Howdy folks,
I know ski season is not for another 6 months, but I wanted to throw this out here, for y'all to chew on this summer.
Weekly Turnz. I'm starting it in CO, but I'd like to see the idea take place everywhere else there's snow, too. Like always, I observe a lot by watching.
Any skier who wants to improve, likes to rip, or just have fun would meet and ride together each week. Right now, I'd say we do it at one of the VR areas because so many have the Colorado Pass (unlimited skiing @ Breck, Keystone and ABasin. Plus 10 days @ Vail).
The idea came from my old days as a triathafreak. Biking was always my weakest link, so I used to show up to group training rides, as training to improve on the bike. It worked. In the beginning, I was always in the last group. But each week, I'd get a little faster. Bottom line is that my biking got way better. And along the way, I met some pretty cool he/she/its and had a ball.
Then I skied w/Hobbit a few weeks ago and the idea came to life. Hobbit skied w/me and we skied parts of the Basin he never had before. I skied with he/she/it yesterday. The last run of the day Hobbit was making nice -- I mean really nice turns (Way to go Hobbit!) in the slush on the lower part of the mountain. Hobbit is now a ski buddy, he/she/it can ski w/me anywhere. Same thing w/my pal Healpusher. Healpusher couldn't ski bumps to save his life when we first met. Now, he rips in the bumps. His improvement, came from following someone who was better in the bumps than he was.
Folks, there's a reason why Masters swimming is so popular. Ask anyone who goes to Masters swimming and they'll tell you flat out that they wouldn't swim as well, or push themselves, doing laps by themselves. Then ask them about all the beer they drink and how much fun they have!
So that's the idea. We meet once a week and make turns. Meet others and have fun. Push yourself. Get to be a better skier.
Weekly Turnz could be big. Once we get enough to show up, we could have folks like HH, Barnes ("coughing, gagging, rolling on floor writhing in pain"), Lito, Eric. D or anyone else the group favors to show up as guest speakers or whatever. Maybe we could cajole one of these D Team he/she/its to show up and make turns with us? In the beginning it'll be difficult to get anyone of them to show up, cuz they're all working every day. But once we get big enough, I don't think it'll be a problem getting ski icons like these folks to show up. Matter of fact, some of them may drop in from time to time for training. Since weekly turnz is open to anyone of any ability or desire, I'm sure once word gets out, we'd see high level instructors show up. In the old days, I used to swim laps up in Boulder with pros like Mark Allen, Dave Scott, Scott Tinley. Go to any track or lap pool in Boulder. You're bound to be training next to pros. Some of them, will even offer you advice.
Weekly turns is not just for PMTSians. It's for ANYONE, who wants to improve, rip, have fun, or all of the above. We'll come up with some clever name for our little thang. We'll have a server for video, so others can see how much fun we're having and to encourage others to start one. We'll have parties, do group stuff in the summer like carvers, hiking or biking.
Weekly Turnz aint "official" ski instruction or a replacement for same. However it's been my twisted experience that motivated skiers are, let's just say (present company included of course ), creative types. So if you want some tips, I'm sure they'll be plenty to be found.
10-4