I probably should be embarassed to report that it has taken me me a solid two years of drill and other work to get my CA to where it needs to be in my off piste skiing. In reality I am actually pretty thrilled (not with how long it has taken me) but with the fact that after much work the results are showing up in my skiing. Some of this was starting to show up a month or so ago and much was a direct result of working the angry mother drill consistently. About a month ago something clicked and I was able to feel and duplicate the right position of my hips from the AM drill to my off piste skiing. I skied with Max last week in Montana and the result is still in place and improving. I definitely skied some funky conditions with ice, crud and bumps underneath that would have messed me up pretty good last year and for the most part it seemed easy to ski.
Harald and Diana have said this before. Off piste in steep difficult conditions CA is the secret weapon. It is also what enables us to ski at terminal velocity. The only reaosn I was able to ski the cud over ice without issue was because I was skiing it fast with momentum and at terminal velocity. To ski at terminal velocity you have to know that you can cut the next turn at any moment. What enables us to do that is CA.
Enough preaching on CA. I will now preach on another topic. 2 years seems like an eternity to me but that is how long it took to get this result. I actually had some time where I was working it at the end of 3 seasons ago, so it probably has taken me close to 100 ski days to produce this result. And I don't think that every result takes 100 ski days but I am not sure anyone can make great permanent changes in less than 25-30 ski days. I write this to encourage those that are working hard and diligently on certain drills but haven't seen the big breakthrough yet. Hell if you asked me in February I would have probably said I'm not sure it will ever happen because I have worked for 2 yeras and I still don't have the result. Clearly, if we keep working diligently, correctly (doing the drills and movements correctly: checking them with video or with a PMTS coach) the results will come. That's why Harald said ANYONE can be an expert skier. It just takes a boatload of work.