Face Your Fears!

At some point during your vacation, you’re going to be skiing with a group of people that will take you down a run that you are not comfortable with.  This tip will help you face your fears on any slope! When you are skiing down the hill and you’re afraid, your intuition says to lean into the hill and away from where you don’t want to go. But actually, that just flattens your edges and makes you slide, making you even more afraid.  What you want to do is keep your edges over with your ankle, knee and hip into the hill and your upper body facing down the hill. That will give you edge control.  When you stay square down the slope, the edge will have the pressure on it and hold. Another tip to stay forward and help you with an athletic stance is to always keep your hands in front of you. When the slope’s terrain has obstacles, like rocks, I like to hop-turn, so I can turn on a dime. It’s counter intuitive, but once you do it right, you’ll always know how to be a confident skier, even in the most challenging terrain. So, remember, if you face down the slope, face your fear as you can ski anything!

 

 

Powder and Crud:

Have you ever felt intimidated when skiing with a group of strong skiers and were worried you couldn’t keep up? Well,  here’s a tip to help you conserve your energy and stay with the pack. Don’t let your hips get back like sitting in a chair, because if you do,  your leg muscles are contracted the whole time. Sitting back makes it almost impossible to come up and forward and release your ski. It also makes you more prone to knee injuries. In between turns, you unweight skis and at that moment, you rest your legs. It’s that one second that will help you regenerate your muscles. Make a turn, then release your edges at the end of the turn. Glide or float over the powder, changing your direction. That way, you avoid steering your skis through the powder or crud, which is very tiring. Also, a good pole plant and hands forward will keep you in an athletic position to unweight your skis. So remember, the same unweighting technique you use when skiing the powder and crud will help you stay stronger, longer!

View more video ski tips from Brenda