Beginning of the year ... drills, free ski, or straight into course?

[david_quail]

All booked in to ski tomorrow afternoon up here in frigid Canada and couldn't be more excited!!! Forecast is for 24C and sun!

 

With the goal of, as always, becoming a better skier and getting around more balls at faster speeds, how do you guys look to start your year after a winter hibernation? I think ideally I'd spend a bunch of time free skiing working on form and technique, before even getting a sniff of the course, but our lake is still under ice, so I'm looking at a couple weeks of skiing at the ski club - 6 sets up and down the course at a time before hopping behind our own boat. Would you still spend the first couple weeks shadowing the course, focusing on form? Would you go up and down the course doing drills (which ones?). Or would you jump right into chasing balls again?

 

Thanks as always for any advice!

 

BTW, I'm a beginner skier ... just managed 15 off at 30mph at the end of last year ... perhaps beginning of the year strategy is highly dependent on skill level.

[RazorRoss3]

You should start with open water and land practice to try and work on form, it is always hard to think about technique while you're chasing buoys. That said, I personally can never resist the call of the course if the water is nice.

[Razorskier1]

I think a balance of course and open water throughout the season can be helpful both from a fitness standpoint and for technical work. I find that wind conditions in the spring often don't favor my course, so I ski open water when the course is blown out just to be on the ski, get in shape, and work on the "little things" that make me a better course skier.

[Luzz]

@david_quail I would highly recommend free skiing quite a bit! One of the things skiers don't realize is that it MAKES a difference how many turns and pulls one does in a set. This is so not only on a fitness level, but also on a technical level!

If the lake is big enough to where you don't have to shadow the course, even better. Just a bunch of turns, focusing on line control, and pulls, focusing on stack and balance on your ski. One of the things you'll notice after a few months off is the "awkwardness" of movements, and the inability to dose your load properly. Free skiing is the best way to get over those ;)

 

P.s.: say hi to Ken and Donna for me :)

[andjules]

I imagine everyone will suggest a good dose of free skiing... it's part of a healthy ski 'diet'.

That said, it's important to keep a few variables in mind:

 

- how quickly do you get your rhythm back, without having to think much? Depending on how new you are to skiing (or your current level of skiing), you might get back into the groove very quickly, or need more time to settle in an regain a comfort level where you can focus your thoughts and get on with the business of improving.

- how many sets do you take a season? As a fellow Canadian, it's important to remember that a lot of folks on this site ski 100-150 sets a year, while some of us may only get 20-30. As someone who doesn't get to ski many sets in a year, I'm willing to ramp up pretty quickly, so long as I've got my rhythm back and am not fighting myself. Others may see their first 15 sets as 'warm up' for the year.

- how strong & fit did you stay in the off season? I certainly notice a big difference in how quickly I get back up to speed, depending on how well I maintained my fitness in the couple of months leading up to the start of the season

[gsm_peter]

2 cents from a 15 off guy.

I start with a few sets to just get use to skiing. However, I do get much better timing when skiing in the corse.

So I ski quite early every second pass in the corse.

Got a great start this year with many sucessfull passes.

Best luck!