Some Coaches Get "It".

[h.harb]

Tipping: Follow this link, Peter Dodge, Former US Ski Team member, bother of Dave Dodge, of Dodge Boots, Dartmouth Head Coach. What he has to say about Tipping.

http://www.facebook.com/hrharb/posts/265046073597829?comment_id=977248

[Matt]

Great stuff Harald, but what does scarpa mean?
Also I was wondering if the deeper groove in the snow in frame 3 means anything or if it is just coincidence?

[h.harb]

Scarpa is shoe in Italian. Originally I drew this for Italian instructors. Tip the shoe.

The third drawing is to show how a ski really acts in the snow, if Carving begins high in the C. A platform in the snow is created for the ski to be supported.

[h.harb]

Hermann Gollner, a very old friend of mine, climbing buddy and colleague, said to me yesterday while climbing at Rifle, Colorado, I watched your video from this summer. At first I didn't understand to which of my videos he was referring. He explained, last summer at Hood when he asked me to run his long flush course, he video taped my run. I was on my way to the bottom after our training day was over, I passed by to say hi to Hermann and he asked me to ski the course. I did. He had also asked "Fuxy" (Franz Fuchsberger) to run the course, that was earlier in the day.

For those who don't know Hermann, he's the most amazing athlete I know. He was Austrian Junior National Slalom Champion. He was a pro race winner against some of the best in the world. He was the best ski acrobat, and skier on the Freestyle circuit. Clendenin and Wayne Wong (Wayne's a great guy and great ambassador, and friend) could not hold Herman's jock in skiing or aerials. Herman didn't like or do Ballet, so he didn't win many the overall competitions. But he won a Corvette and other cars. He won the aerials and bump skiing when he entered it. He was the guy who made many of the first ski movies, "Ski the Outer-limits", and "Mobius Flip". Hermann is still a first class, top notch rock climber, at the rip age of 69. He was the US Ski Team head women's world cup coach once.

Anyway, Hermann told me he was going to use my run and Fuxy's run to show his coaches how it should be done. He said and I quote, "when I compare your runs to my kids, I see they can't ski to this level." He has a Junior Olympic winner or two on his team. They are in the US Ski Team development pool. So what is the point?

Basic skills are missing. Ski tipping and ski control were not the same as Fuxy's and mine. Hermann has run the video over and over and his comments were interesting. He said, "his kids skis were too far apart, stance is too wide. He also said Fuxy and my skis were always working together (but not the same for his kids) same angles, going either on or off the angles. Our skis didn't bounce, jump, skid or slip. The course had deep, icy, salted ruts, when I ran it.

I don't train or run gates any more, Fuxy still does, he wins many Masters races. I attribute this skiing to PMTS movements. Always Tip toward the little toe first. If your feet are too wide, you can't establish balance on the outside ski without stepping on to the inside ski, which stops inside ski tipping. I never got late in the flush, but I was going very fast. If you go to the big toe edge first, you will always be late in a fast flush exercise. The flush exercise tells you everything you want to know about basic ski movements. There is work to be done even for the coaches that get it; even for those who know the right way of doing it. Imagine what happens to the kids that don't get the right coaching. They never make it, End Game! Unless they have world class talent and can figure it out on their own.

[geoffda]

Can you get the videos from Hermann? It would be fun to see them.

[h.harb]

He'll be back for training in November.

[BigE]

Harald,

That is pure gold. Thank you.