So, how did the ski lesson turn out?
Well, remember last autumn I decided to go to a high performance driving school? It turned out that even though I have been driving reasonably well for some fifty-seven years, there were some things that needed re-tooling…refining my approach to sitting behind the wheel, so to speak. And the impact was such that I suggested you might consider doing the same at some point, no matter how old or young you feel…(I think I even mentioned I’m planning on giving a session to each of my grandkids over the next few years!!)

Well, guess what? Today turned out to be somewhat similar. I think the last time I spent much energy and effort with a ski instructor was back in the early eighties when my kids and I would go to Club Ski in Banff. Those times actually did improve my skiing somewhat, although most of what I had originally learned from Al Menzies still had stuck with me. So let’s say today was the first real encounter with a ski pro in thirty-five years. In the intervening time I have done a good deal of skiing, and not just at Apex. I have skied Hudson Bay Mountain at Smithers (over three winters), Kimberley North Star (over three winters), Gibson’s Pass in Manning Park (one winter), as well as trips to Lake Louise and Sunshine in Banff National Park, Nakiska, Fortress and also Sun Peaks near Kamloops. In addition I have skied Mount Tremblant, Bromont, Sutton, Le Massif and Mont Ste. Anne in Quebec. I have managed to avoid major catastrophes (other than a couple of concussions) and stay relatively upright. I have gone through four pairs of boots, and perhaps half a dozen sets of skis (I’ve done better with poles, in fact I still have a pair I bought from Al back in the mid-seventies!!). So I think it’s fair to say that I have done my share of skiing and I manage to do a fair job of all blue and at least groomed black runs.

Today I realized that I have become a bit lazy with my approach to skiing. It took the pro (who is a retired pharmacist and a very thoughtful instructor) about a minute to assess my biggest problem — I didn’t understand how the technology of skis has vastly changed the way we ought to approach going downhill. As we rode of the lift (after the initial review on the “bunny hill”) he pointed out that skis are shaped differently now and they are more flexible (as well as lighter) and that the design allows us to let the ski do more when we want to turn (which is most of the time for me at least).

We disembarked from the lift and over the next hour and only two [2] full runs from the top of the mountain (one blue, one black), he slowly got me to understand my skis while getting me to re-learn my initial lessons from the seventies about bending the body a bit more at the knees and waist in particular, keeping my poles always within my peripheral vision, and pointing my upper body downhill. Once he managed to get me to focus on the downhill orientation, he then made me concentrate on turning, shifting the weight from the downhill ski to the next downhill ski as I went into the turn — not waiting until I was in the turn. I had to accept a millisecond pause as I let the skis actually begin the turn on their own; then, I kick down hard on the new downhill edge and let the ski continue an arc that if not interrupted by the next turn, would actually lead me back up the hill. To fully reinforce this he made me follow his trail, right on his tail. The first time was somewhat comedic as I would lapse into my old habits; but on the second try it became easier, I was more comfortable with the notion of keep bent, slowly rise and let the ski start to turn, then kick the weight down hard, follow through the arc (back into the semi-crouch) and then repeat… He made me repeat it such that I did it reasonably well on the full Ridge Run and on to Motherlode; and then, he put me through it again in the Chute…

He then sent me off to practice. This latter assignment turns out to be tougher than the lesson. By now I knew what the correct movements should be, and when I made a mistake I would instinctively stop and re-start. It’s hard work to break lazy habits. By the end of the eighth run I was actually exhausted. Was I skiing better? I think so. But tomorrow I will go back and try the review exercise again — the pro teaches at Ladies Day so I may get to ski past his lesson and then get some feedback later. In the meantime, another lesson in humility has had its impact. It did control my speed today, but then again, practices usually aren’t done at full throttle anyway. Tomorrow, and the few remaining days of this ski season, will be interesting — can this ole dog re-learn old lessons and embed in his brain the nuances of the new lessons?

Stay tuned…
g.w.