Each year many skiers contemplate finding and attending a good ski school. But how do you determine which one to go to?  When it comes to visiting a ski school many factors come into play.

     First and foremost is why do you want to go? To ski better of course.  But you may need to break that down a little more. It is possible you only need a few tweaks in your form, and not a complete overhaul. Be cautious of trying to change or work on to many things at once.

     And while I’m sure there are exceptions you should never go to ski school thinking you’ll be leaving a full pass better than when you arrived, you may not even ski as well, or I should say, as consistent as before you arrived.

     My personal experiences have been that while I once did run a PB at ski school, for the most part my skiing was in shambles when I left each time. The instructors picked apart my style and broke it down to the simplest elements and determined areas I needed to work on. Which we did, pass after pass, set after set. At no time did I ever ski just for a score. That was not why I was there.

     Each pass I attempted was performing some type of change or alteration that invariably caused inconsistencies in my skiing. But this is not a bad thing at all.  What happens is this; you will improve, but only if you take home with you what you’ve learned and continue to incorporate it into your skiing to become consistent using a more efficient technique.

     You will probably start a pass doing exactly what he’s asked of you, but before the run is finished you will have done something to throw you back to your old form. Only repetition will get you from your old bad habits to new good ones.

     On one particular technique I was recently trying to learn, I asked my instructor how I was supposed to learn to do that subconsciously as thinking about one aspect to much will cause you to miss another.
His response summed up ski school completely. He said “You’ll do that after you’ve run it that way the next 180 times”

     Many times I’ve heard of skiers that say they only improved slightly or not at all when coming back from a ski school. These are the ones that find that their buoy count went down for the next few outings, they figured the instruction was wrong for their style and then went back to their old style or habits, therefore only improving slightly if at all.

     I can’t say I’ve always absorbed everything I’ve been shown or taught at ski school but I do try to continue to use what I’ve learned, and over the course of the last few seasons my skiing has improved considerably. The buoy count is going up slightly each year, but the consistency and less effort in the slalom course are the biggest gains, which in turn will eventually yield a new PB. Of that I have no doubt.

     The next decision of a ski school is invariably, which one? I cannot speak for all schools as I have only visited a few, but choose wisely. Not just for the instruction, instructors, climate and location, but how long will you be there? Will you have family with you that aren’t interested in skiing? Or are you going alone or with fellow ski buds?

     It can be extremely boring at a ski school. Most sessions are 2-3 sets over the course of a day and to sit around all day for this can make it a long day for all. The instructor has many people he’s working with; so this is not your usual day at the dock with your buddies.  Also, if you’re going for a week, can you really ski that many days in a row? Most of us cannot, so choose an area with some other interest. It will make the visit much more enjoyable, whether it’s just you, or the whole family.

     Last but not least is finding the right instructor.
A good instructor can be found at most ski schools, a great instructor is only discernable after the fact. Did they understand your style and what you’re trying to accomplish? Did you connect with how they explained things? Or did they try to make you ski their way and totally frustrate you?

     Knowing what you want out of the sessions before hand is imperative but you need to be realistic as well. A good instructor will help you but only if you have realistic expectations. You’re not there to try and impress them with your skiing, you’re really there to humble yourself before them and ask for real help. That’s something a lot of skiers have trouble with.

     Word of mouth references mean a lot in finding a good school, find people that visited a particular school, but in doing so you really need to know that person and how they ski and absorb learning new techniques.  Web forums are a good place to start but again, unless you know the skier that visited, his experience and expectations may be totally different from your own.

     Do I think ski schools are worth the time and money? Yes, I have absolutely no doubt that it is worth it.  For one it renews my ambition to improve my skiing, not just my score.  Skiing is something that no one really masters; even the pro’s use coaches.  And with some good instructions we can all get better.  If you can’t make it to a ski school many instructors and pros travel around giving clinics, so getting some type of instruction is available to most skiers. Check with your local pro shop, they usually have a listing of clinics coming to your area.

     No matter where you go or what you choose, it can be a worthwhile experience that I would highly recommend. You’ll not only ski better but you’ll also meet new people with a similar passion for our sport which can be a lot of fun.

Gordon Slingerland

Gordon is a regular contributor and can be found carving buoys in his spare time.

Post your comments on the discussion board.

If you would like to contribute something to On The Platform Click Here Contribute and include your subject of interest.

BACK

		Contact@Aquaskier.com
Terms of Use		Advertise on Aquaskier		Privacy Policy