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Turn to go, not to slow

December 28, 2016 by Steve Hindman Leave a Comment

Do you feel or fear being out of control on more challenging terrain? If so, I bet you suffer from turning to slow instead of turning to go syndrome.

Yes, contrary to widely spread and immensely popular rumors, turns are meant to help you go, not to help you slow. This is the closely guarded secret of folks who glide by with relaxed smiles as they dance down the mountain. Working with gravity instead of against it, they use a lot less effort and have a lot more fun. You can too – here’s how:

Understand speed control: The tracks you leave in the snow trace a path that controls your speed by taking a longer route from top to bottom than going straight. To go slower, make more turns or tighter turns, or do both. If you want to go faster, follow a straighter path.

Tip, then turn: You can only flop from turn to turn when you try to turn your skis before you tip them downhill. If you tip, then turn, you’ll be able to replace the desperate flop to get your skis back across the hill and dug into the snow as fast as possible with a flow from turn to turn. To flow instead of flop, start a new turn by moving your core toward where you want to go as you tip your feet downhill. This will roll your uphill edges out of the snow and flatten your bases against the snow. From this neutral position, it’s easy to  tip and then turn your skis into the next turn and to flow forward into the next arc on a smooth and sinuous path of speed control.

turning to go at the top or start of a new turn

turning to go at the top or start of a new turn with skis tipped into the new turn before they are turned

This is simple but not easy. It requires letting go of the natural tendency to lean uphill and away from the slope, an ability to tip your skis from edge to edge while staying over and moving with your feet, and knowing where you are going from turn to turn.

I can help you understand, experience, and own these and other skills in daily lessons and specialty clinics throughout the season. Call now to book a lesson to learn to turn to go instead of to slow and to flow instead of flop from turn to turn.

Filed Under: Alpine Skiing, Articles, Coaching Tagged With: bump skiing, carving, coaching, Colorado Ski Instruction, easy, fun!, learn to ski, powder skiing, ski instruction, ski with less effort, smooth, speed control, student centered teaching, technique, Telluride

Heli-ski Camps

December 15, 2016 by Steve Hindman Leave a Comment

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Join Steve to refine your powder skills with two days of coaching within the ski area followed by a day of backcountry helicopter skiing with Helitrax offered in conjunction with Helitrax and the Telluride Ski School. To reserve your spot with Steve for an upcoming Heli-camp, or to book a private lesson with Steve, please contact Phil Cummings at pcummings@telski.com or 970-728-7414.

Upcoming Helitrax Ski Camp Dates

Session 1 – January 19-21

Session 2 – February 9-11

Session 3 – March 9-11

Session 4 – March 30 – April 1

For more on the camp, visit http://www.tellurideskiresort.com/ski-school/specialty-camps/heli-ski-camp/

Steve Hindman is a top instructor for the Telluride Ski School, a veteran of the PSIA Nordic Demo Team, and has been a certified ski instructor for over 30 years.

 

Filed Under: Alpine Skiing, Coaching, News Tagged With: backcountry skiing, bucket list, Colorado Ski Instruction, heli-skiing, Heli-Trax, powder skiing, San Juan Mountains, ski camps, technique, Telluride

Why Ski with Steve

February 16, 2014 by Steve Hindman Leave a Comment

Why Ski with Steve? The simplest answer is because I want to ski with you. Sure, I fit in days when I “ski for me”, but sharing the pure joy of sliding around on snow with folks like you is what’s kept me skiing and instructing for more than thirty years. Over those years I’ve learned to watch, listen and feel to understand how I can help you get what you want out of each lesson and to achieve your potential on skis.

Your goal might be to enjoy skiing and to get to know the mountain better with your family. It might be gaining confidence and control to move up to more challenging terrain. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to try skiing but have just made it to the mountains, so you are starting from scratch. Maybe you want to learn how to ski bumps, steeps, or powder, or you may be looking for a guide to help you enjoy Telluride. Regardless of your goals, I can take you, your children, and your friends to the runs that fit your level – from green to double black – and we will have an amazing time.

My approach to teaching skiing and/or improving the skills you have is based upon two simple concepts:

  1. Why skis turn
  2. How to use your body to turn the skis

These two things are simple to understand and tend not to vary much from person to person. What does differ is how each person hears, sees, thinks, and feels.

To match your unique way of learning and perceiving, I draw from a toolkit I have developed through years of experience. I offer different ways to articulate the same concept, to demonstrate what I am saying, and provide drills to help you feel what I’m talking about.

As I explain, demonstrate, and let you try it, I observe your skiing to see how you respond, and talk with you about what you have heard. My goal is to work with you to find an idea, a concept, or an experience that helps you get what you came to me to learn. I know I’ve succeeded when I see the smile on your face, the joy in your movements, and the glint in your eyes that tells me you’ve discovered your own passion for sliding on snow.

Please Come Ski with Me!

Sincerely,

Steve Hindman

Steve Hindman is a top instructor for the Telluride Ski School, a veteran of the PSIA Nordic Demo Team, and has been a certified ski instructor for over 30 years.

Filed Under: Alpine Skiing, Coaching, Cross-Country Skiing Tagged With: backcountry skiing, bump skiing, carving, coaching, Colorado, Colorado Ski Instruction, heli-skiing, learn to ski, learn to ski in Telluride, learning styles, mogul skiing, powder skiing, ski instruction, student centered teaching, Telluride

Grabbing Deep Freshies: The Trick is Turn to Go

January 22, 2014 by Steve Hindman Leave a Comment

Powder days leave otherwise good skiers struggling in fear on the side of a run as locals whoop and swoosh by. If this is you, take heart. You’re not alone, and you can learn how to enjoy your own freshies just like a “real local.”

The key to floating instead of fighting the powder is turning to go instead of to slow. Turning to go controls your speed with a series of turns that keeps you moving at a consistent and comfortable speed along a serpentine path through the powder. Turning to slow is trying to control your speed one turn at a time.

On groomed snow, you ski on the snow. In powder, you ski in the snow. This requires a few adjustments. On a groomed slope, turning to go puts you on the edge of the outside ski as it bends and cuts a curved path through the snow. Turning to go in the powder is more of a three dimensional experience, where you ride through each turn on the base of both skis as they bend. This takes a narrower stance that weights both skis so they bend together into the turn. Skiing in the snow also slows you down, so you need to let go of the last turn and start the next one sooner to prevent your skis from sinking into the snow at the end of each turn, making the next turn much harder to begin. You also need to keep your skis flatter to the slope (edge or tip them less) to keep them from slicing into the snow, which also causes them to sink and stall.

Learn to make these adjustments while traversing a gentle powder slope. After you build some speed, flex and extend to bow your skis into the snow. This should bring your tips out of the snow as your skis rebound from each compression. Move your body downhill and across your skis as your tips surface to make your first powder “turn to go”. This will tip both skis into the turn. As your tips turn downhill, extend your legs to help your skis bow into the turn. Be patient and trust the bow of your skis and the resistance of the snow to slow you down as you turn through and across the falline (the line that goes straight down the hill). Before your stall and sink into the snow, move your body downhill and across your skis to make your next turn. Resist the urge to quickly twist your skis as they point downhill, which will kill your speed and send you to the bottom, leaving you mired in the powder as you attempt to start the next turn. The timing is bring the tips up, move downhill and over your skis to start the next turn, then extend as you turn your feet, knees and thighs across the hill to guide the skis through the turn. Repeat before your skis turn very far across the hill.

Tips rising just prior to the start of the next turn. Photographer: Tommy Pyatt. Skier: Vince Boelema.

Tips rising just prior to the start of the next turn. Photographer: Tommy Pyatt. Skier: Vince Boelema.

 

As you move to steeper slopes, experiment with how much flexion and extension you need to bow and release your skis, how far to turn across the falline to control your speed without stalling, and how much to tip and turn your legs and feet. Keep the triangle defined by your belly button and shoulder pointed toward the bottom of the hill by turning your pants (your legs) more than your jacket (your upper body). If you keep going over the handlebars, don’t tip and turn so much, or don’t tip and turn all at once.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t sit back – there’s simply no need to with today’s equipment.

Photo 2

Skier supported over the middle of the skis, skis turning while the upper body faces the next turn, pole in motion to begin moving to the next turn. Photographer: Tommy Pyatt. Skier: Vince Boelema.

 

Filed Under: Alpine Skiing, Articles, Coaching Tagged With: powder skiing, technique

Camber, Rocker and In Between

https://www.wagnerskis.com/journal/ski-camber-vs-rocker-skiers-guide/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Camber%20vs%20Rocker

About Steve

Why Ski With Steve

Why Ski with Steve? The simplest answer is because I want to ski with you. Sure, I fit in days when … [Read More…]

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