MA Request for Supposedly Carved Turns

[HighAngles]

There's nowhere else on the Internet where you're going to get that kind of a quality MA and the drills to work on to improve your skiing. It amazes me that we don't have higher participation on this forum. I guess some skiers are just satisfied wallowing in their mediocrity.

[ChuckT]

Max_501 was kind enough to give me a detailed MA more than 2 months ago. Unfortunately, too many things had prevented me from making a trip to Mammoth till last weekend. I took advantage of the first 30 minutes before the snow turned to slush for a quick video. I forgot to be disciplined with my poles (and probably other things too) but am hopeful that I made some progress. Thanks in advance for your frank opinions.

[jbotti]

Too bad you didn't have Max there to shoot video for you!! The quality of the MA you can be given is sometimes in direct proportion too the quality of the video shot. It takes years to learn how to shoot like Max, but all of us are capable of shooting quality video on a ski slope.

My quick MA is maybe less about technique, but your speed control in this video is pretty much non existent. Your arcs are getting larger as you head down the slope and you aren't getting the forward pressure necessary to carve tight enough arcs to control your speed. I was guilty of this for years. Your skiing will improve drastically when you demand speed control in all your skiing.

[Max_501]

Chuck, you are still pushing for angles rather than letting them come to you. Compare your turns to this video of HH:

[ChuckT]

Max, you mean I am hip dumping or leaning into the turn too quickly? Harald seems to have all the magical time for the float whereas I always feel "forced" to rush the edge engagement before the skis are sufficiently tipped. What is a good drill to fix this problem?

I also felt losing forward pressure as jbotti noticed but was able to correct it subsequently (I think) by consistently pulling the feet back and applying more CA/CB progressively till the end of the turn. Unfortunately, like the 3-foot trout that got away, I got no video to confirm if it was indeed fixed. The snow became too slushly too quickly. This really sucks since there is still a lot of snow in Mammoth but it needs to be 20 degrees cooler.

[Max_501]

It looks like you have put the cart before the horse. Did you work through Book 2 as I suggested back in Feb?

BTW, at your current level of development the angles you are pushing on short SL-ish skis is a recipe for disaster.

http://vimeo.com/3247522

[ChuckT]

Hi Max,

I've gotta admit I didn't do all the drills (lack of snow time is my "exquisite excuse") but I did do the inside foot management test, the TFR test and the BPST. I passed the first two right away (maybe a problem with having the student grade their own test ) and felt very comfortable making STs with speed control on blue slope. I should have taken video of these tests instead to make sure I actually passed.

I did a lot of brushed carve turns during the day, by necessity, I must confess. A few runs trying to carve and my heart and lungs screamed murder. (Oddly, my leg muscles held up a lot better than my cardio - a sign of doing something wrong?)

Many thanks for the reminder of the danger of getting in over my head.

Chuck

[skifastDDS]

BTW, at your current level of development the angles you are pushing on short SL-ish skis is a recipe for disaster.

http://vimeo.com/3247522

AKA Heluvafall

[Bonz]

It amazes me that we don't have higher participation on this forum. I guess some skiers are just satisfied wallowing in their mediocrity.

I'm not surprised at all..this forum can be intimidating, especially for newer skiers. And there is always a bit of an overtone of superiority that might not feel very welcoming to a new forum visitor. At least that's my opinion.

[milesb]

We actually are very good with newer skiers, they don't usually have ego issues that get in the way of utilizing the help they receive. But they way the people who come here seeking validation get treated, I can see how that would be intimidating to newer skiers. But to be fair, those people don't get hammered right away. It's when they insist that their skiing is much better than it is, that's when they get gonged.

[Bonz]

Chuck Barris follows me around everywhere I go...

[Istanbulskier]

[quote="Max_501"]It looks like you have put the cart before the horse. Did you work through Book 2 as I suggested back in Feb?

BTW, at your current level of development the angles you are pushing on short SL-ish skis is a recipe for disaster.

Max, can you explain further on why SL ski is recipe for disaster for intermediate skiers? I am also an intermediate and have two skies.( classic head isupershape 170cm. and atomic race SL 165 cm). I can say I feel even more comfortable with race SL than isupershape(needless to say on the groomers only). Interestingly I was thinking race SL skies are even better for intermediates after trying them. They were better/quicker/easier on edge for me. Am I making a big mistake? I also work for higher angles as all others.

[Max_501]

A stiff race SL ski is not a very good learning tool because it is not forgiving of errors. A detuned SL ski is much better. If you throw down big angles on a stiff race ski there is a good chance that the result looks like this:

[Istanbulskier]

A stiff race SL ski is not a very good learning tool because it is not forgiving of errors. A detuned SL ski is much better. If you throw down big angles on a stiff race ski there is a good chance that the result looks like this:

So should I detune my SL skis? is there any online guidence for that? is it something easy so I can do by myself? OK I will google it right now

[Max_501]

So should I detune my SL skis?

NO! The original SuperShape is an example of a detuned SL ski.