Author: Ski NASTC

We are in a big wet cycle up here in the Sierras.  It has been an intermittent mix of rain and snow the last couple of days in the lower elevations but up high it has been consistently snowing.  The system is only going to get stronger and colder as we move into the weekend.  http://tahoeweatherdiscussion.com/ 

It has been some busy weeks at NASTC.  Despite the low snow levels earlier this season, people have been coming out skiing and training.  It is great to see people recognizing the opportunity to improve their skiing during these challenging snow conditions.  We’ve been working with national ski patrollers, instructors, race coaches and avid skiers both inbounds and in the backcountry.  We had a great camp at Crested Butte taught by Kim Mann, a Western Team candidate for National Team Tryouts.  Snow conditions were as perfect as they get and the group pretty much skied every inch of Crested Butte.  Check out the pictures (w/ Geotags) in our photo gallery.  In Kim’s words the snow was “like skiing on satin.”  We are also very proud to be a part of Squaw Valley’s and Alpine Meadows’ endeavour to get as many of their instructors AIARE Avalanche Level 1 certified.  This has been a very sad year with the numerous avalanche accidents and fatalities – we firmly believe that education helps mitigate the risk.  We are looking forward to the NASTC camp in Chamonix, France next week.  It is going to be great skiing, Chamonix has been having a great season and our local guide, Michael Silitch, and Chris Fellows have mapped out an exciting week.  No doubt the group will have some fun adventures, make some big breakthroughs in their skiing.  We can’t wait to hear the stories! 

Saturday, February 11th, was a great day for NASTC, it was spent on the snow with the kids from the Adventure Risk Challenge (ARC) program at Sugarbowl. The kids from ARC don’t have many opportunities to get out and do fun stuff like learn how to ski.  It was an honor for NASTC to be able to help out and give these kids an opportunity to experience the sport of skiing.  It was my first time skiing with sophomores in High school that have never skied before. It was great to share my knowledge and experience with the kids and give them something that they can use for years to come. 

With almost 20inches of new snow cumulative from Monday and Wednesday’s storm the skiing is FANTASTIC!  The groomers are like velvet, off-piste has packed pow conditions, it is seriously fun!  More snow is on the way for this weekend.  More terrain is opening up with each snowfall we get. 

Crested Butte also received new snow and word is that Teo Bowl and Headwall are skiing great.  Hope you can make it out to Crested Butte with us!  There should be some good skiing out there in a few weeks. 

“The Funnel” at Squaw is as good as a regular snow year!, says Chris after skiing it recently with a client.  “Its filled in enough and there is some excellent snow in there right now.”  Its just a matter of skiing with someone who knows where to go and when to go there. As in the spring, you have to”follow the snow and the sun.” And then, its excellent skiing! Really it is – it may be far from full coverage but its SUCH a good year for a technique boot camp like we’re offering. Sign up now – while there is space – Feb 26-28 Squaw, March 1-6 Crested Butte, March 23-31 Chamonix, and Northstar and Sugar Bowl in the spring.

Snowbird Performance Camp turned Steep and Deep Camp…..

What started out as a technical bootcamp, almost overnight became an off-piste technique and tactics camp.  The group met up at the newly remodeled Aerie Lounge and Restaurant, the restaurant has some of the most amazing views of Snowbird.  The bathrooms may have the best view of all with floor to ceiling windows (no joke)!  The course started out with the group working on basic stance and balance and movement into the turn.  The next day the group woke up to a very snowy and stormy Snowbird.  Visibility was low with limited lifts running, the morning was a continuation of the previous day’s theme but on a litte more challenging terrain.  The afternoon which became extremely snowy and windy was focused on skill application.  The group became one of the few remaining die hards in the afternoon, skiing until the bells tolled – or the lifts stopped spinning.  It was pretty awesome riding up Little Cloud chair getting blasted by the wind and covered in snow (it was snowing at a rate of almost 2in/hour) and then giggling on the way down because each ride up produced an even more powder filled run down.  Nighttime saw the winds increase and the snow fall even faster.  We watched the storm through the windows of the Cliff Lodge excited at the prospect of shredding fresh pow and exhilarating lines in the morning. 

Morning came and so did the 4th of July, or at least that’s what it sounded like.  Avi bombs were going off every few minutes.  We saw daylight creep into the valley as we were doing our morning stretching routine, the sight of Snowbird’s peak filled with snow was awesome.  Snowbird is not for the faint of heart of the timid skier, this is big mountain skiing – lift accessed big mountain skiing.  When we headed up to breakfast we were hit with the bad news.  An Intralodge was in place, we were not allowed to leave the building until Ski Patrol gave the green light.  The access road had slid overnight and there was a massive avalanche debris covering the road, meaning most of the resort’s staff was unable to get up to the mountain (and the thousands of skiers just waiting to get after it).  The morning was slow going, we listened to Chris Fellows talk about the importance of mobility, stability and fitness to skiing performance and longevity within the sport.  The talk fostered some interesting insights and a great discussion amongst the group. 

We had a quick lunch and strategically chose to get in line for the Mid Gad Chair, as the Tram line was humongous and so was the line for the Wilbere chair.  Every skier in Salt Lake City and those visiting Snowbird were in line at every possible chair that was to open that day.  The energy was intoxicating, every one was celebrating the same thing: SNOW! 
You could hear hooting and hollering from the neighboring Wilbere chair that had began loading.  The excitement level rose even higher.  The lift maze was a colorful mix of people of all ages, though one common thread was that majority of skiers present were on big fat skis, probably the smallest waist was 98cm.  The chair began to load, and the crowd let out a big whoop.  It was game on from that moment forward.  We shredded alongside everyone else everything we could from top to bottom.  Each run was about 2-3000 vertical feet.  People were skiing lines, that when you looked at them, you couldn’t even fathom there was a line.  People were sending it off anything and everything, the atmosphere around the whole mountain was playful and you could feel everyone’s joy and excitement.  It really is amazing what a little powder can do to one’s spirits and mindset.  Again we skied until last chair.

The last day of the course brought even more terrain with the opening of the Peruvian Express lift.  Thanks to Chris Fellows’ insider knowledge of Snowbird, we found chutes and gullies where one would never expect.  We found wide open fields of powder, soft chopped up snow and fun powder bumps.  The feedback and training that was done over the last few days was put to the test.  The time and effort was well spent, because everyone in the group had a breakthrough and began to ski the challenging terrain with much more fluidity and efficiency.  It is so cool to see when something clicks for someone, there is a very poignant change in their skiing.  Mastering fundamentals is what opens the door to bigger, better and more exciting skiing!

There is great terrain for working on your technique this season.  The skiing in Tahoe is so good right now. Yes, limited terrain still, but what is open is fabulous.  Groomers, you rock.   Most seasons we don’t get the opportunity to really focus on our skiing because we get so distracted by all the fun lines and fresh snow. Make the most of this low snow lull by spending some time training and working on good movement patterns.  You won’t regret it.  Ski SQUAW with us February 26-28.

So you’ve just shredded all that awesome corduroy – and it truly is awesome because the temps overnight have been crisp and the resorts have made a fresh new layer of snow.  However, now you’re on your 15th lap, you’re losing that initial exhiliration you had while laying down arcs in the snow first thing in the morning.  You’ve taken the time to be up at the mountain and therefore are determined to make the most of it…..but how?  Start running through some drills, take what you have learned from your last NASTC course or lesson and start practicing it.  Scour the internet for some good ski tips and bring them with you on the hill.  With a smart phone you can search for a good ski tip on YouTube while you are on the chairlift and then get after it when you get to the top.  If you have a buddy skiing with you, show them the ski tip and ask them to watch you and tell you if you are getting closer to the image presented in the footage.  Setting aside some time every time you are out on the hill to run through your favorite and ‘not so favorite’ drills.  This will help give your ski day some focus, break-up the boredom and give your skiing a boost.  Let’s face it, no one wants to run through drills when there is fresh powder and soft snow to be skied on, why not take advantage of the opportunity we have right now with the snowpack that we have and make some changes in our skiing.

Check out this sweet little video on NASTC’s All Conditions/All Terrain courses.  An original JZ production!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErCO3diEohs

Snow is Coming! How to Ski the Heavier Deep Pow in the Sierras

Nothing is better than waking up seeing 2 feet of fresh at lake level or the valley floor; especially this season! We are all anxiously awaiting tonite’s storm here in Tahoe and it should be a good one through the weekend.

We’re all pretty comfortable with the light, white stuff but what if (pray not) the snow is heavier than you imagined? How do you tackle these types of conditions?  Here are three tips to help make your day more enjoyable if its not as light as you hoped:

1.  Allow your skis to plane, you may need to aim straight down the hill or at a diagonal to get some speed built up. That will help keep your skis on the surface.

2.  Steer your feet and legs progressively, spend just a little more time in the fall line than your instinct directs you to do.  Big, aggressive twisting moves will bog you down and throw you off balance.

3. Shrink your turns to go slower and stretch out your turns to go faster, read the terrain and scope out your line, so you know where you will need to make adjustments to maintain fluidity and control.

Mostly have fun! Its still powder! Here at NASTC we are pretty sure the skiing is going to be GREAT this weekend…stay tuned.