Technical Skiing

Whenever I teach a group of teenage students from a co-ed school, it’s almost always the same result. Boys being boys, they have a good go from the start. Combined with the impatience of youth means they don’t usually pay much attention to instructions. Yet they are soon able to go at relatively fast speeds down easy slopes. And why not? They are having fun. Skiing fast is one of the major thrills of the sport.

Teenage girls on the other hand, are usually attentive students happy to go at a slower pace in the beginning. As a result, they almost always surpass the boys by the end of the week. They would be going down steeper runs (and therefore going faster) with control while the boys are still ‘blazing’ down beginner slopes and not always in control. If you’re a big fan of rollercoasters and you’ve got the motivation to learn something correctly (rather than just having a go and winging it), there’s a high chance you’ll love technical skiing. 

Technical skiing not only gives you control. It makes your skiing look good.

Technical skiing not only gives you control. It makes your skiing look good.

The rewards of technical skiing is the confidence to ski any natural terrain on the mountain at whatever speed you’re comfortable with. You’re in control and making efficient movements so you’ll be expending a lot less energy than someone who isn’t technically trained. You’ll also make skiing look easy and effortless which then makes you look good on the slopes.

Mogul skiing is the epitome of technical skiing.

Mogul skiing is the epitome of technical skiing.

Technical skiing is a lot like golf. It’s not how hard you hit the ball. It’s just how you hit the ball. What that means is that almost anybody can do it since you don’t particularly need a lot of strength, speed or flexibility. It’s just about making the right movements which are simple and can be performed with ease by almost anybody. The tricky part is that there are several sets of these movements and they need to be performed consecutively in a series. So it’s a matter of learning each individual movement and then practising to achieve coordination of the multiple movements.

 

Skiing is made up of several simple movements that are performed progressively.

Skiing is made up of several simple movements that are performed progressively.

I didn’t grow up smashing blue and red gates training to be a racer. Neither am I a freestyler spending time in the park or pipe pulling cork 7s or inverted backflips. I started skiing a little too late for both ie. I didn’t have the confidence of youth (the balls) to do it. But I still wanted to ski and ski well at that. I wanted to ski any terrain I came across and have control and confidence whilst doing it. Be it steeps, trees, powder, crud, slush, groomers or bumps. Even ice. I wouldn’t consider myself a recreational skier. I do go hard and get some pace beneath my skis. The challenge for myself is going faster, steeper or ‘bumpier’ and seeing if I’m in control and more importantly, still having fun. Always chasing the ‘perfect turn’, I am a technical skier.

The technical skier.

The technical skier.

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