The use of a gliding wax like Swix F4 Glidewax will protect your gear and improve your sliding fun!
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Archive for the ‘Telemark’ Category
How will skiing green circle terrain make you a black diamond skier?!? Because the pitch, width, and typically good snow conditions of easier trails will give you the opportunity to break out of your present habits. A green circle trail will provide a comfort zone to allow you to try out new movements and modify ones that have grown too familiar.
An ideal practice trail would be relatively wide (100 ft.), an alignment directly down gravity (without sloping to either side), and have relatively little other traffic. Try working on these improvement tips on green terrain in the morning and then move to black terrain in the afternoon: you’ll find a new level of control and be more successful at changing your skills to match a steeper pitch.
Half your day of skiing and riding is spent on the lifts. While safety is an issue all day long, riding the lifts represents a time to be more vigilant, especially if you’re riding with the lift with a child.
One of the keys to good balance in skiing and riding is to understand that your balance is not built on the base of the skis, but on the edges:
Unless you’re in the lift line, you’re almost never standing on the flats of your skis/board; a skiing turn occurs only because the skis are on edge. If the ski/board is flat, it has no grip. You can put your gear on and stand in your living room all day long, but practicing your stance on the bases on a firm, flat, and stationary surface is basically worthless.
A mental image of a stance at a standstill has only limited value and the sensation of a stationary posture doesn’t equal what you feel on the slopes. Building good balance must happen on the hill and is most effective if you work on it while moving.
Try some easy turns on easy, groomed terrain. Focus on balancing your weight on the sides of your feet (skiers) or toes and heels (riders) and use that image to concentrate your energy into the snow through the edges, not the base(s). Skiers will feel their balance along their boots on the little toe/big toe, alternating from side to side. Focus on tipping the boot back and forth without twisting it. Riders will feel the balance at the ball of their foot and heel by moving their ankle, similar to the way you push toward and pull away from the gas pedal while driving.
Improve your skiing on the chairlift! Try this to explore how to use your ankles in alpine and telemark skiing:
The 7th item in the Responsibility Code is: Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely.
The 6th item in the Skier’s/Rider’s Responsibility Code is to Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.
The fifth item of the Responsibility Code is Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
Another part of the Snowboarding Responsibility Code for skiing and riding is “Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, look uphill and yield to others“.
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The end of the season brings great opportunities to set yourself for next season by investing in the past’s season gear at end-of-the-season sales. New, never-used gear from the previous season is always a better alternative than buying someone’s used and worn gear. After a season where I borrowed my roommate’s telemark gear to free my heel, I’m ready for the coming winter after buying a pair of Targa G3 T9 Telemark Bindings.
