snow beforehand but you take the opportunities as they come. The Volkl RaceTiger SC seriously good.
 
Thread Starter
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geepers

geepers

Skiing the powder
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Location
Wanaka, New Zealand
@geepers You're missing the point; the faster you go, the more distance you cover in a given amount of skiing time.

Of course, it is a mute point. Eventually the thrill of pure speed diminishes and is replaced by the trill of the turn, or you have to keep upping the anti by skiing faster in more dangerous places, and that can't have a good ultimate ending.

ogsmile Got your point just fine. The ski quality metric runs in my head - pure speed is a smaller factor than being uninjured at day’s end. As you describe.

BTW it’s “moot point” not “mute”. :)
 

James

Out There
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Dec 2, 2015
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24,444
ogsmile Got your point just fine. The ski quality metric runs in my head - pure speed is a smaller factor than being uninjured at day’s end. As you describe.

BTW it’s “moot point” not “mute”. :)
So, let’s get to the important early season stuff. What are the metrics after two days?
 

firebanex

Making fresh tracks
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Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Posts
1,090
Location
Fairbanks, Alaska
Much like everyone else, I spend the first couple runs finding my balance and working on basics. Then I bust out a sled run to rescue someone who hasn't started out easy and blew their knee out on the first run. I figure I'm nice and ready for the season at that point.
 

crgildart

Gravity Slave
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
16,325
Location
The Bull City
Personally, I think day one is the perfect day to practice your PSIA Level 3 maneuvers. First, start with at least 30 minutes of wedge Christies. For extra credit, do them switch. Next, now that you are warmed up, at least 45 minutes of hop turns. Extra credit do one legged hop turns. Next, some easy peezy stuff--backsided pivot slips. Finish up with some switch white pass turns.





The heat might have gotten to me...

Mike
What? No switch dolphin turns?? Slacker!!
 

JESinstr

Lvl 3 1973
Skier
Joined
May 4, 2017
Posts
1,133
Maybe this thread title should be WHY do you work on what you work on first day back for the season? So far, at the heart of most of the serious contributions here to fore, is the ability to properly balance. Most all the subjects in @geepers first video talk about balancing through the arch. More importantly, balancing through the arch in relation to one's sagittal (Fore and Aft) plane.

For most, there are few activities in the off season that require us to (while on the move) reliably and consistently align our mass though the center of the arch using the flex complex (ankles, knees hips) as regulators in such a combination that we allow for pressure management and dynamic balancing against the continual changes in slope and lateral angulation, not to mention lack of friction. When on edge, feeling the arch compress between the back of the ball of the foot and the front part of the heel is a sure sign that you are in position to work and ride the ski.

So it is no wonder that when you strap on the boards after months of using heel to/and toe based balancing (be it static or dynamic) that your body and brain need a refresher course in how you successfully balance on skis.
 

LiquidFeet

instructor
Instructor
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Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,697
Location
New England
Agree with @JESinstr.
My fore-aft balance needs to be seriously re-charged after 9 months of low battery.
Someone who started skiing at age 3 may not need as much "work" on day one (and day 2 and day 3) as does this late bloomer.
Lateral balance (outside ski balance with edging manipulations) needs recharging too.
But fore-aft supersedes that in importance.
 

Mike King

AKA Habacomike
Instructor
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Nov 13, 2015
Posts
3,381
Location
Louisville CO/Aspen Snowmass
You can work on dynamic balance on the drylands. This video was on the PSIA newsletter today:


My PT has had me doing agility ladder drills. I think they help a lot.

Of course, there is a difference between doing them with a slippery surface. But using a balance disc certainly moves you in that direction.

Mike
 

eok

Slopefossil
Skier
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Posts
856
Location
PNW
What's my drill for the 1st day back on the snow? Make sure I do my AM stretching/warmup exercises before heading out. Then, when on the snow : take my time, take it easy and take plenty of breaks during the day - even if I don't need to. Then, over a few more subsequent ski days, I ramp things up.
 

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