Haluk–Spring Snow

Last day of the season for Haluk – perfect transformed Spring Snow after only a few melt / Freeze cycles – astonishing considering that only a few days ago we were skiing deep powder.

Banane South East facing (After Skiing the Borsat Plateau also South East) Only the last 100m was too soft.

 

Between the Gugnai and Arcelles – steep and South West facing – solid support but soft for skiing – finishing at 11:58am Skiing on smooth ridges between avalanche debris.

Looking across from the Bellevarde to the Solaise.

Bellevard “Olympic”.

Solaise ridge completely avalanched.

Entire valley from Val Village up to Pont St Charles and the Gorges de Malpasset.

Looking back on the descent from the Cugnai (left side).

 

Back to the bike

After a fantastic day at high altitude yesterday it was back down to Earth today – but I can’t imagine a better view when cycling. The air was warm but fresh with the recent snow line at only 700m altitude a couple of days ago. The sun felt great on the skin. Shorts and T-shirt today – in contrast with skiing powder yesterday. Legs were a bit tired from skiing but still strong enough for a good workout.

Chips

Not only did I maintain the recent powerful connection with the core muscles through the chi-hips coordination but my core was also attracting attention due to a large plate of real chips I’d eaten at lunchtime. Not ideal – but at least the workout was long enough to burn most of that off – 1 hr 44 mins. Good feelings in the legs and core – this gives motivation to burn off the belly!

Les Arcs

La Rosière

La Plagne

Peisey Vallendry and Montchevin, Les Coches … with a genuine Savoyard touch!

Ze Bike…

Sea Of Clouds–Tignes

Down in the valley the day was miserable because it was beneath the clouds. In contrast we were above the clouds – who says heaven isn’t real? There was still some interesting snow to ski but wind had blown away most of the deep snow at high altitude – except in the protected gullies. I decided to take the opportunity to infiltrate a bit more technique into Haluk’s skiing.

Feet Forward

Haluk made major progress earlier this year when I pushed him strongly towards using the chi-hips. This dramatically freed up his hips and his overall stance. Naturally this is only providing an improved base for building better and unimpaired skills. Yesterday in the deep snow a couple of photographs from the video showed that there was sometimes a distinct problem during the turn transition – when rising up out of the deep snow. The photos show the knees leading into the turn before anything else. I explained to Haluk that it’s important to move the feet further ahead at the very start of the turn to create hip angulation and to free the hip so that the centre of mass can move unimpeded into the new turn ahead of everything else. The knees are only fine tuning. Haluk initially suggested leading with his chin – so I recommend he doesn’t take up boxing! All motion should initiate from the centre and the centre should be the main focus – whether referring to external dynamics (whole body accelerations) or internal dynamics (chi-hips combined with forward motion of the feet). You can avoid getting caught on the backs of the ski boots by flexing the knees and hips as you sink down into the turn. The lowered stance is ideal for deep or tricky snow anyway – so the proportion of flexing should match the proportion of pushing the feet forward in accordance with the snow conditions and terrain. If you feel unsure then increase BOTH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April Snow–Tignes