slow learner

[Razorskier1]

This has been my best ski season ever, and yet there was something missing that I couldn't put my finger on. Why so good? 35 off has become my primary practice pass. I have run it more than all other lengths combined. I can't recall a set this summer where I didn't run 4 or more 35s, and the best thing was I wasn't taking hits, working hard, or getting tired. I also have run 38 (about the same consistency as last year) and ran one in a tournament in MN this summer. Still, as a RFF skier, my 2-4 side was sometimes problematic, coming in fast and turning too hard. Not enough to miss the pass, but not what I wanted. Couldn't figure it out.

 

My brother, who has watched me ski for 30 years, commented that he thinks I let my hips and shoulders get too open to the boat instead of having the hips facing the direction of the ski. The result, I was coming out of the 2-4 with my whole body open and my butt facing the water. Hmmm.

 

So the next day (Monday) I go out and run a bunch of 28s and 32s and solely focus on keeping my shoulders and hips going the same direction as the ski. HOLY CRAP! I found it back! This is what Jodi Fisher coaches, but he focuses more on the hips. What I found (and what I saw on the CP video I posted under another discussion) is that for me I need to think about my shoulders, not my hips. Shoulders should be level, but maybe only a quarter open to the boat. Tuesday morning I ran 5 at 38 four straight. Today I ran 38 twice in a row (first back-to-back for me).

 

So, what other revelations did I come to?

1) if I want my shoulders in the same position going each way, it means something different going each way. For example, to have my shoulders a quarter open to the boat on my onside lean, I actually need to hold my right shoulder back a bit away from the boat. Conversely, on my offside lean, I need to let the boat pull my left shoulder forward some (because of the obvious assymmetry). I hadn't thought about this much before.

2) If I keep my shoulders straight down the ski on my pull out, I get wider, stay wider, and have a better turn in.

3) If I point my hips and shoulders in the direction of travel, I maintain outbound angle much, much better going into the turn.

4) Counter-rotation. In order to have my shoulders in the same position on both sides of the wake in my pre-turn, it requires two different pre-turns. On the 2-4 (heelside) turn, I need to NOT counter-rotate. If I do, my chest completely opens to the boat (or even to the outside of the buoy line) and I will slam the turn. Conversely, on the 1-3-5 (toeside), I need to counter in order to achieve the same relative position of hips and shoulders as I have on the heelside.

 

Simple enough to say just keep your hips and shoulders going in the direction of travel, but I had never really considered how that translates into using assymetry to create symmetry in my skiing. Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I felt like I learned something this week.