You may remember me writing about the benefits of riding a unicyle as training for skiing. Pretty much any activity that develops good balance should be helpful in improving ski technique, since good balance is such a big part of skiing. Unicycling, Swiss ball excercises, wobble boards, balancing on a beam and even the Wii Balance Board (more on that in a future post) will all be useful in this respect. There is plenty more to be said about the importance of balance, but for now I want to talk about slackline.
For those who have not come across it before, a slackline is like a tightrope, but (perhaps stating the obvious here) not as tight. The idea is to walk on it, like a tightrope, and progress to various tricks. Since the tension is far lower than a tightrope (although still pretty tight) it can be set up more easily and cheaply. I have set up mine in the garden between two trees, but you can find plenty of footage on Youtube of the experts doing crazy tricks over gorges or between rock spires - something to aspire to perhaps. For now I'm still a beginner, but as you can see from the photo - taken whilst rock climbing in the UK Peak District - I can at least manage a low level line already (until I try to turn around anyway).
I was inspired to have a go at slacklining after seeing Jelena Schradi and Ingrid Laillaut de Wacquant slackline over the Arve river in Chamonix to promote their film 'Send it Sistah' (see below) at the Chamonix Adventure Film Festival in late August. I found it surprisingly easy to get started, but surprisingly difficult to be able to do it consistently well, even on my short line in the garden. It really is a great exercise for leg and core strength and stability and balance, as you are constantly moving and making adjustments to stay in balance.
I made my slackline from old climbing equipment and a couple of lengths of webbing tape which I picked up cheaply from climbing shops in Chamonix. If you don't happen to have spare climbing gear lying around you can buy a slackline kit, like these Amazon.com for example, or look at slackline sites like www.slackline.org.uk or www.slack.fr (in French) for loads of info on how to set up a slackline and where to buy the bits you need.
I have had a bit of a break from the blog this summer, as regular visitors will have noticed. Now we are into the autumn, I expect to be writing new posts more often again - I think winter and summer are the times to be doing things whilst spring and autumn (the 'Interseasons' in mountain resort terms) are the times to write about them.
This summer I stayed in Europe, working and playing in the French Alps around Chamonix. In this post I will give you the first selection of summer photos - Chamonix rock. These photos are taken in the Aguille Rouge region, opposite Mont Blanc. The Gneiss here is quite different from the granite of the bigger mountains on the other side of the valley.
The first photo here shows the approach to the Aguille de Perseverance. Unfortunately the cloud closed in and we climbed the route in the mist - so no photos of the apparently spectacular views from the NE ridge and the summit. The following three photographs show the Clocher and Clochetons (Belfry and Bell Towers) de Planpraz - the first route in Rebuffat's classic 100 Finest Routes and a very pleasant day out. The route consists of five separate pinacles with abseils (or a Tyrolean traverse) between them.
The abseil from the Petit Clocher
Setting up the Tyrolean traverse between the 2nd and 3rd Clochetons
Peter on the Tyrolean
Finally, here is a shot of the Cheserys slabs, where mountaineering meets cragging - airy routes of 4 - 6 pitches with great views across to the Aguille Vert and the Drus, but safe, bolted and less than an hour from the road.
These routes can be found in Michel Piola's guidebook to the Aguilles Rouges, available in English and French.
I have often been asked how often skis need waxing, but there really is no hard and fast rule. It depends on what the skis are used for, how much use they get, what the snow conditions are like, and how much the skier values the feeling of using fast grippy skis, versus the effort or expense of having them serviced.
Waxing frequently makes the skis run faster, and can protect and prolong the life of the bases. Waxing too often is not a bad thing, unless using high-fluoro waxes which can dry out the bases.
Frequent edging, on the other hand, whilst keeping the skis sharp and grippy, wears out the edges as metal is removed each time. When tuning the edges often, it is important to shave off the minimum amount of material, using a diamond file for example. This way it is possible for the edges to wear more slowly than if they were filed extensively from a blunt state after being left for some time.
A well tuned ski feels very different from one that is not, and so the simplest answer as to when to service skis is when they feel like they need it.
The table below shows how often I would tune different types of skis in my collection. It might act as a rough guide, but should also illustrate how much variation there is between skis I use for different purposes, and between skis where precise performance is more or less important.
Ski
Service frequency
Race Skis, used for racing or race training.
After each day of use
Piste performance skis, detuned race skis or carvers
Every week or two
Freestyle skis
Once or twice a season
Off piste or touring skis
When they feel like they need it, i.e. when the edges are blunt or burred, or lacking grip on firm snow, or when they run slowly on flat sections
I thought I had to give a mention to the Tremplan restaurant in Alp D'Huez for charging the most I have ever paid for a pint of beer in a ski resort, or anywhere else for that matter. 7.40 Euros for a half litre of Kronenbourg with my lunch - I'm glad I didn't go for a decent beer. I am aware that in some parts of the world, and even in this part of the world in certain clubs, beer can cost significantly more again, but for someone used to 3 Euros in Andorra and maybe 6 Euros in the French Alps, over 7 Euros seems pretty excessive for a pretty normal restaurant in the village.
Please feel free to comment on relative price of beer at your local ski areas around the world. It would be great to find out the cheapest and most expensive resorts worldwide.
Well, the ski season is drawing to a close here in Andorra, with some resorts closing tomorrow and others a week later. As always there is plenty of snow, particularly on the higher slopes. Unusually though, the resorts have remained busy right up until the end of the season. Most years April is quiet in Arinsal and the rest of Andorra, and we get to have a few weeks enjoying snow and the sun before closing day. This year though I have been teaching classes until today, and have worked far more hours than ever before in April. The rest of the season was a little quieter than previous year, which was not unexpected due to the economic situation. It seems a lot of people who had held off booking a ski holiday decided at the last minute to go anyway.
We also had a lot of visitors recently who were on their second trip of the season to Arinsal. Some people actually commented that two weeks here cost the same as one in the Alps, It seems that in some ways the recession has helped us to extend our working season as people look for a cheaper end of season option.
Just to sign off, here is a photo of the view from our balcony - sunshine and snowy mountains...
As I am sure everybody knows, the Winter Olympic Games began in Vancouver last weekend. This is a once in four year event and is a showcase for winter sports around the globe. Yet I went into my local bar this evening, in a ski resort, and the Winter Olympics coverage took second place to Everton in the Uefa cup. European club football is considered more important than the Olympics, in a ski resort in Andorra - even though the Andorrans are competing in the Olympics but not in the Uefa cup.
There are football games every week of every year from August until June. The Olympics are two weeks every four years. So please, all you skiing, skating, bobsleigh or luge fans out there, demand that your local pub puts on Eurosport or whichever channel is showing the Olympics where you are in the world, and ask them to put football in second place for just two weeks in every two hundred and eight. For many of these athletes, Vancouver is the pinacle of their career - the least we can do is support them and admire their skill.
I originally wrote this overview of ski and snowboard instructor qualifications in June 2007, but as there have been some changes since then it seems worth publishing a revised version.
I am going to look at the various levels of ski (and snowboard) instructor qualification and the letters you might see after people's names. I realise most people booking into ski school don't think about the qualifications of the instructor too much. However, advanced skiers/riders might want to look for a higher level instructor to fine tune your technique.Often the adverts for higher level ski or snowboard courses have a barrage of qualifications to convince you how good the instructors are. Hopefully the info below will help make sense of things.
In general, there are three or four tiers of qualifications for ski or snowboard instructors. There are also separate schemes for coaching (race or freestyle). Each country has it's own instructors' organisation (or sometimes more than one). In addition, the ISIA exists to oversee the national organisations and allow the exchange of ideas. Currently the ISIA has 38 member states and sets minimum standards for obtaining the ISIA Stamp and Card
Firstly then, abbreviations for the various instructing organisations you may see -
BASI - British Associoation of Snowsport Instructors CSIA - Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance CASI - Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors CSCF - Canadian Ski Coaches Federation
NZSIA - New Zealand Snowsport Instructors Association PSIA - Professional Ski Instructors of America ISIA - International Ski Intructors Association
And some non-English speaking organisations for comparison
EFPEM - Escola de Formació de Professions Esportives i de Muntanya d'Andorra ENSA - Ecole National de Ski et d'Alpinism (France) AADIDES - Asociación Argentina de Instructores de Esquí y Snowboard
Okay, so what are the levels and how do they compare? The following lists start with the most basic qualifications and work up to the most advanced, with coaching qualifications tagged on the end. The list is not exhaustive, but hopefully it may clarify some confusion over the long list of instructor qualifications in existence. The qualifications listed under each heading may be considered roughly equivalent to one another, although the details will vary.
Foundation Level (able to teach beginners up to snowplough turns, including artificial slope qualifications) BASI Level 1 Instructor (Formerly Foundation or Trainee), CSIA 1, NZSIA 1, PSIA 1
Instructor Level (able to teach parallel turns and beyond. Requires a good level of personal skiing and teaching) BASI Level 2 Instructor (Formerly Instructor or Grade 3), CSIA 2, NZSIA 2, PSIA 2, EFPEM Nivell 1, AADIDES 1
ISIA Stamp Level (Internationally recognised standard. International minimum standards. Able to teach to a high level. Requires a high level of personal skiing and teaching. Should include off-piste awareness and a coaching element) BASI Level3 Instructor ISIA (formerly Grade 2), CSIA 3*, NZSIA 3, PSIA 3, French Stagiere, AADIDES 2, EFPEM 2
Note that although the CSIA 3 is considered to be at about this level only CSIA 4 holders now recieve the ISIA Stamp in the Canadian system
ISIA Card/Eurogroup Level (Highest level certification. Eurogroup recognition. Requires a very high level of personal skiing and teaching) BASI Level 4 ISTD (International Ski Teacher Diploma, formerly Grade 1), French National Diploma, Austrian National Diploma, Italian Maestro de Sci
According to the ISIA, "Snow sports instructors with the highest national training from the following countries already meet the ISIA minimum standard for the ISIA card:
Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Great Britain,
Italy, Holland, Spain, Switzerland."
However only the European countries on this list are fully recognised across Europe. Coaching Qualifications (Not strictly instructing qualifiacations, these are for race coaches etc.) APC 1, APC 2, CSCF 1, CSCF 2, BASI Development Coach
for example, or look at slackline sites like www.slackline.org.uk or www.slack.fr (in French) for loads of info on how to set up a slackline and where to buy the bits you need.
