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Think back to when was the last time you made turns.  May? April? March? Before then?!  Your body needs a fair amount of repetition to be able to perform movement patterns sub-consciously.  If you were in the midst of changing something in your skiing when the season ended, you can pretty much count on startin g from scratch again next season, unless you get on skis at least once during the summer season.  Have you heard the outliers theory that you need approximately 10,000 hours to become a master at a movement.  We are all masters of walking, because since they day we learned to walk we’ve logged in more than 10,000 hours and therefore we are all world class walkers.  Most of us are not shooting to be world class, we just wanna be good and have more fun, so 10,000 hours might not be our target number but the concept remains the same, you have to put in the time and practice if you want to be good at something.  However, if you practice the wrong movements, thenyou become really good at those wrong movements, which is why all athletes have coaches.  Someone to tell them they are on the right path and call out mistakes or inefficiencies when they see them being made.  You can be certain that the U.S Ski Team is not spending their summer boating or drinking cocktails in St. Thomas, they are in the gym making getting stronger and faster and most importantly they re-locate to the Southern Hemisphere to getting crucial training time before the season starts.  Summer is crucial training time, because once the snow starts to fly in the Northern  Hemisphere it’s too late, they need to be in prime form.  Same holds true for recreational skiers, wanting to improve their skiing, there is not enough time in the season to make changes stick and then reap the benefits from your hard work.  Summer time skiing reduces the time those muscle groups and neuro-muscular patterns we use in skiing have to “sit and collect dust,”  you reduce the time it takes to fire everything back up to optimal performance again, because your mental and muscular recall will be quicker.

For those of you who find doing balance and strength poses in a room decked out in Buddhist decor with a someone verbally guiding you to let the light in to heart chakra is not your thing, but are still seeking moments of clarity and tranquility within your mind, try rock climbing.   Much like Tai Chi, rock climbing centers the mind away from the external world.  Climbing is usually done in beautiful outdoor destinations away from the hum of city traffic.  There is a natural peacefulness to your setting.  When you are climbing, you don’t think about anything else except for the rock in front of you.  You are harnessed into a rope and your guide has got your back with regards to safety, so any fears or anxiety from safety concerns dissappear.  Your mind is focused on finding the next hand or foot holds.  You don’t have an opportunity to think about that looming report deadline, what the stocks are doing, or how are the kids going to get to soccer practice next Thursday, you are very present in the moment.  Stress and anxiety melt away as you focus on the route up the rock before you.  When you get to the top, there is rush of feelings of accomplishment and exhiliration.  Even though you  may be physically fatigued, your mind will feel rejuvenated just from having the time to shut out external stress quiet down and have a singular focus.  Usually when you get to the top, you are rewarded with some outstanding views.  Rock climbing is a great alternative to yoga and a fun and different way to experience the outdoors. 

Summer Dream Skiing
Portillo, Chile
August 16-24, 2013 

Included:   ground transportation, lodging, meals (4/day), lift tickets, instruction, indoor presentations and video reviews and a welcome cocktail reception.

Day 1 – Saturday, August, 17
Arrive into the airport in Santiago.  If you have not been to Chile before or you have a new passport since the last time you entered Chile, you must pay the entry fee.  This line will be immediately to your left when you enter the immigration area.  The entry fee is payable by cash or credit card.  After paying the fee you must proceed to the immigration line.  If you do not need to pay the fee, you can proceed straight to the immigration line.

Once clearing immigration you will pick up your bags.  Attention:  Chile has very strict agricultural control policies; you cannot bring food with you into Chile, not even food off the airplane.  In between immigration and customs are a couple of small money exchange kiosks.  If you want to buy snacks for the road, we recommend changing a small amount of money here.  Hotel Portillo will have the best rates for you and they do not charge a commission or fee to change currency.  After you clear customs you will see a man holding a placard that says NASTC from Portillo Tours & Travel.  You will likely see other members of the group congregating around him. 

It is a 2.5 hour ride from the airport to Portillo.  You will travel through a lush valley with vineyards, avocado orchards and more.  After the town of Los Andes, you will begin to wind your way through a canyon.  There is a military checkpoint on the road – this is for road safety, they are in charge of closing the road in the event it becomes too perilous to drive (during snowstorms).  The road to Portillo is part of the Pan American highway and a main artery between Chile and Argentina so there are a lot of cargo trucks.  The final approach to Portillo includes 29 switchbacks.  When you reach the last switchback, you will be near the summit, at an altitude of 9, 500ft. 

Checking in to the hotel – this can be a little chaotic, as it is the change-over day for the hotel.  Rooms are not typically ready till later in the afternoon.  Our bags are stored downstairs until the rooms are ready.  We change into our ski clothes and go out for a short afternoon ski.  It’s a great away to get away from all the chaos and get the blood moving after travelling. 

Dinner is served at 8:00pm.  We will have a designated table in the dining room.  This will be our table for the week.  Dinner is an elegant affair in Chile, dining attire can best be described as dressy casual.  T-shirts, shorts, sandals etc are frowned upon for dinner attire.  

Day 2 – Sunday, August 18
This is the first full day of skiing.  The focus for the day will be maintaining functional stance & balance over a constantly changing base of support.  The morning will consist of drills and exercises and the afternoon will be geared towards skill application and shooting video footage of your skiing.  Lunch will be served in the dining room between 12:30 and 2:00pm.

In the afternoon, we will watch the video footage taken earlier in the day.  After the video review you will have lots of down time before dinner.  You can book a massage for this time, jump in the hot tub or heated swimming pool, go for a spin on the bikes in the gym, take a siesta, play some pool or ping pong or enjoy an après ski beverage in the bar. 

There is a welcome cocktail reception in the “Gran Sala” – the living room, at 7:00pm.  Complimentary pisco sours, wine and juice will be served.  

Day 3 – Monday, August 19
We will start each day with a stretching and warm-up session, “Movement Prep,” in the exercise room in the gym.  Breakfast is served at 8:00am.  After booting up we will break into our ski groups and proceed with the on-hill training.  The morning will be spent working on and fore & aft movements in short & medium turns.  Your trainer will take you through a variety of drills & exercises that will help develop these skills.  The afternoon will be dedicated to skill application and shooting video.  In the afternoon, Chris Fellows will give a presentation on Total Skiing and your coaches will be on hand to do a Functional Movement Assessment with you. 

Day 4 – Tuesday, August 20
After the Movement Prep warm-up and stretching sessions, we will break back into our skiing groups.  The focus for the day will be on rotational movements in short and medium turns.  The morning will be dedicated to working on these skills through a variety of drills & exercises.  The afternoon will involve skill application and individual feedback, as well as shooting video.  At the end of the day, we will head indoors and review your video footage with you. 

Day 5 – Wednesday, August 21
This is considered a rest day, a day to relax, take it easy and decompress.  Fun options that you can do on this day include going heli-skiing, doing some “hike-to” ski lines like the Super C couloir or just free-skiing with some of the trainers.  If you want to sleep in and just have a gentle day, you are welcome to do that too.  In the evening, there is the option to forego the dinner in the dining room and instead have a traditional Chilean asado (barbecue) in the La Posada bar and restaurant.  

Day 6 – Thursday, August 22
We jump right back into your ski training.  The focus for the next two days is on skill application, terrain exploration and individual feedback.  The goal will be to take the different skills that we focused on earlier in the week into varying terrain and step up the challenge level.  In the afternoon we will have another video review session.

Day 7 – Friday, August 23
This is the last full day of skiing and coaching.  Again the focus will remain on terrain exploration and skill application.  The goal is to consolidate your improvement, give you personal feedback and prescriptions for continued improvement.  Lunch will be at Tio Bob’s restaurant at the top of the Plateau lift, overlooking the Inca Lake (we may have lunch here on another day during the week, depending on the weather situation).  After skiing, we meet up in the living room or bar to give the pictures that you’ve taken throughout the week to Chris or one of coaches so they can put together a slideshow of the week.  At 7:00pm we will meet in the Disco or Cinema to watch the slideshow before dinner.  This is also a great night to sample the nightlife in Portillo, if you haven’t already done so.

Day 8 – Saturday, August 24
This is departure day and therefore we will only have a half day of skiing.  We assemble and ski mostly as a group and try to ski everyone’s favorite lines from the week.  We will have one last meal together as a group in the dining room for lunch.  The bus will leave at 2:30pm for the airport.  If you can settle up any charges to your room the night before and pay cash for any incidentals that you might need during the day, this will help make your morning easier and less chaotic.  If you are planning on staying an extra night in Santiago, please let us know which hotel you are staying at, so we can arrange for the bus to drop you off after it makes its stop at the airport.  Santiago has often been described as the Paris of South America, although it is a very modern metropolitan area, it has many neighborhoods that have preserved some of its old world charm.  There are also many excellent restaurants and great places to buy gifts.  

This schedule is tentative and is subject to change due to weather, coaches’ decision-making or group considerations. If you have any questions regarding the program for the week, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or 530.582.4772.

 We look forward to skiing and sharing Portillo with you.