 |
| Strathcona Provincial Park (large park in the middle of Vancouver Island) |
If you want to learn how to ski there are several
things you must learn to do. There are
relatively easy things such as acquiring the necessary winter wear and need ski
equipment. Then you must learn how to put on ski boots and skis. Then, the
harder part when your skis are on, you must learn to turn and stop. Be forewarned, skiing can take over your mind.
Turning is a little
hard to describe because there are several ways to turn and several reasons why
it is important to turn. Starting with something easy, turning is necessary to take you in the direction you want to
go. Turning is often for self-preservation
to avoid dangers and bumping into other skiers or snowboarders. Turning is also
used to control your speed.
Turning to control your speed is of
most interest to a beginner skier for several reasons. Gravity is the thing that pulls you down a
hill. If you do nothing to control your speed you will go faster and faster.
What will slow you down is the snow dragging on your skis and the wind drag you
create due to your speed increases. You
will eventually reach some limiting speed depending on the steepness of the
hill and if a wind its direction. On a
beginners hill, your final speed may be about walking speed or as fast as you
can peddle a bike. On really steep hills
your speed could be anywhere from 120 to 160 km/hr. I have never even approached
the higher speeds.
To control your speed on skis you must
learn how to make them scrape sideways on the snow surface during a turn. This is basically what you need to learn as a
beginner skier. This is what your beginner lessons are primarily about. You
must learn to ski a serpentine path down a hill, with each turn controlling
your speed. The steeper the hill then more effort or energy you must use to
make each turn. You progress to this skiing level.
If all you did was make turns down a
hill, skiing would soon lose its attraction.
To enjoy skiing you must learn to meet the many challenges along the
way. Steepness is one, but there are different
trails and terrain with moguls, glades, jumps, and bumps, etc. Speed is good
for generating adrenaline and excitement. It can be addictive.
And then there are the 3-4 different ways
to start a turn that got me started on the path to develop and create my ski
method for beginner skiers. I reached a point in my skiing where I could not
improve and couldn’t figure out why and what to do. The secret was learning how to steer my skis
quickly and efficiently. The question was why didn’t I learn sooner? And then,
what and how soon could I have learned? This is what my manual and video are
all about, how to become a good skier in the shortest and most efficient way.
This blogging site is for beginner downhill skiers, people
returning to the sport and those wanting to improve their skills. Highlighted is my free Manual, AlanR Method, Learn to Ski. The manual has 3 sections. The first
section is about preparation to start. The middle section is lessons on how to
ski. This section includes 6 sequential lessons
which are based both on how skis turn and 5 basic skills we needed to
learn in order to control skis. The last section
is the background of a few of the basics.
No comments:
Post a Comment