J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Jan I Stenmark

Hi woodworm,

The conditions in Niederau today are nearly perfect (sunny, clear, cold and with enough snow to keep the pistes in great shape) although what they will be like by the 26th is probably only known to “Mr Admin” and his nearly constant streams of regularly updated information )

Joking aside the weather forecasts from this site are usually accurate for the next 24 hrs but looking further ahead things change and sometimes substantially.

If you would like a more detailed update, PM me closer to your departure date and I will let you know how it looks here on the ground.

Jan

Pavel,

Having made your selection here are some important issues to ensure long lasting enjoyment:

1. After a full service allow to lie horizontal until cooled down. This avoids nasty drips
2. When carrying home at the end of the day keep the tips pointing down otherwise they can flail about and catch someone in the eye.
3. Remain alert during usage for erratic / unusual manoeuvres as pre-release can be unsightly and spoil the moment.
4. Never just throw then down in the snow and stamp on them. Lay them down gently and then enter only after checking your boots for snow. This helps avoid the issues of point 3.

Hope this helps with your continued enjoyment.

Jan

I would suggest that unless you wish to turn up, pay and get going with your Private lessons immediately you will do fine booking on arrival. The office is very helpful and at that time of the season you should have no problems at all.

Jan

Hi Hirsty,

First I’ve heard of it (but that doesn’t mean anything!).

Thinking (briefly) about it I guess that changing pole length would only be applicable in response to a change in some other aspect of skiing: technique, environment, typical type of ski location etc.

So say you had changed your style to a much lower stance or you suddenly decided to ski on wildly steeper slopes you may want to consider how long your poles should be and not necessarily shorter …

Another possibility is that someone somewhere thinks that by suggesting shorter poles an improvement in technique will result. In my observation poles are by far and away the piece of equipment most likely to be used incorrectly (or not at all!) so perhaps just getting people to hold and use them properly would be a result.

Of course there is a third possibility and that is that a manufacture has miscalculated on a production run and now has hundreds of short poles. Step forward Mr Marketing Man – “This year short poles are an essential on the slopes!” :shock:

I’d stick with what works and wait till someone comes up with a sensible reason to change. Then review )

Jan

Hi Lurcher, (174?)

Ok the easy bit first:
• A one hour private lesson is €40 (each additional person is €15).
• A 4 Hr private lesson (known here as private tuition) is €175 (each additional person €40)
• Compare this with 6 full days of group instruction @ €138 and you will see that you pay for the attention!

I won’t mention which ski school that’s with because the “Blues” won’t be happy )

And now the harder part: Here’s a thought, if you have 1-2-1 instruction there’s no place to hide. You are on stage continually (and if you’re not you should be asking why!) So are you comfortable with this? In a class you get to blend into the background now and again and if you don’t “get it” you get some time to practice without the relentless glare of the spotlight on you 100% of the time.

Ultimately you will choose what suits your learning style best.

As for pictures (thanks for that Mr Admin!) I will have to think about how this can be achieved.

Anyway enjoy your time in Niederau and let us know what worked best for you when you get back!

Happy choosing,

Jan

Ok, I admit it, I just don’t understand but I’m very willing to learn.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who can help me understand if there is a technical advantage to skiing with one’s feet jammed together.

Day after day I see people skiing in this way and I have to confess that it upsets me … To my mind they think they are doing so well and appear to be “posing” which set me to thinking – “Am I missing something here?”

So is there more to this “style” than just old habits refusing to go away? or is there actually some technical benefit to this style of skiing.

I should say that I have tried to ski like this and found it to be both hard work and inherently unstable, I certainly reverted to my normal style as soon as the going got steeper or icier.

For reference I am talking about skiing in perfect conditions on piste. I accept that for mogul skiing a closer foot stance is required but this is not what I’m thinking of.

Any help will me much appreciated.

Jan

Dave Mac wrote:

It seems to me that most skiers reach a level, after about 4/6 years, and stay there ~ because they stop trying to learn/understand.

hehehe, guess what Dave, I have a private lesson booked for tomorrow at 10am 8)

I kinda yearn for the days when everything seemed to be in front of me and new techniques were apparently being invented by the minute.

I think I ski well and after 30+ years I would hope I had learned a thing or two but it occurred to me the other day that I am just repeating what I do and I no longer have that little imp sitting on my shoulder saying “Think about your hands” or “… and now pressure the edge” or “come on keep your weight forward!”

So I checked in with Sepp (at Wildschönau’s Number 1 Ski School!) and hopefully tomorrow I will once again have a target, a goal to aim for and something to stimulate my eternal quest for perfection.

Tomorrow, I will let you know how many pages of error I have to correct :shock:

Jan

Q. How many ski instructors does it take to change a light bulb?

A. 2, one to change the bulb and one to say "Nice turn, nice turn!"