Advice for a Slides First Timer

Skidds wrote

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

Skidds wrote

May not always be that easy to hook up with someone who knows their way around.

Go to customer service and tell them you'd like someone to give you a tour of the slides.

Didn't realize you could do that.  Very good advice!  Thanks.

Ask for HPD!

Good skiers know how to use their edges both going up and down.  To an experienced instructor watching some sidestep tells us a great deal about how you ski.

Get a mt bike and ride it.  Core is also super important for skiing at a high level.  And stretch every day.

If you not in good shape at your age getting old is really going to suck for you.  

Harvey wrote

Skidds wrote

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

Skidds wrote

May not always be that easy to hook up with someone who knows their way around.

Go to customer service and tell them you'd like someone to give you a tour of the slides.

Didn't realize you could do that.  Very good advice!  Thanks.

Ask for HPD!

Pretty sure that is what HPD was hinting at

While we are shamelessly promoting taking a private lesson to get ready for the slides and hit them with someone experienced is not a bad plan either

Coach Z wrote

Good skiers know how to use their edges both going up and down.  To an experienced instructor watching some sidestep tells us a great deal about how you ski.

Get a mt bike and ride it.  Core is also super important for skiing at a high level.  And stretch every day.

If you not in good shape at your age getting old is really going to suck for you.

So this is about technique and skill, not being exhausted at the end of the climb?  I do bike ride regularly and I am fairly good at it (my ski muscles at work).  However, I can only do about 10 push ups in a row before falling on the ground (most kids in my school can do over 20) and it takes me almost 12 minutes to run a mile (most kids in my school can do it in about 8).

One thing that is great about skiing is that you don't need to be very athletic to do it well, just point em down the hill and let gravity do the rest.  It is the only sport I am good at now, and the only sport I will ever be good at.

Yeah, I don't think anyone would be concerned at someone getting winded on the sidestep traverse in.  I do!  I believe it's less about strength and more about balance, agility, and how well you can set and hold an edge.  

While skiing doesn't require the same athletic abilities/skills and hand/foot/eye coordination that many team sports do, strength and athleticism are great assets in skiing.  Last Saturday I was stressing to my 12 year old how important it was for him to maintain a balanced, athletic stance and be aggressive in staying forward, pressuring the shins, hands forward.  He complained he couldn't do that, that he just got pushed back as he skied.  This is where core strength and athleticism can help you fight the natural tendency to get thrown into the back seat.  Once my son gets thrown into the back seat it all breaks down.  He gets out of balance, his uphill shoulder gets pulled back and his downhill hand goes up, he loses any pressure he had on his edges, the weight gets on the tails of the skis and all the energy the ski builds up in the turn is lost, instead of transitioned into the next turn.  Very hard to link good turns together when all that happens.  Early in the day the spring slush was throwing him around, but we worked on him being more aggressive with a balanced athletic stance over the skis.  The goal was to explode the piles of slush, rather than get thrown by them, and by the end of the day he was.

Thus endeth my poor attempt at a lesson!  

snoloco wrote

One thing that is great about skiing is that you don't need to be very athletic to do it well, just point em down the hill and let gravity do the rest.  It is the only sport I am good at now, and the only sport I will ever be good at.

You can and are a decent skier now but athleticism is needed to become an expert.  Fluid and aggressive skiing in bumps and steeps and high speed carving all require stamina and strength.  It's a different kind of strength as skiing is really more anaerobic at high levels.  

This is not bowling so put in some work over the summer and next fall and see his much better you ski.  Focus on three things
Mt biking particularly up hill to develop your quads and engine
Core strength is so important and 10 mins a day spent on your core can make a big difference.  I created a short core workout a few years ago that is in the blog section.  Do that.
Flexibility

Coach Z wrote

To an experienced instructor watching some sidestep tells us a great deal about how you ski.

I gotta say this is news to me (of course I'm not an instructor). I've never once in my life thought to myself "Damn that guy is one hell of a side stepper."

One day I was side stepping up part of the traverse into the Slides (BTW...I don't like to brag, but I'm a certified level 3 side stepper), and a snowboarder hikes up by me and says, "Dude, carry your skis, you'll get in faster". Next time I did and he was right. Now sometimes I side step and sometimes I hike. I go both ways depending on my mood,  I'm bi-stepual.

snoloco wrote

So this is about technique and skill, not being exhausted at the end of the climb?  I do bike ride regularly and I am fairly good at it (my ski muscles at work).  However, I can only do about 10 push ups in a row before falling on the ground (most kids in my school can do over 20) and it takes me almost 12 minutes to run a mile (most kids in my school can do it in about 8).

One thing that is great about skiing is that you don't need to be very athletic to do it well, just point em down the hill and let gravity do the rest.  It is the only sport I am good at now, and the only sport I will ever be good at.

There is no way most kids in your school can run an 8 minute mile. Your time is more in line with the masses. The kids who play some team sports are the ones who might be running a mile in 8 minutes. If you don't like running ride a bike, roller blade, do the various indoor machines (rowing, elliptical, bike).

Get a few sessions with a  trainer to learn a routine. This will improve your physical strength.

All it takes is sticking with it and you will feel and see results. Now that local skiing is over you should have a lot of free time.

 X a 8 minute mile is slow , 12 minute mile is walking. My son harassed me about running , he runs a sub 5 mile, I never run and took his challenge and i timed  in for 2 miles in under 14 minutes. Americans are getting softer all the time.

snoloco wrote

One thing that is great about skiing is that you don't need to be very athletic to do it well, just point em down the hill and let gravity do the rest.  It is the only sport I am good at now, and the only sport I will ever be good at.

Not!

Downhill skiing is a unique sport in that to do it well you need to be very athletically fit but if that's all you do you will loose your fitness and you will no longer be able to do it well. I ski a lot, and I am always in poorer condition at the end of the season than I am at the beginning. That's because I exercise like crazy all spring/summer/fall so that I can be in my best shape to ski. It is also why I prefer a good BC climb rather than lift served. Sure, I get less vertical, but I am stronger for it. You want to ski well, build core strength, learn to ride a unicycle, do planks, do triathlons, run marathons, ride centuries, hike the catskills, get off your ass.  

The whole fitness thing is funny.

Peeps have gym memberships, but pissed because Gore has flat spots.

I rode a lift in Switzerland than had mandatory 25 steps of herringbone or sidestep to access the chair each time.  The Euros don't think twice about it.

Then there is "Tele...looks so hard."

If you are looking for ease, just stay on the lift and ride it back down.

Or just stay home.

I'm guessing PeeTex is in pretty good shape.  I tell you one thing, I skied with skimore and his buddies. He's in his 40s but all his buds were older than me upper 50s and 60s.  Those guys treasure untracked over all and are willing to walk, climb, skin, hike for it and it shows. Those guys whipped my ass at Snow Ridge. They thrive on it.

I admit I'm not in fantastic shape, but in a season when I get 35+ days it helps.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

I gotta say this is news to me (of course I'm not an instructor). I've never once in my life thought to myself "Damn that guy is one hell of a side stepper."

One day I was side stepping up part of the traverse into the Slides (BTW...I don't like to brag, but I'm a certified level 3 side stepper), and a snowboarder hikes up by me and says, "Dude, carry your skis, you'll get in faster". Next time I did and he was right. Now sometimes I side step and sometimes I hike. I go both ways depending on my mood,  I'm bi-stepual.

HPD FTW!

LMAO

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

Coach Z wrote

To an experienced instructor watching some sidestep tells us a great deal about how you ski.

I gotta say this is news to me (of course I'm not an instructor). I've never once in my life thought to myself "Damn that guy is one hell of a side stepper."

One day I was side stepping up part of the traverse into the Slides (BTW...I don't like to brag, but I'm a certified level 3 side stepper), and a snowboarder hikes up by me and says, "Dude, carry your skis, you'll get in faster". Next time I did and he was right. Now sometimes I side step and sometimes I hike. I go both ways depending on my mood,  I'm bi-stepual.

Is that  you leaving them damm post holes?

Really if you can't side step you most likely have poor edging skills and can't flex from the ankles.  There are examiners that will tell you they can tell you will pass an exam just watching candidates walk and skate to the lift.

Harvey wrote

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

I gotta say this is news to me (of course I'm not an instructor). I've never once in my life thought to myself "Damn that guy is one hell of a side stepper."

One day I was side stepping up part of the traverse into the Slides (BTW...I don't like to brag, but I'm a certified level 3 side stepper), and a snowboarder hikes up by me and says, "Dude, carry your skis, you'll get in faster". Next time I did and he was right. Now sometimes I side step and sometimes I hike. I go both ways depending on my mood,  I'm bi-stepual.

HPD FTW!

LMAO

+1

That was wicked larry ---- WICKED!!

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

  Now sometimes I side step and sometimes I hike. I go both ways depending on my mood,  I'm bi-stepual.

I can't help but pee my pants

Harv, we need a "classic one liner" sticky somewhere ---- this would be the perfect one to start it off

you don't have to be very fit to enjoy skiing, but, if you want to ski the slides and be able to ski all terrain and conditions i.e. type 3 skier, you must be a good athlete. Besides being able to ski anything you want, you will have more fun and will be less likely to suffer injury. snoloco, you are not fit by your description. you should be able to run a 7 min mile and average 8 min/mile for a 5k; you should be able to cycle 15-20 miles at 15 mph or faster. training is year around. the aerobic component should mix running and biking and then strengthening with focus on skiing. there are plenty of articles on ski fitness training. coach, btw, stretching is out. dynamic warmup activities are in. harv can attest to this, but the fittest skiers (and some of the best skiers) on the mountain are the 50+ year old skiers who recognize that fitness means fun and hopefully let us ski until we drop dead (literally). younger skiers often get by on youthful talent until they start to age and then realize that they need to workout to continue the ski addiction. and, give the rescued skier a break. most of us never will have the environment to get in that kind of trouble. once he stepped down there was no going back. he had the smarts to call for help. i was pleasantly surprised to hear the friendly demeanor of the patroller. no one needs to get yelled at in this kind of precarious situation. whiteface patrollers have a reputation of being crabby. the hospitality factor is always much better out west than east.

I just don't get the misconception that one needs to work out all off season to ski well and try and stay in ski shape all year.   I cannot put into words how much I hate running.  It makes me sore, sweaty, smelly, and tired.  The only time I run is when I have to do fitness testing at school.  You have to pay me to run any other time.  I enjoy bike riding a lot, but I only do it for pleasure and for the scenery.  I don't care what speed I am going.  I just wait till I start skiing in November each fall and let my skiing get me in shape.  After it ends, I get out of shape again.  There is no use trying to stay in ski shape all summer.  You need to work too hard for it and the only benefit is the absence of some shin pain the first few trips.  My dad is 47 and he approaches things the same way I do and can ski every bit as well as I can, if not better.  We are both type 3 skiers and ski all types of terrain in all types of conditions.  I have been on every lift, trail, and peak on Whiteface (except the slides) and the same is true about Gore (except for some glades that were never open), Hunter, Windham, and Mountain Creek.  I have never had an issue with the way I do things and my ways will not change.  I saw earlier in this thread that I have the ability to ski the slides based on what I described my ability level as.  For that reason, I will ski the slides when the opportunity arises regardless of how fit anyone says I should be.

snoloco wrote

 I will ski the slides when the opportunity arises regardless of how fit anyone says I should be.

 
The opportunity is there all winter. Just go hike one and ski

Sometimes I swear snoloco is the spawn of gss - very scary

I think you can be pretty out of shape and still ski fine -- liftserve.

If you ever really need to hike for turns you will want to be in the best shape of your life. The better shape you are in, the more you enjoy the day, the more energy you have if something goes wrong for you or your partner(s).

If I didn't participate in backcountry activities all year long, I probably wouldn't have the motivation to stay in shape either.

Sno, you're doing fine and I'm sure you can ski the slides. But I also think you'd be surprised as to what a beast of a season you'd have if you started jogging 2-3 times a week 9/1.

Looking forward to the opening day report at Hunter regardless, and I hope I'm there again, too. You were a few rows ahead of me judging by the picture you got that day. Nice work btw.