Thank you to everyone who gave input on some easy black diamonds in Snowshoe. I really appreiciate it. There is another thing I need to ask about: crust. Last year my family went to Breckenridge (personally my favorite resort), and Snowshoe. In Breckenridge, my daughter was easily skiing difficult blues, but once we got to Snowshoe, her confidence fell, and she was slowly and cautiously inching down slopes the same difficulty she was comfortable with in Breckenridge. What happened was the change in snow. In Breckenridge, you have great, even perfect conditions, but Snowshoe however, had crust. Lots of crust. How can I help my daughter get used to skiing crust? And which slopes are crust free (almost obviously nothing is for sure)?
I say wax your skis up and sharpen them. For me i love icy slopes because I can go faster but thats also because i put lots of pressure into my boots. If you can take a jog to whitetail at night, and ski limelight her incentive will be not to fall because of the lift. Aditionaly its longer then then the trail at the shoe' and has a faster lift.
I had the same problem years ago when I took an early vacation out west then returned home to ski eastern "hard pack". The simple solution is to not take a western vacation until after the season ends here in the east or at least late in the season. With kids and school schedules that is not always possible unless you want to wait until Easter which is when most schools schedule about a week off.
Soft snow "forgives" less then perfect technique. The only real solution is to take a lesson earlier in the season. Ask to be placed with at least a Level 2 PSIA (Professional Ski Instructor of America) or equivalent. Explain the issues your daughter is having. My guess is the instructor will evaluate her basic skills and start from there. Without seeing your daughter ski I would venture to guess that she need to work on her edging and pressure skills. These are 2 of the 4 basic skill that ski instruction focuses on. The other 2 are balance and rotary. Edging means tilting your skis to allow your steel edges to bite into the crust. Pressure means applying weight on the edged ski. Rotary means actually turning your skis, pointing them where you want to go by rotating you leg/foot. Dynamic balance is the result of the proper mix of these skill according to terrain and conditions of the snow. These 4 skill are broken out but are really all interrelated. The thing that pulls then all together is practice, skiing as often as possible. Just remember it is not just practice makes perfect but rather perfect practice makes perfect. That's why you should start with a good instructor to learn the appropriate movement patterns. The skills needed might not come right away but starting here on hard snow and maintain good habits once out west should help ease the transition from soft snow to hard pack. As Antoine said, you have to start with well tunes skis. Hope this is helpful.
(edit- removed the word sideways in edging description.)
Are you talking about crust, or hard packed icy slopes? They are vastly different.
Denis wrote:
Are you talking about crust, or hard packed icy slopes? They are vastly different.
i think he means ice as opposed to crust or a breakable crust. lol if he really means a breakable crust my advice would be to clamp your keens together, lean back on your tails and pray for your knees.
Crush wrote:
Denis wrote:
Are you talking about crust, or hard packed icy slopes? They are vastly different.
i think he means ice as opposed to crust or a breakable crust. lol if he really means a breakable crust my advice would be to clamp your keens together, lean back on your tails and pray for your knees.
My advice would be to find some groomed runs LOL.
crgildart wrote:
Crush wrote:
Denis wrote:
Are you talking about crust, or hard packed icy slopes? They are vastly different.
i think he means ice as opposed to crust or a breakable crust. lol if he really means a breakable crust my advice would be to clamp your keens together, lean back on your tails and pray for your knees.
My advice would be to find some groomed runs LOL.
n---I-C-E lol
Breck04 wrote:
Thank you to everyone who gave input on some easy black diamonds in Snowshoe. I really appreiciate it. There is another thing I need to ask about: crust. Last year my family went to Breckenridge (personally my favorite resort), and Snowshoe. In Breckenridge, my daughter was easily skiing difficult blues, but once we got to Snowshoe, her confidence fell, and she was slowly and cautiously inching down slopes the same difficulty she was comfortable with in Breckenridge. What happened was the change in snow. In Breckenridge, you have great, even perfect conditions, but Snowshoe however, had crust. Lots of crust. How can I help my daughter get used to skiing crust? And which slopes are crust free (almost obviously nothing is for sure)?
What do you mean by "same difficulty"? Steepness?
For a beginner/intermediate the width of a trail and the number of other people around can make a big difference in comfort level. That's even with good snow conditions. When lift lines build at Snowshoe, I much prefer Silver Creek when skiing with an intermediate. That was what I where I took my daughter when she was a tween who could ski any black in the southeast as well as any blue at Alta. Did the same last season with a friend who started skiing a few years ago as an adult. While she could ski the hard packed, somewhat skied off, black trails at Snowshoe, she had a much better time at Silver Creek because the slopes were more or less empty. Also meant less skied off.
Does your daughter have her own boots/skis or is she on rental gear?
I was refering to hard packed, over skiied crust with patches and loose chucks of ice. The slopes were fairly crowded, but not too overwhelming. We just got her her own skis and boots. Hopefully this will help her to feel more confident and ski better on less than ideal terrain.
