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What did you do this season that sets it apart?

fatbob

Not responding
Skier
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Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,288
Broke my leg, skied on it for best part of a week. rehabbed and still got in 8 days back to back end of season. Also had argument with French geezer who objected to how much spray a rockered tail kicks up. "You are skiing too close!" "Erm surely if you are catching my spray you are behind me and can therefore choose how close you get to me"
 

Monique

bounceswoosh
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
Broke my leg, skied on it for best part of a week. rehabbed and still got in 8 days back to back end of season. Also had argument with French geezer who objected to how much spray a rockered tail kicks up. "You are skiing too close!" "Erm surely if you are catching my spray you are behind me and can therefore choose how close you get to me"

Wait wait. He was behind you and saying you were skiing too close??
 

Bob Simpson

Putting on skis
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Joined
Nov 19, 2016
Posts
81
Location
Sheridan, Wyoming
Got to ski with a ski mentor from my youth, for which I hope is not the last time at Big Sky. He is a great man, had a big influence on my skiing in the 60's and is still cranking out turns. Sometimes, one just has to go ahead and do it, and through all other life "things" aside!!
 

ScotsSkier

USSA Coach
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Nov 12, 2015
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North Lake Tahoe, NV
Well, this was my first season as a professional race coach (I have previously been a volunteer/assistant coach) Weather wise i couldn't have picked a much worse year! Between January 1 and middle of February i was able to set gates 3 times!! And of 26 FW Masters aces we eventually got 12 off. :(

So going in to the season I was a bit nervous. Going from player to player coach with your same team is not always the optimal switch. But, I got through it (and huge thanks to our head coach and our program director for their confidence in me and giving me support and space to run the program the way I wanted to) and developed my coaching skills along the way.

My highlights as a coach: My athletes scored 4 individual podiums and 3 overall podiums at Masters Nationals, plus 3 class overall podiums in FW Masters (and could have had another 2 but for injuries and changes in the calendar ) as well as multiple individual podiums. But the most rewarding aspect of all was seeing progress and growth in confidence across the board from my athletes. And that they actually responded to my inputs with no prima donnas among them, a really great bunch of athletes who supported me through a tough season of cancelled training days and races . Plus seeing 18 out of 23 athletes entered at one of our races, 25% of the field! ( a lot of masters race only occasionally and just like training!) . :) And, perhaps the best vote of confidence , being asked already to return as lead Masters coach again next season.

Other surprises? I was blown away by how much I learned standing on the side of the course! You see things you hadnt noticed before and realize, oh yeah, that is why that happens!! and then incorporate it into your coaching regime.

Of course the flip side of coaching (as a player coach) is that I got very few training runs in myself. Now for speed and GS I can just about get away with only a few training runs. But for Slalom, always my weakest event, you really need lots of gate time in Training and my results proved that!

Highs/Lows/Bittersweet moments: (all of these emotions at the same time!).
Missing the podium in DH at Masters Nationals - in a really competitive class - by .05 seconds. Making 4th combined in class at Nationals. Lying 3rd overall after the first run in one of our FW Masters GS races at season finals and being on track for an overall podium in the second run....till I threw a shoe 5 gates from the finish... :(

But overall a great season!. While my own results were perhaps not as good as I had hoped, I was totally stoked at, and rewarded, by the successes of my athletes!

Other highlights:
  • being able to ski with several of you at Mt Rose( shout out for Mendieta and Piai)
  • realizing i was able to jump onto multiple different combos of skis and boots and still able to perform as normal ( 5 different boots and 19 different skis at last count!)
Sooo, a good season - and still not over with 3 2-day spring race camps still to come in May :)
 
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Thread Starter
TS
Tricia

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
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Reno
Many times we hear about goal setting and things we want to do in the coming season, which may or may not be achieved. This year I didn't really set any goals, but I decided that I was going to seize opportunities when they arose.

These are just a few things I did that set this season apart from the past seasons.
  • I took a ballet ski lesson from Suzy Chaffee
  • I skied Mad River Glen
  • I skied a run at Squaw that had seemed daunting to me in the past(I wish I could remember the name of the run)
  • I skied a Chute at Mt Rose that I hadn't skied before
I almost forgot - I skied in Canada!
 

newboots

Learning to carve!
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Joined
Dec 9, 2016
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1,367
Location
Catskills
Well. I learned to ski!

And I skied at 5 resorts: Stratton, Killington, Okemo, Waterville Valley and my home mountain, Berkshire East.

I moved onto blues, and at the end, had some parts of runs when the turns didn't require all that thinking!* Those were the moments!

*("Remember! Arms forward, plant pole - no, the other pole, shoulders facing down the hill" etc.)

Then I fell in love with the man who skies like he was born with skis on his feet.
 
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Monique

bounceswoosh
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Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
10,561
Location
Colorado
Other surprises? I was blown away by how much I learned standing on the side of the course! You see things you hadnt noticed before and realize, oh yeah, that is why that happens!! and then incorporate it into your coaching regime.

Not on the same level, but when there's a race going on, our instructors often have us stop to watch a couple of runs and talk about what we see.
 

pchewn

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
2,607
Location
Beaverton OR USA
I went on a quest this year in celebration of unemployment (or retirement, depends on who you ask), my 60th birthday, and my 50th year of skiing. I went on the "Oregon Ski Safari". Every Area, Every Lift, Every Run. So far, I've skied 43 days this season, and Timberline Lodge just extended their season to June 6th. I went to 13 areas, 55 lifts, and 177 different runs. Documented each day with a report and pictures on EpicSki and Facebook (you can search there). The BEST season of skiing ever.


 

river-z

searching for seasons
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Posts
240
Location
Riverside, CA
I skied several double-black runs for the first time at Mammoth last week. I've been looking at them for years, wondering if I had the skills and the guts to do it. Since the mountain is all filled in and conditions are really good I figured it was now or never. Turns out the skills are fine and I just needed the guts.

-Climax, Dropout Chute, Wipeout Chute, Gravy Chute
 

albertanskigirl

aka Sabrina
Skier
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
Posts
319
Location
Calgary, AB
  • Skied Whistler for the first time!
  • Spent 90% of my time on black ungroomed runs - and I was comfortable on most of them and having fun! Woo hoo!
  • Discovered that maybe I actually like bumps! (a revelation!)
  • Rarely saw the sun (it was a killer ski season here! ski by braille...)
  • Skied with some awesome people!
  • and had 2 epic faceplants in deep pow :)
 
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