To pole or not to pole

"yunlong" wrote in message
I don't get them into parallel turn until they have a solid fundation
on snowplow skiing.

I've had students that just couldn't get wedge turns. Rediscovering that
they were inline skaters, I decided to just step ahead to parralel turns.
They were zipping down the mountain in minutes. It all depends on the
individual.

As for the pole issue - reaching ahead to plant your pole rotates the body,
tending to assist advancing the ski that will become the new uphill ski as
the turn progresses. If you reach downhill and forward with your body as you
plant the pole, it also places you in a better position to turn, flattening
the skis, allowing you to edge into the new turn easier. It's not the
planting of the pole - it's the body motions to do it.

I remember having dinner at snowbird many years ago listening to a big drunk
at at nearby table declaring that the most important thing was "power on the
pole". I chuckled to myself at the time that I'd love to watch him meet Alta
powder the first time.

Bob

Bob Lee wrote:
yunlong wrote:

bdubya wrote:
yunlong wrote:
Bob Lee wrote:
If you could skate in powder or crud, or on a slope over 40
degrees, then what you wrote might not be viewed as bull****.

I did, as flat-boarding.

Did you look like this?

Close enough, I was the chaser holding the camera.

Seemed to be skiing very slow. So, were you satisfied with
that person's skiing? Answer carefully.

Yes, as I said, if you can ski down the Upper Dynamic "shooting a
line," you'd be a hotshot already.


By the way, did you notice that the person was skiing off-balance as
indicated by the hands and arms waving around up high?

Those were for unweighting, maybe; flat-boarding skis on a "flat
platform" which is formed by the balance of the feet, be that a wedge,
parallel, or open stance.

If the hands
were held low and out in front, the skiing should improve
significantly.
And, oddly enough, a very good way to keep the hands low and in front
in
bumps is PROPER POLE PLANTS.

There's NO "POLE PLANTS" in flat-boarding, hands are held in a dynamic
(not static) balance for unweighting and for expressions,

http://www.taomartialarts.com/ski/ski_p_chasel6.jpg


http://www.taomartialarts.com/ski/upperdynamic.wmv

Embarrassing.

You feel so? The angle of the camera played a joke on you.

So it was the camera angle that made it look like it wasn't any fun?


It was the camera angle that showed the terrain appeared to be flat,
and you have to pardon my computer 400mz cpu's resolution.


The trail is Upper Dynamic, Sierra-at-Tahoe; needless to say it is
a
"diamond run," if you can shot a line down, even with poles, you
are a
hotshot already, however, can you do it without poles?

*Why* would you do it without poles when poles would help you
ski it easier and better?

Two reasons: 1.) as I have shown, it is not "simply" "easier and
better," the "timing" of the pole-plant alone is going to take an
average skier at least four/five seasons, if not ever, to master/catch
up, and how to use the poles is another question, where flat-boarding
is ready to go when one has learned to control the skis; 2.) the main
reason, pole-planting breaks the flow of the glide, depicts a rigid ski
sequence, and restricts the free movements of hands, and consequently
restricts the body movements, which is less than I would like to ski.


Before you ask, I ski "diamond runs" that are harder than that
all the time in bumps, powder and crud...in tele gear.

I did that too,
http://www.taomartialarts.com/ski/ski_p_chasel6.jpg
at Breckenridge, 1985.
But I use poles.

I did not,
IS


Bob

Sven Golly wrote:
"yunlong" wrote in
ups.com:

When you stop/get stuck on a "armpit deep powder," you are stuck,
without a 40 degree slope to roll, you probably can't even recover;
now
try to find your just released ski, while each step the boot sinks
you
even deeper.

Are you are fully certified idiot or are you just practicing?

That was to say you didn't know what you were talking about.


Maybe you need to learn how to roll as well?

I would do whatever is appropriate to the conditions. Rolling with
skis
stuck in the snow on the steeps is rarely a good option. Releasing
the
heel with a pole works pretty well under most circumstances.

Good lucks in finding your ski in the "armpit deep powder."


FWIW, I found a few of your "enlightening" posts on a couple of Tai
Chi
boards. Seems your fellow practitioners of Tai Chi have little use or

respect for your thoughts there either.

Yup, those conceited lower characters act pretty much the same
everywhere on the net.


IS


--
Sven Golly
Trolling as usual
Remove the _ to reply

Wow! Quite a discussion.! Since I often ski without my poles--you can
probably guess how I feel. I watch people. If their body language tells me
that they are using their poles as a security blanket--I take them away.
Once they seem to realize that skiing happens on the skiis and not the poles
I give them back--with the caveat that if I see them creap forward--I'll
take them away again.

--
I ski, therefore I am
"yunlong" wrote in message
oups.com...
Had a really nice couple-students the last couple of weeks. They said
they were one time Heavenly group lesson skiers and they didn't really
learn anything, and they wanted to learn skiing. Determined they were,
they showed up with brand new skiing outfits, clothes, boots, skis,
even to the new detachable wrist strap for their fancy poles. Yeah
right, I thought.

I gave them, a young couple, four lessons (2 each week): 1) to ride the
chair-lifts, 2) snowplow--wedge turn, 3) christie turn, 4) parallel
turn.

In the first lesson, I needed to know how much they did know, so I
asked them to show me how to stop, they barely made it. For too much
work to walk up the hill to practice that, I suggested we rode the
chair up, the lady wouldn't go because she has never ridden one. I
persuaded and took them up, they both fell on unload. Nevertheless, I
showed them how to control the speed and how to stop and a little bit
of turns, and they learned how to ski down the bunny hill. For the
first day, they were happy, so they scheduled a lesson the next day.

The second day they showed up dragging, because the fatigues
accumulated the day before. I took them to "higher" lift for I thought
that a longer run may give them better chance to pick up the rhythms of
skiing. But the idea of "higher" spooked the lady, she frozen on the
unload; I was holding her arm and thinking about supporting her as she
get out the chair, but she didn't get down the chair, and the chair
wrenched my wrist, yike. Anyway, they learned wedge turn and snowplow
skiing that day. They were happy and wanted other lesson, I told they
to go practice first.

A week later, they called me up wanted to go for the "blue" runs. When
I checked them out, they can snowplow quite fluently on the greens but
still catch the edge on the inside ski quite a bit. I didn't take them
to the blues but showed them the christie turn instead. They learned
christie turn that day, and scheduled the fourth lesson the next day.

In the fourth lesson I was going to teach them parallel turn, so I
showed them how to use poles to support their christie turn first. They
couldn't catch up the timing and did poorly in coordination. So I asked
them to give up the poles. The lady tried first and found it easier so
she persuaded her boyfriend to do the same. And at the end of the
lesson they both did parallel turn without using poles, though the man
still carrying the poles for his security crutch. I took them to the
top of Heavenly and they came down the Ridge (blue) like a seasoned
skier.

Come to think about it, in four lessons/days of skiing, they have
learned/accomplished more than what I did in four years on my own. To
pole or not to pole, is now the question.

Have funs,
IS

"yunlong" wrote in message
oups.com...
Sven Golly wrote:

I would do whatever is appropriate to the conditions. Rolling with
skis
stuck in the snow on the steeps is rarely a good option. Releasing
the
heel with a pole works pretty well under most circumstances.

Good lucks in finding your ski in the "armpit deep powder."

Perhaps you missed the thread on powder cords.

Sven Golly wrote:

Heh. I still want to watch Itchy roll over on a 40 degree slope.

Wouldn't it be all slush at that point?

--
//-Walt
//
// There is no Völkl Conspiracy

"Bob Lee" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
"yunlong" wrote:

Bob Lee wrote:

Before you ask, I ski "diamond runs" that are harder than that
all the time in bumps, powder and crud...in tele gear.

I did that too,
http://www.taomartialarts.com/ski/ski_p_chasel6.jpg
at Breckenridge, 1985.

Uh, where is the 'diamond run', the bumps, and the crud or powder?

The camera angle confuses things.

Speaking of which, I finally watched the flatboarding movie. I think if I
saw someone skiing like that I might try to help.

"Hey, man, are you ok? Did you lose your poles? Want to borrow one of
mine?"

Richard Henry wrote:
"yunlong" wrote in message
oups.com...

Sven Golly wrote:

I would do whatever is appropriate to the conditions. Rolling with

skis

stuck in the snow on the steeps is rarely a good option. Releasing

the

heel with a pole works pretty well under most circumstances.

Good lucks in finding your ski in the "armpit deep powder."


Perhaps you missed the thread on powder cords.


I think I have discovered the absolute best material for
powder cords. It's the tape the ski patrol weaves into
the ropes they use for trail closing. It's either bright
orange or day-glo green, flat about an inch wide, very
tough, couldn't break it, had to cut it and rolls up
very flat to hide in your pant leg. A buddy of mine and
I will be going west (he's already gone) this month or
next and will try this out. 'Course somebody else may
have already figured this out.

VtSkier

Walt wrote:
Sven Golly wrote:

Heh. I still want to watch Itchy roll over on a 40 degree slope.


Wouldn't it be all slush at that point?

Oh, Walt are we going to get into that degree of
slope argument again?

Walt wrote in news:X9uHd.361$UN1.315
@news.itd.umich.edu:

Sven Golly wrote:

Heh. I still want to watch Itchy roll over on a 40 degree slope.

Wouldn't it be all slush at that point?


It's not impossible. I rolled over on one of the Balme couloirs at Tignes,
which must be about 40 degrees, with no ill effects other than a rather
alarmed companion. I just landed on my skis and stood back up. It happened
because a jump turn unexpectedly ended in deep slush.

I was using poles, though.

Jeremy