Gore Telemark Clinic: Trees, Steeps, and Bumps 3/9 and 3/10

I wanted to give a plug for the Gore Telemark Clinic I attended this past weekend, taught in part by MattChuck.  I had 4 other telemarkers in the clinic with me for Saturday, and then Sunday, we were down to three of us for the morning, and then just two of us for the afternoon.  The weather was absolutely perfect, as were conditions.  We couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

I have dabbled a bit in the bumps that form along the trails back at my home ski hill, Greek Peak, but I’ve never really gotten the hang of what you’re supposed to do.  I’ve been working on my fear of heights and the resulting fear of steeps for the past year, but not really getting anywhere with it, and have *really* been wanting to learn how to ski glades, so when I saw this clinic posted up on Gore’s website, it was a no brainer to sign up for it.  Matt Charles and Jon Campbell were our instructors for both days.  Both were excellent instructors, giving just the right amount of encouragement and pushing us just a little further out of our comfort zones than we were used to doing on our own before bringing us back into our comfort zones to talk about what we’d just done.  



Saturday morning we started off on a blue groomer or two or maybe three or four, to warm up.  We tried out the bumps on the trail right below the gondola, and I felt like I was a complete disaster in those.  They took us over to the ski bowl in late morning, where the snow was quite soft.  Matt took the three guys into the 46er glades over there, while Jon took the other woman and I down Moxham to work on steeper pitches.  The three of us got to the bottom and waited for the other 4.  They were taking quite a while to show, so we worked on the “telemark shuffle” while we were waiting.  Finally they popped out of the woods, and it sounded like they’d been sufficiently challenged.  We headed back over to the main mountain, where we tried the Otter Slide glades.  Again, I felt like a train wreck trying to pick my way between the trees.  When we finished that, Jon and Matt took us up to the summit.  

We tackled Darby, and then Lower Darby, with its huge bumps.  Or, there was a glade option off to the skier’s right.  Neither one sounded very tempting to me, so I went down to the next groomer and waited at the bottom of Darby for the rest to come out.  Mary Pat was down first, and she told me I really needed to try Lower Darby.  “The bumps are really soft.  If you fall, it won’t hurt.  You’ll be fine,” she assured me.  So, we went back up to the summit, and this time I tried Lower Darby.  I had Jon following me, holding my hand the entire time, telling me where to turn, and which bump to aim for.  Of course I didn’t always turn in the right spot, and I did fall a few times, but overall, I felt like I did okay.  I felt pretty good when I got to the bottom.  Then…   Lies.  Last year, I tried to ski down that trail in less than ideal conditions, and ended up doing an otter slide for about 300ft on my back.  That trail puts the fear unto me, for sure.  Once again, Jon skied behind me, holding my hand and telling me where to aim my skis.  I won’t say it was the most graceful descent, and I fell a few more times (no otter slides this time, though), but I made it down reasonably well.  



The most telling part of the day to me came on our last run of the day.  We were almost to the bottom of the gondola and decided to play in the bumps that we’d started off with that morning.  This time, I knew where to put my skis, and I totally cleaned those bumps this time around.  That felt really wonderful and was a real sign that I’d learned a lot that day, even if most of it was just learning to have more confidence and faith in my own abilities.  

Sunday morning, it was just Jon, Matt, Alan, Matt2 and me.  We started out over on the bunny slope working on falling leaf drills, some mono-marking, and then pivot turns.  The mono-marking is really difficult and something I plan to work on on my own back home.  We tried to check out Tahawas Glades, but they were closed.  We worked on some crusty bumps on Sleeping Bear, instead.  I did okay on those.  Then we played around on Top Ridge for a while, and finally back up to the summit.  Matt took Alan and Matt2 over to Rumor, which I didn’t feel I was ready for yet, and Jon took me over to Hawkeye and then we finished on Chatiamac.  Those trails were fine.  Telling moment number two:  Going down the headwall of Hawkeye, I found myself taking the steepest, straightest line down the headwall, whereas before, I would always go off to the sides to find a gentler slope.  I was finally tackling those lines straight on.  I won’t say without fear, because I still got the quick shot of adrenaline through my heart each time, but this was so much more of a better “fear” than the stark fear I used to have.  Jon then took me through the bottom of Chatiamac Glades, and I felt like I actually did a pretty good job in there, especially after (re)learning the falling leaf maneuver, and getting that “scissors” motion down just right  couple times.  Amazing!  This stuff really does work!    We met up with Matt, Matt2, and Alan, and then headed over to the Chatterbox glades.  Again, I felt like I was doing okay, but my legs were completely shot by then.  After I hugged a tree a second time, I decided to call it quits for the morning and bailed out to the groomer.  We met up again after lunch, and Matt2 had decided he’d had enough, so that left just Alan and I, and Jon and Matt.  Both Alan’s legs and mine were too rubbery by this point to take on any more glades, so we stuck to the “steeps” for the rest of the afternoon, skiing the black diamonds, working on mono-marks and some other technique drills that I can’t recall at the moment.  

All in all, I felt like I took away a huge amount in terms of knowledge, increased skills and confidence.  The clinic was worth every penny I paid for it, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who’s sort of on that line between intermediate and advanced telemark skier and can’t figure out how to move up to the next level.  You won’t regret it, and in fact, you’ll love it!  

That sounds like a great weekend. I was really looking forward to doing that clinic this year, but had to stay home this weekend due to family responsibilities.  Hopefully I'll be in it next year.

Great report! Sounds like a great clinic.

You couldn't have picked a better weekend to do that at Gore. Everything was skiing so fine. Soft and forgiving just abot everywhere.

Thanks for coming out,"snowmonkey"! It was a great weekend. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend, weather wise, and the mountain skied great. I think everyone made some great progress in their skiing. You and Allen were ripping pretty well by the end.

Looking forward to skiing with you again! Thanks for the plug for the programs, too! I keep telling everyone that it's a great deal and an awesome time, but they never believe me. Nice to have some satisfied folks reaffirm. Tell your friends!

Nice writeup Snowmonkey! Gore ski school does a great job! I have had a few occasions to ski with some of the staff and they have given me pointers that have been very helpful. Will have to make a point to seek one of the instructors out again as there are a few things I have discovered this season that I need to tighten up.