Author Topic: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!  (Read 2150 times)

jim-ratliff

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #30 on: December 20, 2012, 12:37:32 am »
A little local perspective.  I live in the Twin Cities and ski Welch (Welch, not Welsh) regularly.  It is without question the best terrain we have in the Twin Cities.  Many of our day ski areas here suffer from very old insfrastructure.  Welch has a new chalet, some of the newest lifts around and top notch snow making equipment.
Greg: Thanks for your perspective. I didn't realize a connection between Welch and your kids ski school.
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jim-ratliff

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #31 on: December 20, 2012, 07:42:04 am »
Haven't read much of this, but caught a bit... I'll only add this; take it for what it is worth.

The cornerstone of good instruction, regardless of where it comes from, is not about teaching everything. Rather, it is about teaching the right things and combining them into a full package that does not include excess, or confusing/conflicting instructions. Individually, most drills and movements don't mean a lot, but how you select certain ones and put them into a finished product is what really matters when you're talking about repeatability in developing skiers/athletes as a coach.

Also... Any time you introduce stability instead of forcing a student to balance you're getting into dangerous territory. For beginners, stability equals safe, but stability does not equal good skiing. I see very few skiers in a season who are balanced laterally... even fewer who are truly balanced fore/aft. Both can be counted on one hand.

Cheers.
FWIW, I think that is a HeluvaConcise pair of statements.

« Last Edit: December 20, 2012, 08:56:47 am by jim-ratliff »
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gregmerz

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #32 on: December 20, 2012, 12:48:48 pm »
Greg: Thanks for your perspective. I didn't realize a connection between Welch and your kids ski school.

There is no connection other than we visit Welch several times each season.

jim-ratliff

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #33 on: December 20, 2012, 01:27:55 pm »
There is no connection other than we visit Welch several times each season.
Ooohhh.  So you have your own coaching-instruction staff.  I misunderstood, thought that your group of kids was associated with Welch.
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bushwacka

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #34 on: December 20, 2012, 03:28:32 pm »
Helva is 100 percent stable is not good skiing but

The thing is who is going to have better time

a REALLY out of shape middle aged person who can ski down the bunny hill because they are stable.

or the same guy who is falling down because his instructor doesnt believe in the wedge.

the answer is obvious. It really is. skiing is fun even bad skiing is fun. People suck at moving and balancing too much to all learn DTP. I am about building the sport, not giving people a bad time because they have no athletic skill to speak of.


jim-ratliff

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #35 on: December 20, 2012, 03:47:14 pm »

Angel Smiley Fighting with Devil emoticon (Fighting Emoticons)


I don't think Heluva would argue your point.
Clearly there is a difference between "fun skiing" and "good skiing".
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bushwacka

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #36 on: December 20, 2012, 03:53:06 pm »
I think fun skiing and good skiing start to come together as you get better at either.

jim-ratliff

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #37 on: December 20, 2012, 04:05:03 pm »
I intentionally picked a "playing devil's advocate icon for my post".  Wasn't serious.
I'm not really sure whether your statement is true or not, I think it depends on something inside the skier as to what their objective becomes. A lot of people are content to "have fun" a few days per year, which may have been part of Liam's point in his early post.
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jbotti

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #38 on: December 20, 2012, 04:36:39 pm »
The thing is who is going to have better time

a REALLY out of shape middle aged person who can ski down the bunny hill because they are stable.

or the same guy who is falling down because his instructor doesnt believe in the wedge.


You speak of things about which you have no real knowledge. Just because you can't get a beginner skier down the mountain without teaching the wedge does not mean that a PMTS instructor can't! Even for you it might be possibe to imagine that maybe you don't know everything and that maybe you could learn something from someone that might be a better skier and instructor than you. As unlikely as you think this might be, I am saying that it is more than possible.

bushwacka

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #39 on: December 20, 2012, 04:47:03 pm »
Jbotti this guy could get off the ground with out skis on. Good luck teaching him 1.5 hours to do anything with out the wedge.

There are very few better skier than me. the number gets smaller each year. Plus define better.

Why do you keep trying to put me down? really?

I know who I can learn from. I also know what my budgut is (zero) dollars.

If PMTS taught me to ski powder like you I am glad that I didnt learn that way.

« Last Edit: December 20, 2012, 04:49:53 pm by bushwacka »

jbotti

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #40 on: December 20, 2012, 04:55:15 pm »
OK, so I guess you think you ski better and teach better than Harald? You probably know more about racing boot alignment as well?

You forget that I have seen you ski. Here is a quiz for you, why do you think that in your skiing (in most pictures and videos that I have seen) you rarely have the same edge angle occurring on both skis? I know why, do you?

BTW, we consider that kind of a low blue level technical accomplishment in the PMTS world. I know you handle terrain well but from what I have seen technically you are a ways from expert.

bushwacka

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #41 on: December 20, 2012, 05:00:54 pm »
MY left boot need canting. I was also do some shitty stuff

So Jbotti what demos do you want to see?

A ways from expert? really? compared to who? hoji? Handling terrain is part of skiing.

What demos do you want to see? Honestly list them all. I kinda of want to drag you down icey bumps run for many days in a row, but shutting you up though showing that I can do anything you want will be enough for me.

bushwacka

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #42 on: December 20, 2012, 05:03:58 pm »
BTW I think I can ski better than Harold. but again define better.

Again I would love to watch Harold suffer skiing stowe woods, which are more demanding than anything else.




ToddW

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #43 on: December 20, 2012, 06:08:16 pm »
Guys, this is the neutral zone.  Let's respect each others' skiing.

Since HH was brought up, I'll compare him to seven current demo team members I've seen ski in the past 12 months.  He'd slay them all skiing the Stowe backcountry.  I have no idea how many DCLs would outski all of them HH included ... would be fun to see that happen :-)
« Last Edit: December 20, 2012, 06:10:52 pm by ToddW »

jbotti

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Re: Slowly, One Small Mountain at a Time!
« Reply #44 on: December 20, 2012, 06:34:19 pm »
Todd, with all due respect, BW is the first to point out issues in everyone's skiing on the site often from nothing more than an Avatar.