Mtguide Posted October 25, 2003 Posted October 25, 2003 Lessons to begin with for sure;why waste time re-inventing the wheel?A good way to go is to take a lesson,ski on yr own 3-4 times to digest it,get another lesson,and so on,throughout the season;maybe take a spring clinic toward the end of yr first season.If you've been getting out often and hard,you'll have the miles under your belt to be able to work hard and really get the benefit from it;you'll know what kinds of questions you need answers to.They'll work yr ass off till you get tired enough to really feel the difference btween forcing it and the effortless ride when "it" happens for you.Do not underestimate the value of resort skiing for developing your skills for the backcountry--you can concentrate on just the skiing,run after run;don't worry,you'll get the conditioning for skinning up hill soon enough.Learn and master a solid stem christie(originates from the snowplow) for backcountry survival skiing(ice,windpack,sastrugi,steeps,etc.)and from there to a jump turn. Read: "Ski the Whole Mountain"by Eric and Rob DesLauriers,"Breakthrough on Skis" , "Br.on Skis II,&"Br. on the New Skis"(shaped fatties) by Lito Tejada-Flores.All excellent.Softer boots to start with can force you to develop strength and technique to the point that when you finally get the "right" boots for you,you'll be pleasantly surprised by how good a skier you are;you'll have power and ease you never dreamed of,because the real foundation will be there in the muscle memory. You don't mention anything about your backcountry skills: be sure you have navigation,avalanche and general winter mountaineering skills well in hand.Don't depend on anyone else's knowledge -be responsible for your own safety and ongoing education;be able to give help when necessary.Work to become a really complete ski mountaineer/alpinist.Blue skies and far horizons to you. Quote
marylou Posted October 25, 2003 Posted October 25, 2003 If you are talking to me, I'm working concurrently on the snow safety stuff, but Tejada-Flores is not really useful to me anymore. I got pretty good french fries already. They give lessons on AT skiing? Where? Really? Quote
Mtguide Posted October 25, 2003 Posted October 25, 2003 Oops,sorry--meant to reply to Attitude's original query.And I was just referring to downhill ski lessons in general,not specifically AT--yeah,i don't know of anywhere you can find AT specific instruction. Quote
Pencil_Pusher Posted October 25, 2003 Posted October 25, 2003 marylou said: They give lessons on AT skiing? Where? Really? I'm sure the offering of a hot meal and beer would bring out all the dirtbag skiers for AT specific instruction. Just make sure they get it after the lessons. Didn't Beck get the boot from Marmot? Maybe he'd have some time to teach for grub. Quote
skykilo Posted October 25, 2003 Posted October 25, 2003 Yeah MaryLou, why don't you just offer to buy Beck dinner and a beer? Here's an AT lesson, photo courtesy of All_You_Can_Eat: The 1:37 post, I'm loser number one! Quote
marylou Posted October 26, 2003 Posted October 26, 2003 Um. I wasn't really interested in getting lessons, I was just surprised to hear someone suggest them. Despite warnings to the contrary, I'm just going to get out there and tough it out this winter. If it means learning to ski all over again, so be it. Quote
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