Last week our class went for the basic skiing course to the youth hostel “Troll Active” in Evje. During the day we had skiing lessons in two separated groups and in the evening we gathered in the main building for lectures about winter packing, mountain safety and injuries or dangers during the winter time.
On the top
1. Day
We started the class by standing on our skis and doing some exercise to get a better feeling for the gear. We had to jump, turn, do side steps without moving forward. This helps beginners to get used to the equipment and get started with the right positions. Once we were warmed up we started to ski on a flat square. In the beginning our instructor didn’t tell us how to do that hence we had to try our own technique. After he explained the right way to ski we did some competitive games and started to ski down some flat hills. The complexity factor increased again when our instructor went on a small tour with us. We repeated the techniques he had taught us und steeper and erratic ground. As we were a heterogeneous group we were allowed to chose our own path.
This day I did not learn much because I have done cross-country ski before. Nevertheless it was fun to play around in the powder.
2. Day
Practicing
Our instructors decided to keep on teaching in heterogeneous groups however we were divided into new groups. Considering that our class was still in the forming state of a group’s development, it was important to form new groups everyday so that everyone got in contact with each other. The aim of the day was to improve the skiing technique and ad some more detailed skills. We started on the ski track which went slightly. The exercises were: Skating, diagonal strite, double pole, parallel turns, telemark turns and turns on one leg, jumping etc. The variations with only one leg or jumping led us to get a better feeling for the skis and movements so that it was easier to learn turns afterwards.
In the end of the day we went for a small tour around the area. This tour was longer and more difficult than the one on the day before. We all enjoyed playing around, the snow and weather conditions were more than perfect! My learning outcome was a better insight in the telemark technique which I have never practiced before.
3. Day
The third day was more about orienteering in the winter and leading groups on a day trip. The two groups went on two different ways to the same meeting point which was a mountain top. On our way there we had to take over the leadership once in a while and chose the right path to this mountain by compass and map. It was really hard to lead a group which already had an instructor who didn’t really stop leading even if someone else was supposed to try it. Even though I did not really lead the group it was a good exercise for orienteering. The surrounding and features look different buried in snow. Once we reached the foot of the mountain we were allowed to chose our own pace. I was a bit too fast though because I wanted to be up there and have a break. In retrospect it would have been smarter to choose a slower pace because I started sweating and got cold during the break.
Conifere Shelter
On our way back we looked for areas which were suitable for snow hole our emergency shelter building. A really easy and comfortable way is to build a shelter in the bottom of a conifer. You can put snow on the lowest branches and make a fire in the entrance. Somehow we lost track and ended up taking our skis of and on because some parts were to steep for us to ski. It was a tiring march back to the street especially for the beginners that fell a lot. However this experience was helpful because it made us realized how important it is to stay on the right track. In the end the bus picked us up after we came out somewhere along the road.
In the evening a classmate and me gave a lecture about winter packing. Most interesting about it was the group’s behavior. Most of the people listened interested in the new topic however some people started asking questions. If I review this lecture in discussions with my friends we always get to the point were we criticize the way these questions were asked. Back then the questions did not show the interest of learning new things but were supposed to show us two presenting how much more the askers knew about the topic. This is were the group’s reaction got interesting because people started to get annoyed by the askers and told them to start asking questions in a different way and not in a way to teach everyone better. The askers were communicating indirectly and people didn’t like that. To sum it up I would say that this was the begging of our classes storming.
4. Day
my "happy ski" face
This day we started walking uphill for approximately half an hour. On a higher level we split up into groups and started our way to the mountain top were we all wanted to meet again. I really enjoyed this tour without exercises or to long explanations if skiing techniques that I already knew. It was just skiing through powder and sunshine.
In the whole group we skied downhill an old alpine slope. Everyone chose his own path so that the beginners went slowly and in zigzag but the advanced learners tried telemark or parallel turns. It was amazing to play around there. After some point the path stopped so we had to follow one of the instructors over frozen rivers and in between trees. On this day I started to really work on my downhill techniques because for the first time you really needed it to get down to the valley.
5. Day
Finally we split up into homogeneous groups which was helpful for all of us. The people who wanted to improve their technique stayed on the slope and did some training. The advanced skiers went on a tour to a mountain top. This tour was my favorite one of the week. It was again all about moving forward and not about repeating techniques in sport scientifically designed exercises. The sun was warm and we skied in t-shirts. After a short break on the mountain top we started to go downhill. Somehow I started to think about my damaged ankle and got afraid to twist it again. This is when my head turned on and my body stopped. On the way back I fell countless times and got more and more annoyed. Tim told me its not about me skiing technique it is all in my head which is stopping me. He was so right!
All in all I learned a lot about skiing techniques, group dynamics, leadership, winter orienteering and also something new about myself.