FREERIDE, WHAT EVERY SKIER DREAMS ABOUT

Andrew Pesheck

Simon Tasch

publisher landie.pl

COPYRIGHT

© Copyright by landie.pl Ltd, 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, without the written permission of the publisher.

All forms of exercise may pose some risks, and before beginning any exercise or training programme, consult your physician.

Editor and photographer: Andrew Pesheck

Professional’s insights: Simon Tasch

ISBN: 978-83-63017-18-7

Layout: Publisher landie.pl

Special thanks to ESF CHAMONIX

(Ecole du Ski Français) the largest ski school in France,

www.esfchamonix.com

to its boss - Martine Chevalier

and to Denis Paul Leroy (the wonderful alpine guide, ski instructor and privately, a rock singer and novel writer)

for exploring with us the amazing region of Chamonix.

(the mountain guides from Chamonix stick to the custom of skiing in the cap on their heads, we strongly recommend the use of helmets)

we thank the Faction company from Verbier for providing us with their skis for the photo sessions

www.factionskis.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Copyright

About the authors:

1. Freeride easy or for experts only?

2. Avalanche danger

2.1. How to reduce the risk of causing an avalanche and being buried in one

2.2. How to react when being swept away by an avalanche and how to save those already buried

3. Off – piste technique

3.1. New approach to the balance and the weight distribution

3.2. The speed is our friend

3.3. Calm, patience and long movements

4. Key elements of the technique

4.1. „Skis’ platform”

4.2. Silhouette

4.3. Up and down motion

4.4. Poles and shoulders

4.5. Rhythm

4.6. Short vs. long – radius turn

5. Off – pist technique depending on terrain

5.1. Steeps

5.2. Trees

5.3. Couloirs

6. Exercises to prepare for soft rebounding and other techniques

6.1. Squat with jump on one leg

6.2. Moving a medical ball while standing on bosu

6.3. Bending on one leg with a medical ball

6.4. Jump from one bosu to another

6.5. Bouncing from the side of bosu

6.6. Change of legs by jumping while standing on Bosu

6.7. Jump from Bosu with the turn of 90 degrees

6.8. Change of legs by jumping with a 180 – degree rotation

6.9. Lifting the hips with one foot on a skateboard

6.10. Shifts to the front and to the back with one leg on a skateboard

6.11. Jumps to the side with the change of legs

6.12. Jumping on the high step

6.13. Jumping to the side up and down the high step

6.14. Jumping with one leg up and down the high step

6.15. “Obstacle course”

6.16. Jumping over “hurdles”

6.17. Low jumps up the stairs

6.18. Low jumps down the stairs

7. Tips

7.2. How to start your adventure with powder – “5 steps” for beginners

7.3. How to rise to a higher level – “5 steps” for intermediates

8. So let’s get started...

9. Bibliography:6.15. “Obstacle course”

6.16. Jumping over “hurdles”

6.17. Low jumps up the stairs

6.18. Low jumps down the stairs

7. Tips

7.2. How to start your adventure with powder – “5 steps” for beginners

7.3. How to rise to a higher level – “5 steps” for intermediates

8. So let’s get started...

9. Bibliography:

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

ANDREW PESHECK

EDITOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER

I have been skiing for more than 20 years, as long as I can remember really. I have always liked skiing on the edges - the appearance of carving skis is like the fulfilment of unarticulated dreams. Besides skiing I am very passionate about cars and motor racing; I participate as an amateur in many conferences and training sessions perfecting sports driving techniques.

more about me at my web site.

SIMON TASCH

PROFESSIONAL’S INSIGHTS

Mountain sports, mostly skiing, and for several years also cycling, these are my life’s passion. I have been dedicated to skiing since early childhood, for a number of years I was a member of the national alpine skiing team. For several years now, I have specialized in freeride, or extreme off-piste skiing.

1. FREERIDE EASY OR FOR EXPERTS ONLY?

While watching a skier floating softly in waist-deep powdery snow, whether live in the mountains or in a movie, each one of us thinks to himself - ‚I wish I could do that’. Yet, despite the growing number of off-piste skiers in recent years, compared to on-piste skiing, this skiing division remains exclusive to a small niche of expert skiers.

Certainly, a significant barrier lies in the restricted availability of suitable terrain and specialised equipment needed (wide skis and above all, avalanche safety gear, together with the competence to use it). However, we believe that it is mainly a psychological barrier, which gets in the way, or even makes it impossible for many on-piste skiers to go further or rather more bravely off the trail.

2. AVALANCHE DANGER

Skiing off piste involves the avalanche risk and this is a real danger. Dozens of people die in avalanches every year, and despite the development of avalanche prevention and warning systems as well as avalanche rescue techniques, those tragic statistics have not improved.

Avalanches are a natural event, a powerful force usually underestimated by amateurs. If you become aware of a few facts about avalanches, namely that:

• if, let us say, a 30 centimetre-thick layer of snow gathered from an area of 1000 square metres (it is only 100 metres by 10 metres) moves, in the form of an avalanche, into an area of 100 square metres, it will create a heap of compact snow approximately 3 metres deep and 400 kg/cubic metre dense,

• and on its way it moves at a speed of a few dozen up to over a hundred kilometres per hour.

perhaps it becomes clear how powerful a force you may face and that being swept away and buried by an avalanche may be and often is a very tragic experience.

It is estimated that about two thirds of such tragic incidents are caused by bravado and ignorance, that is the lack of basic knowledge on the avalanche danger, rules of conduct in an avalanche-sensitive area and how to react when an avalanche happens. For this reason we would like to start with some basic information on the avalanche danger.

2.2. HOW TO REACT WHEN BEING SWEPT AWAY BY AN AVALANCHE AND HOW TO SAVE THOSE ALREADY BURIED

The basic rule of off-piste skiing is to avoid situations related to increased avalanche danger and actions increasing the risk of provoking an avalanche. Even when following the best rules of conduct, you are still exposed to both, being swept away by an avalanche (this may even happen at the first avalanche danger level and in places tracked by many skiers and snowboarders) as well as facing the challenge of rescuing other people buried in an avalanche.

Let us start with what to do when you are swept away by an avalanche. The following points are „good advice” and may seem to be obvious; however, it is worth being aware of them as they may increase your chances of survival in the case of being buried in an avalanche. So, if you are buried in an avalanche:

1. you should try to disengage from your skis or snowboard (you usually have no more than 2-5 seconds to do „something”, then you are at the nature’s grace) and discard the ski-poles (it is best to ski with your ski-pole straps removed),

2. try to stay on the surface, and it is best to hold on to something, e.g. a tree you are passing by on your way (the higher part of an avalanche you end up in, the better),

3. cover your face with your forearms, e.g. by grabbing the opposite backpack strap over the shoulder and creating a kind of an air „bubble” in front of your face.

3. OFF – PISTE TECHNIQUE

If any, what is the difference between off-piste (powder skiing) and on-piste (skiing on hard-packed, groomed slopes) techniques?

It may be assumed, with a 100 % likelihood, that when starting your adventure with powder skiing, you already have some experience and have mastered some elements of on-piste skiing.

That is why it is important when starting to think about off-piste technique to answer the following questions:

• Is the off-piste technique any different from the on-piste one?

• If yes, how different is it?

The answers to these questions are: yes, it is different, and very different.

Being a good on-piste skier and moving from a hard-packed, well-groomed trail to fresh, soft powder for the first time you are hoping that you will cope somehow and that your well-mastered on-piste technique will prove useful off piste as well. However, the first experience of an off-piste escapade is usually bad, not to say fatal. Going off the trail into powder, you suddenly sink, lose your control over the skis, you are not able to turn and usually after a few metres of a paniced struggle, you end up face down in the snow. Another try and the same result. Even if you finally manage to go a few or even a dozen metres, your technique is far from anything close to elegant and the supportive backward inclination is going to cause a burning pain in your thigh muscles and kill all the joy of skiing very soon.

in powder appears ‚‚the third dimension“

3.1. NEW APPROACH TO THE BALANCE AND THE WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION

Changing the ground from a groomed trail to soft powder creates further complications for the off-piste skiing technique. Let us start with the on-piste technique again.

On piste:

• we mostly ski on the edges,

• the turning radius is mainly a result of the skis’ „waisting” (less significantly of their flexion),

• our centre of gravity, precisely a resultant of the gravitational force and the centrifugal force, lies more or less closer to an inside edge of the outside ski (so called „outside ski dominance”),

• and we move from one turn to another by switching the edges.

In the powder:

• we ski using the entire bottom face of the skis,

• the turning radius results from the skis’ flexion (less considerably from their „waisting”),

• a resultant of the gravitational force and the centrifugal force lies in the centre of both skis’ overall base surface,

• we move from one turn to another by switching the centre of gravity from one side of the skis to the other.

maintaining a perfect balance and a proactive, smooth shifting of the centre of gravity is one of the keys to success when skiing off-piste

3.3. CALM, PATIENCE AND LONG MOVEMENTS

In the powder everything is happening more slowly. It is a bit like a movie played in slow motion.

The instability of the ground you move on is the reason why there is no place for sudden movements. All the efforts to change the position of your body or the centre of gravity are at best ineffective and usually counter-effective or even dangerous.

An attempt to speed this process up and „rebound” straight from the powder (without the stage of snow compression under the skis) would be at best ineffective and such sharp movement types would tire you out very quickly. All the other movements, such as digging a pole into the snow to initiate another turn or shifting the centre of gravity from one ski side to another, are smooth, start earlier and last longer in contrast to corresponding elements of on-piste skiing.

Skiing in powder is a test for your patience. The prize is all the pleasure of soft, free and effortless floating in powder.

we start our motion from straightening the legs at the knees and hips, what causes initial penetration of skis into the snow, but also builds the platform of the compressed snow ...

... from which, in the final phase of the motion, we bounce, bend the knees and hips, pull the skis up and ...

... eventually we make our skis emerge on the snow surface and that enables us to move to the next turn

4.1. „SKIS’ PLATFORM”

In powder you are skiing on, the overall running surface of skis, not just their edges like in on-piste skiing (on an inside edge of the outside ski in extreme cases). In a soft, water-like environment such as powder, it is only the support of a wide ski surface and the speed that allows you to emerge to the surface and control the skis.

A certain difficulty to create such an effective surface might be caused by the fact that there are two skis. Old on-piste habits cause that you want to steer them independently, which results in different weighting of skis, shifting the weight from one ski to another or shifting the centre of gravity to ski tips or tails. All of these are dangerous habits you need to overcome and actively counteract them when off piste.

getting rid of the on-piste habits might be difficult... but it is necessary.

powder skiing is a bit like a water skiing, so we try to drive our skis like water skis, or in fact, like one water ski

While skiing in powder both skis must behave like one ski unit – a type of a platform – identically weighted on both sides and identically reacting to the skier’s movements.

Obviously, due to the conditions you ski in, the „platform” is highly unstable and keeping the balance is much more difficult than in on-piste skiing.

That is why all the balancing exercises, especially the exercises imitating an off-piste skier’s movements (e.g. jumping up and down on both feet) you do while preparing for the skiing season are more than welcome.

6. EXERCISES TO PREPARE FOR SOFT REBOUNDING AND OTHER TECHNIQUES

Exercises can be performed e.g. 3 sets of 10 reps in the series, although the number of series and repetitions appropriate for us depends on our level of fitness. In the exercises we care primarily for their proper execution, and only later „reps break records.”

Be careful when using any exercise gear as both stable and unstable ones (all kinds of discs, steps or hurdles) - increase the effectiveness of an exercise, but may increase the risk of injury.

6.2. MOVING A MEDICAL BALL WHILE STANDING ON BOSU

standing on Bosu, we move medical ball (or similar object) from one stool to another

6.4. JUMP FROM ONE BOSU TO ANOTHER

bouncing from both legs, we jump to the side from one Bosu to another

6.9. LIFTING THE HIPS WITH ONE FOOT ON A SKATEBOARD

we lie on our back, one leg bent at a 90-degree angle, and based on the skateboard, the other leg in the air, from this position the leg on a skateboard is being pushed forward while we keep the hips in the air; we finish the move by not straightening fully our leg, then we return to the starting position

7.2. HOW TO START YOUR ADVENTURE WITH POWDER – “5 STEPS” FOR BEGINNERS

1. Prepare physically for skiing in powder – start exercising 1-2 months before a trip, put emphasis on rebounding exercises (all kinds of jumps and bouncing off on both feet and with a soft landing).

2. Be mentally prepared for becoming a „greenhorn” again and that beginnings can be rough. In order to recover your „ego”, divide a week’s trip into 2-3 days of off-piste skiing learning and 3-4 days of on-piste recreation.

3. Change (borrow) from narrow, highly-waisted skis you certainly use for on-piste skiing into the wider and less-waisted ones (at least all mountain, but fat skis are best).

4. Find a part of a slope of medium and even inclination, located directly by the trail. It is best if it is untracked or tracked just a little bit by other skiers; however, you need to find a sensible compromise between safety and a „virgin-like” terrain (with a definite emphasis on safety).

8. SO LET’S GET STARTED...

You are on the spot already. You are standing at the top of the off-piste trail. It looks quite dangerous and completely different than you imagined sitting in your armchair and making your skiing plans for the winter.

But never mind. You are well prepared: strong legs - you have been jumping off on both feet ad nauseam. You are wearing proper fat skis. On your back you have got a backpack with avalanche gear that you already know how to use, because you have used it with your friends a few times during the drills (or better if you have completed an avalanche safety training). Your party have militant attitudes (but within reason), you have got a guide or an experienced leader. It is time to go!!!

There is going to be a lot of dangers for you to face (you know how to minimise them), but the biggest danger is...

... that once you are bitten by the off-piste skiing bug and you float a few soft turns in powder, it will be very difficult for you to return to on-piste skiing.

Table of Contents

Freeride, what every skier dreams about

Copyright

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About the authors:

1. Freeride easy or for experts only?

2. Avalanche danger

2.2. How to react when being swept away by an avalanche and how to save those already buried

3. Off – piste technique

3.1. New approach to the balance and the weight distribution

3.3. Calm, patience and long movements

4.1. „Skis’ platform”

6. Exercises to prepare for soft rebounding and other techniques

6.2. Moving a medical ball while standing on bosu

6.4. Jump from one bosu to another

6.9. Lifting the hips with one foot on a skateboard

7.2. How to start your adventure with powder – “5 steps” for beginners

8. So let’s get started...