I received my essentials DVD set a couple weeks ago.. I have watched each of the DVD's several times.
I'm 52 years old and ski about 80 days a season,
There is enough material in these DVD's to keep any skier busy for several ski seasons. But I want to share 2 things that stood out for me and created one of those 'aha' moments.
When Harald did the segment about staying crouched in your turns and not returning to an upright position, a light bulb went off..
I went and looked at some video of me skiing earlier this year and in previous years, and also very recently, and what I noticed was that in the more recent vids, I was tending to become upright during turns. I'm thinking that becoming upright in turns is basically 'lazy' much easier on the legs and a habit that can be acquired without even realizing it. I'm in Summit County this week so getting plenty of opportunity to work on this and what a difference..
But the second and even more important change I've made, and one that for me at least has made an even greater difference, is the segment where Harald discusses keeping the boots behind the hips, in turn initiation. It felt a little strange at first, but after doing the drills associated with that segment it started to feel very normal rather quickly, and the results... WOW., the difference in how I perceive my skiing is like night and day.. I still have to 'think' about it, and it is not yet instinctive, but we're talking huge improvement in just 3 days of working on this.
After watching these vids, it really makes you watch other skiers, (more than I did before) and for me, just watching how others do these movements or lack of these 2 movements is also very eye opening, the number of skiers who keep the boots behind the hips and don't 'upright' during their turns is minuscule.
I am not a great bump skier but did a couple long bump runs today and while I will never win any mogul comps, my technique was noticeably better, but the difference for me was huge on powder, and broken powder.. it really made skiing these conditions effortless.
I'm just sorry the season is winding down, as there is just so much to digest on these vids. While the essentials are an entire process, I'm certain there are a couple specific drills or techniques for most decent skiers that would almost literally overnight improve their skiing.. It did for me..
This stuff is pure gold!, Thanks Harald.