Getting fit for ski season

We put together a little video about developing a training plan to make the most out of your trip and your season.

First of all it is key to identify what type of skier you are so that you can choose what type of training that you should be doing. We've broken it down to three types of skiers; beginners, intermediate, and advanced.

Beginners  Beginners will spend more time skiing and moving than they do at rest. This is because they typically move more slowly on flatter slopes so the fixed chairlift riding time is relatively short compared to the amount of time skiing. Their speed is also quite low, terrain relatively similar meaning their range of movement is low as well as the forces acting upon them. Aerobic Training - As you'll be exercising for a longer period of time at a low intensity with little rest, you'll want to develop your aerobic capacity so that you can ski all day. Isometric - You won't be moving very much or have a lot of forces acting upon you, but that doesn't mean that you won't be working hard. Think of doing a 'plank' all day and that is like beginner skiing, staying upright takes energy. Isometric exercises are those where you don't move but your muscles are contracting. Recommended Exercise - Jogging, cycling, rowing at a low intensity for extended periods of time will develop your aerobic capacity. Yoga poses will help you with your isometric strength.

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Advanced Advanced skiers ski at a high intensity for a short amount of time with lots of rest between efforts with a high amount of forces acting upon them and a large range motion. World cup ski racers rarely ski for more than a minute at a time and so your workout should prepare you for doing repeated high intensity efforts. Anaerobic Training - power, strength and speed are going to be cornerstones of your training. That doesn't mean that you can neglect your aerobic fitness but it certainly shouldn't be your focus. Eccentric - Eccentric muscle contractions are when your muscles lengthen under load, think of the 'down' part of a squat rather than the 'up' part. You'll want to focus on this part of exercises to prepare your body to function under g-forces. Recommended Exercise - Power lifts, Olympic lifts, Speed and Agility Ladders, Box Jumps, and all of these may be done on unstable surfaces! In the gym you'll want to feel like you are on the slopes. Probably doing as many reps as you can in a minute and then resting for 10 minutes.

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Intermediate The middle ground between the two! Skiing for amounts of time that may be similar to rest at a moderate intensity with moderate amount of forces acting on you. Aerobic/Anaerobic Training - The longer you want to ski the more aerobic training you'll need to do, and the more intense you want to make your skiing the more strength training you'll need to add. Isometric/Eccentric - Isometric exercise will help you maintain balance and be more efficient where you can afford to be and eccentric exercise will help you be dynamic when you need to be. Recommended Exercise - All of the above but at a higher intensity than the beginners and a lower intensity than the experts.

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See you out there on the slopes
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BASI level 4 ISTD - Teaching around the world

My life continues on in the States, but what few people know about me is that I continue to pursue my European ski qualifications. The US is one of the few countries where you do not have to be qualified to teach skiing. Most countries have minimum certification criteria, and some countries standards are higher. France is the country that has set the bar the highest, and there are only a few other national bodies that have a standard that France will accept. They are France (of course), Austria, Italy, Germany, Britain, and Switzerland.

For two years I have been completing my British Association of Snowsports Instructors (BASI) level 4. There are 8 components

• Technical (Skiing) Module - 5days
• Teaching Module - 5 days
• European Mountain Safety training - 4 days
• European Mountain Safety assessment - 3 days
• 6 logged back country tours
• European Speed Test (timed GS race)
• Written Project
• Interview

That is a total of fourteen assessed days and many more spent training to the standard. To put this into context to be fully certified through the American system it takes nine days, three of which are assessed.

I traveled to Hintertux, Austria to take part in the level 4 technical skiing exam. It was a hard week of skiing. There were 30 candidates spread over four groups. Everyone in the exam fell at least once, including the examiners. I had some mighty bruises on my legs and one of the girls on the course had a chance of making the standard until she hurt herself at the end of the first day. We skied so hard that we had a GS ski break in half!

I was successful and am very glad to have finished my BASI level 4. It allows me to establish a ski school anywhere in the world, which means I can now take my guests skiing around the world. I look forward to taking you on a world tour soon!

Best Powder of the Season

The lifts at Winter Park may have stopped turning, but that is no excuse to stop skiing.

Chris Hoffbauer is the J5 Development Coach for Aspen Valley Ski Club and we went powder skiing after a big dump on Berthoud Pass near Winter Park. Can you believe that at the end of April it would be possible to ski waist deep snow? If not watch the video.

We took precautions on our small trip. This season there have been two avalanche related fatalities on Berthoud Pass. Both could have been avoided if those involved had respect for the mountain environment and taken steps to protect themselves.

Chris and I were both wearing avalanche transceivers,  carrying probes, shovels, a small shelter and the knowledge of how to use the equipment. We had read the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website to get the snow forecast. We talked to the CDOT representative on the pass and asked about the avalanche mitigation that they were conducting on the other side of the pass. I am a certified mountain guide, and although Chris is new to skiing in the backcountry, he is an experienced mountaineer who has climbed almost all of the 14,000ft peaks in Colorado.

Spring Skiing

While Europe is winding down their season with muddy slopes ad big piles of slush, Colorado is ending its season in style. Most Colorado ski areas shut their doors on April 24th, with a base of 2.8m, 20cm of fresh snow overnight and and a total of 10m+ snow throughout the season.

The video below is of my father and my friends skiing at Aspen Highlands three days before their season ended. We were greeted with no lift lines, first tracks and 7 inches of powder.

UK School Groups

The English schools have arrived! Every year at this time we have schools from the UK descend upon Winter Park for their Easter vacation. This spring Winter Park is hosting over 800 school children.

This year I am skiing and snowboarding with three schools. I spent a week riding with Stanbridge Earls. We had quite a wide range of abilities but we all rode around as a crew and had a good time.

I spent a week skiing with a group from Roundwood Park. All of the kids were great skiers on groomed runs and we ripped around for a week.

This week I am skiing with some first time skiers from a school called Polesworth. We started from scratch and were skiing blue runs comfortably by the end of our time together.

Ski Instructors have Free Time

The life of a ski instructor is probably not what you think it is.

The schedule allows for 5 hours of work a day, so almost all of have other jobs as well. Some weeks you may not work at all and during the month of March you may go 20+ days without a day off.

When we do get time off, especially in March, we like to play as we know it may be the only chance that we get.

Variable Conditions

Stay in balance when skiing chopped up powder. Going from deep snow, to tracked out snow, and back to deep snow causes our skis to rapidly accelerate and decelerate, throwing us out of balance. By flexing our ankles, knees and hips proportionately we keep our center of mass over our feet. This helps us stay in balance.

Have a buddy check to see if the lean in your back is the same in your shins. This will be a clue to see if you are proportionately flexed.