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Lessons for Expert Skiers
It’s that time of year when we are all starting to look at our next ski holiday. If you are organising a group ski holiday or family holiday you will be asking the question, who wants a ski lesson? Many expert skiers and boarders have probably not had a ski lesson for many years but this begs the question, is a ski lesson a good idea for expert skiers?
Many of us have spent weeks in ski schools particularly if we learnt to ski as children. We learn the fundamentals to ski and then once we are beyond that beginner stage and start skiing or boarding red runs quite comfortably we tend never to see any instruction ever again! But what are the benefits of getting some instruction when you are an advanced skier with maybe years of experience under your belt?
Audit of Skills
One of the first benefits of seeking out instruction is to really check that we do have the fundamental skills of either skiing or boarding. It is very easy over the years to mask deficits in out technique by being confident, being fast or just knowing how to get out of trouble. So an instructor may get you to perform some basic drills including ankle and hip flexibility, ability to slide and perform 360 turns. You may complete a series of drills called braquage, to see how well you can pivot. Overall the point here is to deconstruct how to ski or board to see if the basic skills are really there and if not to correct them.
Know How To Deal With All Terrain
Some of us who have been skiing for a while may be able to competently get down a black run but how good are you on all the different types of terrain? This list includes powder, moguls and steeps. So another advantage of some tuition is to ensure that you are more than competent on any terrain not just a well-groomed piste.
Skiing or Boarding Off Piste
This may well be heli-skiing, ski race training or purely off piste. Again coaching can help you in these somewhat specialist areas. If we take heli skiing as an example. It is a misconception that you have to be a really expert skier to heli ski but you do need to know what to do in deep snow and backcountry. Coaching on heli skiing will help you cope with this. In addition any off piste instruction should focus on the adaptions you need to make to your core and posture.
Ski Fitness
There is now a lot of research and writing on how to be a good skier and boarder. Expert tuition can help you to know how best to warm up, all aspects of ski physiology and after ski cool down. Most skiers, let’s be honest, don’t even bother with a warm up yet we expect our bodies to go from being inert to having to perform at levels of high intensity in the space of seconds. To ski really well and perform at your maximum level you need to know how to properly warm up. In addition you can get advice on how to train for your ski holiday and prevent a ski injury.
Conclusion
Many expert skiers and boarders could therefore really benefit from a private or group session for experts. It can ensure that you haven’t got into bad habits on the basics, and are able to deal with all sorts of terrain. It could even open up new adventures for you, for example heli skiing or ski racing.
