Whistler-Lake Louise 8,
Nov. 29, 2023,
Hi Everyone,
Today was an epic day as well as my 5th day in a row of skiing. I had a great dinner at the Youth Hostel in Lake Louise. Although I was certainly the oldest diner, there were several other patrons in my age group. I was able to read an account of Nat’s grandfather who was in the merchant marine in WW2 and managed to survive a torpedo attack on his ship by a German u-boat. If you have been following my blog, you will recall that I was able to visit a u-boat in Wilmhelmshaven last summer.
The day began with chilly weather and blue skies but warmed up gradually as the day progressed. This was my first day of the Level 3 Camp and I joined a group of 2 other pupils accompanied by 2 level 4 instructors, Fred from Bromont and Lee from Whistler. With a ratio of 2 instructors for 3 pupils, it is hard to imagine a better private lesson.
Both Fred and Lee maintained a friendly atmosphere where ‘fun’ was equally important to ‘technique’. When Fred asked the question “what do you like about skiing”, the answers he received were about the freedom of gliding on the snow, the enjoyment of the sport and the ambiance of skiing out in the open with friends. He remarked that no one ever mentioned ‘the separation of lower and upper body to improve technique and style’. Students will keep coming back to the sport because they are having fun. By the end of the morning, although we were strangers at the beginning, we all felt that we were a team learning new skills while at the same time enjoying ourselves.
My take away learnings concerning technique were to keep the arms outstretched and wide apart from the body, to avoid up and down movement when doing turns, to plant the pole in the middle of the initiation of the turn and to shift the weight gradually from the outside ski to the inside ski to complete a gracious and efficient turn. Movies were taken to emphasize the points with positive criticism.
Thank you Fred and Lee and nice meeting you with you David and Christie.
Love,
Brian
gobriantravel 