Question on coming down a hill

More on going down a hill: among kids in my small town ability to XC
ski was determined by how crasy of a hill you could go straight down -
nobody cared about making 10K laps! Anyway, the way we learned to go
down a scary hill - climb the hill 25% up - ski down (easy). Then climb
up some more - ski down - until you gradually reached the top. Then -
build a trampoline at the end, and that's where the fun began

LOL!

June

wrote in message
oups.com...
More on going down a hill: among kids in my small town ability to XC
ski was determined by how crasy of a hill you could go straight
down -
nobody cared about making 10K laps! Anyway, the way we learned to go
down a scary hill - climb the hill 25% up - ski down (easy). Then
climb
up some more - ski down - until you gradually reached the top.
Then -
build a trampoline at the end, and that's where the fun began

"JCZ" wrote in message
...
Uh uh...... This trail has two sets of tracks -- one set going in each
direction, and a guy came down that hill just after I walked UP it to
see what was on the other side. (I walked not on the trail but next to
it, so as not to wreck it.) I didn't think to watch him to see what he
did at the bottom where all the trails converge and there were a bunch
of people. It dawned on me later that it seemed kind of a weird ending
to a steep-ish hill.

Thanks Jeff for the tips on stopping. I like that lift one ski out of
track and angle it or side scrubbing. You're right about the poles
forward thing. I usually just do that when I'm easing down a hill that
I don't want to build up speed on because maybe there's someone in
front of me not going fast enough or something like that. But doing it
when going fast would be kind of dumb. I like the idea of the dragging
baskets, too. Hey! Thanks so much.

[snip]

Just my little two penny's worth... (and I am a complete beginner - only a
week's experience under my belt which I've just come back from, but I did
just get the hang of stopping going downhill at the end!) One thing I found
was that unless I controlled the downhill from the start of the descent by
lifting one ski out of the track and keeping the speed down by ploughing
that ski, I didn't stand a chance... I found it easier to start with the ski
out, keep it slow, maybe put the ski back in tentatively for a few metres
etc... But starting downhill with both skis in the track built up too much
speed for me to do anything except wipe myself out to save the others in
front of me!

gareth...

Sounds wise, Gareth.

June

"Gareth Crawshaw" wrote in message
...

"JCZ" wrote in message
...
Uh uh...... This trail has two sets of tracks -- one set going in
each
direction, and a guy came down that hill just after I walked UP it
to
see what was on the other side. (I walked not on the trail but
next to
it, so as not to wreck it.) I didn't think to watch him to see
what he
did at the bottom where all the trails converge and there were a
bunch
of people. It dawned on me later that it seemed kind of a weird
ending
to a steep-ish hill.

Thanks Jeff for the tips on stopping. I like that lift one ski out
of
track and angle it or side scrubbing. You're right about the poles
forward thing. I usually just do that when I'm easing down a hill
that
I don't want to build up speed on because maybe there's someone in
front of me not going fast enough or something like that. But
doing it
when going fast would be kind of dumb. I like the idea of the
dragging
baskets, too. Hey! Thanks so much.

[snip]

Just my little two penny's worth... (and I am a complete beginner -
only a
week's experience under my belt which I've just come back from, but
I did
just get the hang of stopping going downhill at the end!) One thing
I found
was that unless I controlled the downhill from the start of the
descent by
lifting one ski out of the track and keeping the speed down by
ploughing
that ski, I didn't stand a chance... I found it easier to start with
the ski
out, keep it slow, maybe put the ski back in tentatively for a few
metres
etc... But starting downhill with both skis in the track built up
too much
speed for me to do anything except wipe myself out to save the
others in
front of me!

gareth...

Strange. Noone mentioned the other solution : take your skis off and
walk down...

JCZ wrote:
Finally I'm bored with the easy trails. Saturday I tried the medium
trails, and I did just fine -- lots of nice rolling up and down hills.
I had no problems whatsoever, but then I saw a rather steep hill
leading up to the difficult trail. I was tempted to try it, but had I
come DOWN that hill, it would've been scary because it ended at what
looked like a kind of big intersection of trails with benches and maps
and lots of people. Say I was on this trail, and I'm coming
down.....(classic). How do I stop when I need to? Up to this point,
I've tried "snowplowing" which doesn't work when in tracks, I've tried
putting my poles kind of forward to try and get some resistance, and
I've tried turning my boots outward to kind of dig into the tracks to
slow down, but none of them really work that well, and I imagine they
don't work at all well when going kind of fast. Can anyone give me a
suggestion? Thanks.

June

Well, I had thought of that but that's not my question. I wanted to
know how to SKI down the hill and control speed. I got some excellent
answers, too.

June

"Mark" wrote in message
. ..
Strange. Noone mentioned the other solution : take your skis off and
walk down...

JCZ wrote:
Finally I'm bored with the easy trails. Saturday I tried the medium
trails, and I did just fine -- lots of nice rolling up and down
hills.
I had no problems whatsoever, but then I saw a rather steep hill
leading up to the difficult trail. I was tempted to try it, but had
I
come DOWN that hill, it would've been scary because it ended at what
looked like a kind of big intersection of trails with benches and
maps
and lots of people. Say I was on this trail, and I'm coming
down.....(classic). How do I stop when I need to? Up to this point,
I've tried "snowplowing" which doesn't work when in tracks, I've
tried
putting my poles kind of forward to try and get some resistance, and
I've tried turning my boots outward to kind of dig into the tracks
to
slow down, but none of them really work that well, and I imagine
they
don't work at all well when going kind of fast. Can anyone give me a
suggestion? Thanks.

June

Assume a full tuck. At intersection, rise up a little and do a stylish
telemark turn/stop. Upon stop, remove stocking cap, face into sunlight,
shake out hair (men or women) and smile big. It's always worked for me.

Cam

Mark wrote:
...Say I was on this trail, and I'm coming
down.....(classic). How do I stop when I need to? ...Can anyone give me a suggestion? Thanks.

June
Dear Mark or June of whomever... Yes, you are right that you can not
slow down in the tracks. So, you must get out of the tracks. Things you
can do, with the "fastest ways to slow down" listed first. Practice each
one. I am not kidding.

Practice getting in and out of the tracks on the flat and also gradual
downhills first. Then, as far as ways to slow down...

1. Sit down sideways with your arms up in the air to keep from sitting
on your poles. This is a technique to grow out of as soon as possible.
2. Learn to snowplow with a big space between your legs. Practice
different amonts of edging and leg space. Make your back like a scaredy
cat and hunch it up for stability.
3. Learn to snowplow just a little so you are now doing something
acceptable and not too beginner-y (as in #1-2).
4. Learn that you really love speed and just tuck in the tracks. If you
get freaked out stick one leg out into a bit of a snowplow to scrub off
some speed and then get your foot back in the track when you have
regained your composure.

If you practice you will get better. When practicing #1 and 2 make sure
nobody who really knows how to ski is behind you, because you don't want
to break their equipment or body by being squirrely.

Enjoy!

If you scream bloody murder, I mean from the gut like you're going to
die kind of scream, and look just a little out of control, everyone at
the bottom of the hill will move quickly out of the way.

I learned this one when I was downhill skiing at Jackson Hole, and I
hit the final section before a chairlift too fast for conditions. When
my skis were all over the place, the liftline parted like the red sea.

Jay Wenner

LOL! Good point.

June

"Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you scream bloody murder, I mean from the gut like you're going
to
die kind of scream, and look just a little out of control, everyone
at
the bottom of the hill will move quickly out of the way.

I learned this one when I was downhill skiing at Jackson Hole, and I
hit the final section before a chairlift too fast for conditions.
When
my skis were all over the place, the liftline parted like the red
sea.

Jay Wenner