Clearly Opening It Up

In skiing, there are two things that go really well with crystal clear blue bird sky... powder and perfectly groomed corduroy.  Today we are enjoying some nicely manicured corduroy with empty slopes, and it is time to open it up.

As always, it was worth it to show up early to get the best of the conditions out there.  Another benefit of showing up early is very few other folks on the runs which allows for comfortably laying down some big and fast turns.  Now that we are well into the season, hopefully your legs are ready for some fast arcing turns down the entire run without stopping.  An untouched groomer reminds me of being a kid in art class getting a blank white canvas to paint what ever I wanted on it.  Sometimes you make nice clean lines, and sometimes you just go wild and leave a whole bunch of streaks and marks on the blank space like you had no boundaries; both methods resulting in smiling satisfaction.

I really like to go fast down the mountain.  Having that crisp mountain air brushing my face while making huge arcing turns down some really fun ski runs is about as good as it gets .  If you are into going fast on the mountain, make sure that you are able to ski in full control and are always watching for other skiers around you in any direction.  As you get more comfortable with speed on your skis, think about hitting the gas pedal just a bit more to step it up to the next level.  If you are downhill skiing, put your downhill arm/pole out in the direction you are heading, and really put some energy on the inside of your down hill ski.  Bend your knees and get low; let your arm and ball of your foot lead you all the way through the turn until you shift your weight for the next turn.

If you are tele skiing out there, put as much energy as you can into pressing down on the ball area through the width your foot on your up hill ski.  Your down hill ski will naturally have weight on it already, so think about giving everything you have to that up hill ski as it really helps the energy and control of your turns; especially for going fast.  A lot of tele skiers get sucked into focusing their efforts on the down hill ski; think of your back leg like a rutter on a sail boat as well as a way to get serious additional power from your turns.

Pick of the mountain today is Buddy's Run - it is groomed very well, skiing consistently top to bottom, and you could really open up on those wide fast turns this morning.

It is a beautiful day out there on the hill - so throw some sunscreen on and get up here to enjoy some turns before the next storm shows up Thursday night!

Kevin Olsen

Tele

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