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What useful drill vexes you the most?

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Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Switch pivot slips, but I haven't worked on them much at all. Pretty confident I can get them sorted with some more effort.

Whoa. *mind blown*
 

markojp

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Whoa. *mind blown*

They're required for L3 Rocky mountain and they'll probably get tossed into next years dcl tryouts. I like to think that I can pass in all divisions. Not sure that I think of them beyond 'silly pet tricks', but if you're bored, you're boring!
ogsmile
 

Mike King

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I've yet to attempt the backside pivot slips but must soon start to work on them if I'm going to attempt L3 next season. I do wonder what the point is of some of the RM L3 manuevers such as backside pivot slips and switch railroad tracks. We have a freestyle specialty -- what's the point of requiring L3 candidates to do these stupid ski tricks? I don't see its relevance to alpine skiing...
 
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Monique

Monique

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I've yet to attempt the backside pivot slips but must soon start to work on them if I'm going to attempt L3 next season. I do wonder what the point is of some of the RM L3 manuevers such as backside pivot slips and switch railroad tracks. We have a freestyle specialty -- what's the point of requiring L3 candidates to do these stupid ski tricks? I don't see its relevance to alpine skiing...

Proof of a very high level of balance, pressure, and edge control?
 

markojp

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I'd almost prefer to see a falling leaf with switch transitions as an exam task, and require the leaf turns to be round and switch transition share the same D.I.R.T. Seems a more useful test, but either way, it's always fun to try new stuff.
 
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markojp

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Proof of a very high level of balance, pressure, and edge control?

Pretty much the same as regular pivot slips, just a degree funkier. ogsmile
 

LiquidFeet

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I think of switch pivot slips as the uphill-facing half of a flat 360.
An examiner pointed out that my pivot slips were too fast (same for backwards/switch pivot slips).
He said they had too much momentum going on.
So I'm working on slowing them down to dilute the effect of momentum.
This is less easy than it sounds.
Now why would he care about that?

Cannot, cannot, get my ankles to tip confidently to the LTE when doing White Pass turns. Torture drill, that.
Maybe because I sprained my ankles so often as a kid.
My childhood doctor said I had "weak ankles" and that I'd always be spraining them.
I now, at age 66, know he was wrong about that.
But my body sure remembers the pain, and the fear of reoccurrence.
The other cause of my abysmal White Pass failure may be weakness in the muscles in my lower leg.
Oh my, could that be classified as "weak ankles?"
And then there's the possibility of boot sold canting as a fix. Seems like cheating.

Cannot, cannot, get hops of any sort to work. Magnets hold my skis on the snow. Probably simple weakness, coupled with stiff boots that don't allow ankle bending to help with the hop given my size and weight.

I'll never get that LIII.
Why do I want it, anyway? These are not drills I'll ever torture my clients with.
 
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Erik Timmerman

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These are not drills I'll ever torture my clients with.

I often think of that too. When was the last time you ever thought "hmm, what this guy really needs right now is some hop turns" ? White Pass I think does have real world applications though. I'll bet you can learn them.
 

markojp

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The hard part about switch pivot slips is maintaining a ski length corridor, not the actual switch transistion.
 
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Monique

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bounceswoosh
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I often think of that too. When was the last time you ever thought "hmm, what this guy really needs right now is some hop turns" ? White Pass I think does have real world applications though. I'll bet you can learn them.

Hop turns - breakable crust and other conditions where skiing in the snow makes the turn harder. Do you have a better solution for those conditions than hop turns?
 

mdf

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I have tried switch pivot slips. Whoa! Not very successfully.
 

LiquidFeet

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Here's a should-be-easy drill that more than "vexes" me, one ski side-slips, on little toe edge, right foot.
My body won't do them on the right foot.

--on the left foot - fine and dandy; it works
--on the right foot - pretzel body gumped up; nothing works.

Today is a powder day; thinking I may just skip the torture drills.....
I'm reading here while putting off digging myself out with a shovel. The snow is deep out there and the plow guy has not come.
 

Kneale Brownson

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Here's a should-be-easy drill that more than "vexes" me, one ski side-slips, on little toe edge, right foot.
My body won't do them on the right foot.

--on the left foot - fine and dandy; it works
--on the right foot - pretzel body gumped up; nothing works.
.

Forward sideslips, right foot uphill, pull back to establish tongue pressure, gradually increase pressure on uphill ski.
 
Thread Starter
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Monique

Monique

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markojp

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.
Today is a powder day; thinking I may just skip the torture drills.....
I'm reading here while putting off digging myself out with a shovel. The snow is deep out there and the plow guy has not come.

No drills on a powder day. Ever. Thou shall only ski... 11th commandment. ogsmile
 
Thread Starter
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Monique

Monique

bounceswoosh
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Powder is God's way of telling us he loves us and wants us to skip drills today.
 

Crank

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Hop turns work in really heavy, baked snow that is not super deep and in crust. Better and safer than stepping IMO.

However, I don't do drills, nor do I instruct. I have taught hop turns a few times to get companions down conditions stated above. Takes a second to learn - no drills necessary.

Nothing against drills, I get that you skiers are working on perfection/improving your technique and I respect that.
 

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