Don't Panic!

Being a ski instructor, writing a ski instructing blog, it seems about time I wrote a ski instructional post. I have been planning to write an occasional series of instructional posts for different levels of skier for some time. This post is mainly aimed at intermediate skiers - from those trying to make their turns parallel up to parallel skiers trying to break into carving.

I have taught several people recently with the same issue holding back their skiing - namely a rush to get the skis around the turn too quickly, so that their tracks look like the diagram below on the left. Zig zags. The problem with this is that there is only control of speed at the apex of the turn. It is a bit like driving by alternately flooring the accelerator and brake pedals. The reason I think a lot of people do this is that they do not like the idea of their skis pointing straight down the slope.

The diagram on the right shows a curved path where speed is controlled all the way through the turn apart from the short transition which is circled. Although the curve is 'officially' called the control phase, we often call it the 'Oh ****' phase as this is what the skier is thinking as they begin to point down the hill and gain speed. The key is not to panic at this point; let the skis point down the hill for a split second and then finish the turn smoothly. I am not going to go into how to finish the turn - that is another lesson altogether, and at this level you should already have a pretty good idea.

So, just to recap - zig-zags are bad, curves are good, take your time with the turn, let the skis point downhill and don't panic.

More on Thieving #*$%@

There has been a spate of jackets being stolen here in resort, despite this being in general a fairly crime free resort. I have heard of a few jackets being taken from bars late at night recently. Admittedly the owners of the jackets had probably had a few too many beers but that is hardly relevant in my opinion.

Recently a British student died on a university skiing trip. He had had a few drinks, lost his jacket, took a wrong turn going back to his chalet and died of hypothermia. I don't know whether his jacket was stolen or misplaced, but the point I am trying to make is; stealing someone's coat in sub-zero ski resort conditions could well endanger their life. I don't imagine any of the thieves are reading this, but if you are just think - you might be depriving someone of their life, not just a jacket.

For the rest of us - the honest ones - keep your belongings close in resort bars and stay vigilant. I would love to be able to say theft was not a problem in ski resorts, but unfortunately thieves seem to be everywhere there is opportunity.

The Friday Presentation

The second and busiest (until February) week of the season has finished and it has flown by. I had two really nice groups to teach - one beginners, one intermediates - plus a few private lessons. In fact I haven't skied outside of teaching time all week. It has been really nice to see people making progress and enjoying themselves in the sun and snow. This really is a great job.

We generally finish the week with a presentation of certificates and a medal. Some instructors do this on the slopes immediately after skiing, but others - myself included - prefer to do it in a bar in the evening. I find this makes for a better atmosphere and is a fun way to finish the week of ski school. The problem this week was in having two adult groups. I arranged to meet one at six and one at eight, which seemed reasonable. However the six o'clock group all insisted on buying me drinks and doing their best to get me drunk and disorderly so that by eight, when I should have been returning to the bar with the second batch of certificates, I was still there and wobbling slightly. The second group also decided it was their duty to get me as drunk as possible, so that when it came to their presentation I was not quite as lucid as I should have been. It often gets to this point on a Friday where the instructor is doing their best to stay sober, while the group is doing their best to skupper this plan.

So, to recap - I had no intention of getting drunk on Friday night, it is not my fault I was drunk, I was forced into it and I'm sticking to that story. The photo is from one of my previous presentations by the way - I don't have any from Friday.

The Tent and the Chairlift

We had some entertainment on the slopes today provided by the Andorra Sound Project. I was skiing with my afternoon beginner group (not beginners anymore, but they were on Monday). We were halfway down the mountain and decided to stop for a coffee/brandy as it was the first time above the nursery slope for some of the group. The DJ was set up under a gazebo outside the restaurant playing to a mixed response - I thought he was doing okay, but others were muttering about the tranquility of the mountains, and the volume. So we trooped into the restaurant bought coffees/brandys and sat down. Next thing we see through the window is the DJs gazebo wrapped around the cable and pylon of the adjacent chairlift, where a gust of wind had deposited it. The lift ended up stopped for around twenty minutes (with unfortunate people sitting on it in a blizzard) while the tent was removed, and soundwise, we returned the the tranquility of listening to the wind.

First Week Over

My first week's work for this season has finished. I had a group of 10 - 12 year olds in the mornings and private lessons in the afternoons. It has been really good to be teaching again, and it has been an easier than expected week with less people in resort. The downside is getting less money from what should be one of the busiest weeks of the season. I find private lessons give a really interesting mix of people to teach - you never know who will walk into the ski school office to book a lesson. On the other hand, teaching a group can be a real buzz as you get to know ev erybody over the week and watch them progress. The kids group were complete beginners on Monday and were flying around the mountain by Friday. Kids tend to be easier to teach than adults, as they just need a simple explanation or demonstration and will pick it up straight away. On the other hand, the children can take more class management skills, as they don't always do what they are told. An instructor's worst nightmare is losing a child on the mountain. When skiing with kids I am constantly counting heads and keeping an eye out for the one who spots a parent and disappears to say hello.

First 70s night of the winter

I seem to have been a bit slack with the blog this week - apologies to regular readers. This week the season has begun in earnest, although it is still quieter than usual, and there has been a series of Christmas parties and meals. I think I need to take a couple of days to recover and sober up, however tonight is the first El Cau 70s Night of the season, so I guess that won't happen. The 70s Night here is kind of the finale of the week - incredibly cheesy, and not normally my thing but always a lot of fun. Fridays are always busy, there are ski school presentations to do, where we meet our group to give out certificates and medals, often there is a meal out, then the walk up the road to the 70s Night usually turns into a pub crawl taking in various venus in town. The rest of the weekend should provide a chance to take it easy, as Saturdays here tend to be a lot quieter. Here are a couple of photos of the 70s Night. Normal service (more posts, more skiing) should resume next week.

To Open a Piste or Not?

Back in Arinsal, nearly everything is open - all the major lifts and major runs are open as is the cable car over to Pal. The approach this year seems to have been very conservative - runs have been kept closed long after they have been ready to open. Snow has been made and pistes have been groomed, tended and prepared but only a limited area has been open until this week.

This is a marked contrast to the the Granvalira resorts on the other side of Andorra. I took a trip over there last weekend and all the links between resorts were open, and on paper at least a large proportion of the runs were open. However on most of the runs the grass was showing through the snow and my skis took a fair bit of damage from exposed rocks. On the other hand it was quite a pleasant change to be able to cover some ground and feel like we were travelling somewhere rather than just doing laps. I am not sure which is the better approach - I am sure both ski areas have their reasons but I would have thought the middle ground would be
more appropriate; opening all the runs that are ready whilst keeping the grassy, rocky ones shut.