nervous newbie

Im 55 and have had several unsuccessful attempts at skiing as Im a
control freak,I can snowplow with confidance on a gentle slope, but the
minute terrain gets steeper I get paranoid as I cannot control my
wedge.I do however have total confidance in my ability to sideslip but I
cannot turn unless I stop and do a matador turn(poles leaning down the
fall line as I step around and sideslip back across the hill.Ok Im
sideslipping on downhill ski how do I get my wt on uphill ski to turn? I
feel I have to step way uphill on myski t try and stem around which is
way to precarious for me as I feel Im going to shoot off out of control
down the hill,Ihave tried instruction but the instructors dont seem to
empathise with my fear and some even suggest a steeper hill to get more
practice.Im trying to be in control always to feel safe but the
transition to top of beginners hill is just too fearful for me.I cannot
ski straight down the fall line in a wedge as my skiis would run way too
fast. Any help out there for me? I know I have excellant balance in
sport Ijust have not been able to apply them. I live in the midwest
where hills are short but to me they look like Mt. Everest!I hesitate to
trust instructors as my unsuccessful experiences inthe past.Any help
would be appreciated.Thanks Bob

S=B2

On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 09:54:44 -0500, (Bob) wrote:

Im 55 and have had several unsuccessful attempts at skiing as Im a
control freak,I can snowplow with confidance on a gentle slope, but the
minute terrain gets steeper I get paranoid as I cannot control my
wedge.I do however have total confidance in my ability to sideslip but I
cannot turn unless I stop and do a matador turn(poles leaning down the
fall line as I step around and sideslip back across the hill.Ok Im
sideslipping on downhill ski how do I get my wt on uphill ski to turn? I
feel I have to step way uphill on myski t try and stem around which is
way to precarious for me as I feel Im going to shoot off out of control
down the hill,Ihave tried instruction but the instructors dont seem to
empathise with my fear and some even suggest a steeper hill to get more
practice.Im trying to be in control always to feel safe but the
transition to top of beginners hill is just too fearful for me.I cannot
ski straight down the fall line in a wedge as my skiis would run way too
fast. Any help out there for me? I know I have excellant balance in
sport Ijust have not been able to apply them. I live in the midwest
where hills are short but to me they look like Mt. Everest!I hesitate to
trust instructors as my unsuccessful experiences inthe past.Any help
would be appreciated.Thanks Bob

I won't speak to what kind of turn you should be doing (see any recent
thread with "turn", "wedge" or "stem" in the title for such
discussion). But I think that you may need to redefine your idea of
"control"; I have two thoughts for you though:

-a more aggressive stance might help, leaning way forward on your
skis. One big reason people shoot out of control down the hill like
you're afraid of is that they're sitting farther back on their skis
than they think. If your weight is on the tips, they can dig in (even
in a snowplow) and bring your body around through the turn. If your
weight is on the tails, then the skis will just follow your body mass,
which in turn will obey gravity and take the quickest line down.

-you might need to redefine your idea of "control"; are you trying to
always be able to stop at a moment's notice, or are you willing to
carry a little more speed as long as you can stop before you hit any
obstacles below? In other words, are you willing to "let go of the
hill" for the momen or two that it takes to complete a turn? If not,
you'll continue to have trouble.

Merry skiing,
bw

"Bob" wrote in message
...


I"m 55 and have had several unsuccessful attempts at skiing as I'm a
control freak,I can snowplow with confidence on a gentle slope, but the
minute terrain gets steeper I get paranoid as I cannot control my
wedge.I do however have total confidence in my ability to sideslip but I
cannot turn unless I stop and do a matador turn (poles leaning down the
fall line as I step around and sideslip back across the hill).

Ok I'm sideslipping on downhill ski how do I get my wt. on uphill ski to
turn?
I feel I have to step way uphill on my ski to try and stem around which is
way to precarious for me as I feel Im going to shoot off out of control
down the hill,Ihave tried instruction but the instructors dont seem to
empathise with my fear and some even suggest a steeper hill to get more
practice. I'm trying to be in control always to feel safe but the
transition to top of beginners hill is just too fearful for me.I cannot
ski straight down the fall line in a wedge as my skiis would run way too
fast. Any help out there for me? I know I have excellant balance in
sport I just have not been able to apply them. I live in the midwest
where hills are short but to me they look like Mt. Everest! I hesitate to
trust instructors as my unsuccessful experiences inthe past.

What would those experiences be?

Any help
would be appreciated.Thanks Bob

Can you understand the use of the terms "inside and outside" ski,
instead of uphill and downhill? They're *much* more useful.

In any turn there is a point of no return. That is when you are
heading straight down the hill, the midpoint of the turn. At
this point people either panic, or have problems one way or
the other and get locked in the fall line, or they stick with
the outside ski all the way around, and finish up the turn.

Assuming everything is happening in the best way, when
you reach that point, you could simply twist the legs in
the direction of the turn to finish it out. Does this work on
easier terrain, or do you do this at all?

If you *can* sideslip quite well, it's just a question of putting
it all together, you *do* have the tools to control the edges
of the skis.

If you're getting locked up in the fall line it's likely because:

You have too much weight on the inside ski, you don't
have enough of an edge angle on the outside ski, or
you're not pushing hard enough on the big toe ball of the
foot on the outside ski.

Really, you need a better turn than the wedge on steeper
terrain. It's a question of how to match the skis really.

When you *are* able to make a sucessful turn on easier
terrain, can you make a step by step, play by play
breakdown of how you do it? Can you match the
skis on easier terrain?

Bob wrote:
Im 55 and have had several unsuccessful attempts at skiing as Im a
control freak,I can snowplow with confidance on a gentle slope, but the
minute terrain gets steeper I get paranoid as I cannot control my
wedge.

Assuming this isn't a troll ...

I think you are need to redefine what you mean by "control." In walking
you have control continuously - you can stop or change direction at any
time. When running on an irregular surface you have "control"
intermittently - you correct moment to moment, not continuously. Skiing
is like the latter. You need to let go of continuous control.

I think one of foot2foot's exercises would be good for you - straight
down a shallow hill to a slight uphill to stop. It'll give you the
feeling of letting go with the safety of knowing you will stop at a
given time.

Sign him up, foot.

, bdubya dropped this bomb:

On Sat, 25 Dec 2004 09:54:44 -0500, (Bob) wrote:

Im 55 and have had several unsuccessful attempts at skiing as Im a
control freak,I can snowplow with confidance on a gentle slope, but the
minute terrain gets steeper I get paranoid as I cannot control my
wedge.I do however have total confidance in my ability to sideslip but I
cannot turn unless I stop and do a matador turn(poles leaning down the
fall line as I step around and sideslip back across the hill.Ok Im
sideslipping on downhill ski how do I get my wt on uphill ski to turn? I
feel I have to step way uphill on myski t try and stem around which is
way to precarious for me as I feel Im going to shoot off out of control
down the hill,Ihave tried instruction but the instructors dont seem to
empathise with my fear and some even suggest a steeper hill to get more
practice.Im trying to be in control always to feel safe but the
transition to top of beginners hill is just too fearful for me.I cannot
ski straight down the fall line in a wedge as my skiis would run way too
fast. Any help out there for me? I know I have excellant balance in
sport Ijust have not been able to apply them. I live in the midwest
where hills are short but to me they look like Mt. Everest!I hesitate to
trust instructors as my unsuccessful experiences inthe past.Any help
would be appreciated.Thanks Bob

I won't speak to what kind of turn you should be doing (see any recent
thread with "turn", "wedge" or "stem" in the title for such
discussion). But I think that you may need to redefine your idea of
"control"; I have two thoughts for you though:

-a more aggressive stance might help, leaning way forward on your
skis. One big reason people shoot out of control down the hill like
you're afraid of is that they're sitting farther back on their skis
than they think. If your weight is on the tips, they can dig in (even
in a snowplow) and bring your body around through the turn. If your
weight is on the tails, then the skis will just follow your body mass,
which in turn will obey gravity and take the quickest line down.

-you might need to redefine your idea of "control"; are you trying to
always be able to stop at a moment's notice, or are you willing to
carry a little more speed as long as you can stop before you hit any
obstacles below? In other words, are you willing to "let go of the
hill" for the momen or two that it takes to complete a turn? If not,
you'll continue to have trouble.

Merry skiing,
bw

My old man used to tell me to concentrate on the area I'm skiing in and
ignore where you plan to be in 2 minutes. Don't focus way down the hill or
you tend to be distracted by the _apparent_ steepness of the slope.
As pointed out above, if you go a little faster, the boards are easier to
turn. With today's bindings you can afford to learn to fall as well.

"If you ain't falling, you ain't learning"

L. Bakstad

Well this isnt a troll for one thing as I love sports, Ive learned to
rollerblade without ever falling down I know I have exceptional balance
yet I cannot ski!Ok on the smallest of beginner hills with a rope tow,
the terrain is gentle and I feel I can face straight down the hill and
let my skiis go in a gliding wedge and just a little wt shift from foot
to foot lets me turn, as soon as I go to a longer beginners hill the
terrain is steeper and Im afraid to face straight down the hill, however
upon reading here today of putting my hands on my knees may help my
wedge.Also on a steeper slope I find myself sideslipping on a traverse
on inside ski and I feel outside ski is doing nothing, I feel I then
need to turn directly down the hill in order to get on outside ski to
turn, its the moment of tutning to the hill where I lose confidance to
to maintain a wedge as I feel skiis will run out from under me, maybe I
am sitting on tails and thus have no control over wedge on steeper
terrain.I hate feeling of being on two skiis and trying to go down fall
line as its then I try to turn sideways to feel Im slowing myself down
and regaining control.I guess I feel currently if Im in a gliding wedge
straight down the fall line with shoulders sqare to my tips my skiis
will and have continued to spread the tails as I do a split and face
plant.I reiterate placing my hands on my knees may help my wedge. I feel
I should be able to ski straight down the beginner hill slowing and
speeding up by narrowing or widening my wedge before I move on to longer
hills.I just want to be in control of my direction and speed.In summary
things I can do on gentle terrain dont work on steeper part of the
beginner hill.Im looking for knowledge not just learning to push my
nerves farther. I feel I may learn something here.Thanks Bob

S=B2

Ok Ive read all the posts in the wedge turn thread and come to
realization that my problems probably stem from sitting on my tails, Im
going to try and lean forward as if someone was pushing me backwards up
a hill. I think my fears come from the fact Ive not mastered the wedge
and cannot master it from the back seat as it were.If I can just feel I
can trust my wedge after I traverse and set edge of outside ski to bring
me around. I guess feeling of skis shooting away from me comes from not
being on the tips. Ill write more as it happens.Bob

S=B2

Bob wrote:
Ok Ive read all the posts in the wedge turn thread and come to
realization that my problems probably stem from sitting on my tails, Im
going to try and lean forward as if someone was pushing me backwards up
a hill. I think my fears come from the fact Ive not mastered the wedge
and cannot master it from the back seat as it were.If I can just feel I
can trust my wedge after I traverse and set edge of outside ski to bring
me around. I guess feeling of skis shooting away from me comes from not
being on the tips. Ill write more as it happens.Bob

S²

Here is a little help with getting forward.
1. I have no hair at all on the fronts of my ankles/shins. It gets worn
off the first day of the season and never has a chance to grow back
until May. If you can feel pressure from the tongues of your boots,
that's good. If you feel pressure from the back of the cuff, that's bad.

1a. What kind of shape are your boots in? Were they properly fitted by
an experienced boot fitter? Are they comfortable while being fairly
tight? Do your feet move around inside your boots when the are buckled?

2. Keep your hands out of your (figurative) pockets. Instead of carrying
your poles down at your sides when skiing, put them together and hold
them out in front of your as if you are carrying a single pole in both
hands.

There have been other posts here suggesting technique, so I'm not going
to add to that. Lessons will help. See if you can't talk with people who
have had successful lessons and see who they might recommend. Also from
those same people you might get a feeling about a particular teacher's
approach.

The person at the ski school desk may also be able to suggest someone on
the staff who might be more helpful with your particular challenges.

Since you are athletic and have had success in other sports, once the
light dawns in your muscle memory, you will have *gotten it* and gone on
to bigger and better things.

PLEASE don't think you will repeat your experience with roller blades.
You will fall when skiing. Suck it up and expect it. Some of the most
valuable things you can learn from an instructor is how to fall and how
to pick yourself up again. If you are falling to one side, never push
your knee in that direction as if to catch yourself. If you are falling,
go ahead and fall, don't try to recover. Until you have a 100,000 miles
of experience, that could be the worst thing you could do for your
knees. You are 55, and if your body is anything like mine, it's getting
stiff, even though you still enjoy activity certain things may work
better than others. It's no shame to click out of your bindings after
you fall so you can get up easier. This especially true on a gentle
slope. It is MUCH easier to get up on a steep slope with skis on.

Hope some of this helps and don't give up.
VtSkier

"Olaf Timandahaff" wrote in message


My old man used to tell me to concentrate on the area I'm skiing in and
ignore where you plan to be in 2 minutes. Don't focus way down the hill or
you tend to be distracted by the _apparent_ steepness of the slope.
As pointed out above, if you go a little faster, the boards are easier to
turn. With today's bindings you can afford to learn to fall as well.

What a good tip....

"Bob" wrote in message




Ok Ive read all the posts in the wedge turn thread and come to
realization that my problems probably stem from sitting on my tails, Im
going to try and lean forward as if someone was pushing me backwards up
a hill. I think my fears come from the fact Ive not mastered the wedge
and cannot master it from the back seat as it were.If I can just feel I
can trust my wedge after I traverse and set edge of outside ski to bring
me around. I guess feeling of skis shooting away from me comes from not
being on the tips. Ill write more as it happens.Bob



Forget any of that gliding wedge crap. Just junk it. Be aggressive
with your edges. Make that outside ski *bite*.

This being the case, try the progression in some of these other
threads. Get used to doing a wedge changeup straight down the
hill on easy stuff. Get used to picking up *the tail* of one ski or
the other, alternating, while leaving the tip of that ski on the snow,
(do this also going straight down an easy hill in parallel, pick up one
tail then another), Then take these two drills, combine them and turn
them sideways.

Traverse, make a wedge just like you did in wedge changeup,
weight the outside ski by pushing with the ball of your foot,
edge the ski as much as you want with your knee, then about
halfway through the turn, pick up the tail of the inside ski and
leave the tip on the snow, put the inside ski next to the outside.

Now go ski.

You could also try reading all four of my posts, "more on the
wedge and parallel turns" 1,2,3 and 4, or others about magic turns.


????????why in the heck doesn't OE put the little things
in when I quote his posts??????????