World of Skiing:

Look Ahead

So as you've probably noticed, most of the tips I have for you are mechanical, you know, bend this way, flex that way and so on. And generally speaking, I'm a believer in that, you've got to focus on the mechanical stuff. But sometimes if you want to ski better, you need to think of more subtle things, like looking a head, or breathing.

Look ahead - that sounds simple enough right? And yet it's something that lots of people don't do, in fact they tend to look about 4 to 5 feet in front of their skis!  Instead of that, look a long way down on the hill. How far? well, 100 meters, 200 meters?  If you can see the bottom of the hill maybe you can see that there's a parking lot there, you can count the cars in the parking lot. Look ahead and - breathe, that's the other thing.

I'll tell you a little secret. I often ski better when I'm talking to you coming down the hill, then I do when I'm not talking. So what does that tell me? Well, I'm talking so I'm breathing and that helps me to stay loose. So maybe you should try talking like me, you can shamelessly lampoon the thing I say as you ski down the hill, and maybe it will help you ski better.

And here's something else you can do is ski with a friend, in order to avoid the focus on the purely mechanical. When you follow a friend you have to focus just on the line and the movement, then just get adjusted according to the line. Now it's my turn to lead, so I'm looking ahead, I'm breathing  (I know I am because I'm talking), and I'm trying to just set a line for Andrew to follow so he doesn't have to worry about the mechanics so much. Look a head, breathe, think about the lines with your buddy, and I bet you'll ski better.