On 5th of February, our Outdoor Education class set off for a week of mountain ski practice around the town of Ejve, bunking at TrollActiv. From TrollActiv, we spent each day progressively skiing around the local area, then progressing up into the mountain, extending our skills day by day.
We were led by our Teacher Len and the owner/manager of Troll Activ, Tim. The main role of our leaders this week was to facilitate our learning of basic ski skills and to teach us different techniques to improve our overall skiing ability. All of the skis, boots and poles were supplied from the Uni and avalanche receptors were borrowed from Tim. All students were using mountain skis, a type of ski used for traveling longer distances in mountainous, un tracked terrain.
Itinerary of the week included:
Monday: Firstly we were split into two groups, one group was instructed by Len and the other by Tim. Monday’s session involved learning basic skills learn on flat land around Troll Activ. The evening followed with a lecture on waxing ski’s and what conditions require different wax’s This lecture was Delivered by Tim.
Tuesday: This was our first day that we travelled up the mountain to the cross country ski area of Horness. Firstly we practised our gliding skills on the piste track then we played around on the flat tracks around the main buildings before venturing down some smaller hills on a guided tour by Len. The evening lecture was about first aid kits and what we need to be carrying in them. It also touched on some basic first aid to resolve some common issues in the mountains. This lecture was delivered by Len.
Wednesday: This session was held back up at Horness where we did a small tour practicing some navigation skills. We also spent some time at the end playing on a steep hill practicing our balancing skills. The evenings lecture was on day packs, different types and sizes as well as the contents. This lecture was delivered by Thomas.
Thursday: We set off up the mountain to Horness and went for a full day you to a large sphere satellite on top of a large hill. This hill definitely tested everyone’s uphill and downhill skills. We then made our way back to the buss via a low gradient bumpy track which was probably the most exhilarating part of the week. After our day tour, we drove further back down the mountain to a small slope where we practised telemark turns and other more advanced downhill ski techniques. Instead of a lecture we had a games night. This was another highlight of the trip, a great way to spend the last night which had positive effects on group bonding.
Friday: With the time restraints of only a half day, we went back to Horness but instead of skiing we practised building different types of emergency shelters and then we practiced how to search for people in an avalanche with and without avalanche receptors. We finished off the afternoon with a speed clean up and pack up at Troll Activ and headed for home.
Day Each day started at around 9am, finishing around 5pm with a lecture following a short break which allowed us students to warm up and dry off. Each night, the leaders would decide a clear and precise time and location of where we had to meet the next day and what we were going to need in our back packs. This allowed us to be prepared well before and plan ahead, giving us the opportunity to organise ourselves under a clear time frame. I liked the way our leaders set this out to eliminate any confusion in the mornings. I will remember to use this in the future when leading groups.
On the Monday and for most of the Tuesday our teacher Len was acting as more of an instructor to teach us the very basic skills. He would instruct us verbally on how to complete the task, then allow us to try it and provide the group with feedback. I think this more autocratic teaching style is necessary during the very early learning stages of a skill or activity as a lot of input and feedback is required from the instructor for the beginner to experience some success. We began on a flat area and Len set basic activities which focused on basic manoeuvrability and balance which then progressed into some games and some small downhill challenges on some minor slopes surrounding the buildings at Troll Activ. During the afternoon on the Monday Len was less autocratic and allowed us to have a play on some slightly larger hills ( around 2m) with increased gradient, allowing us to practice what we had recently learnt and to provide ourselves with internal feedback on our performance.
The Tuesday begun in a similar way to our Monday session, with basic more learning of basic skills but after lunch Len became more of a leader and led us on a small tour around the area, again allowing us to practice the recently learnt skills. Except for this time we travelled by bus to the top of the mountain to an area called Horness This area has over 200km of prepared ski tracks with the perfected groomed flat area close to the buildings where we were able to further practice our lunging and iron out the kinks in our gliding techniques. I believe this progression was appropriate and ensured that we were all improving and a fast rate.
For the rest of the week we spent our time progressively travelling further into the mountains with more time to make our own decisions and play with less input from Len (although he was still observing and provided feedback when needed). This involved travelling off piste through some more mountainous terrain with longer gradient periods. It also added the some obstacles such as trees, rocks and gutters. Eventually a day trip with navigation was added to challenge us a little more but our group rose to the challenge.
Throughout the week there were clear examples of free play and organized play. Usually Len would introduce and demonstrate an activity, then instruct us to try it in a chosen area under his supervision. Once we had a few successful attempts, he would then often tell us to spread out and try the skill in a new area or new terrain, depending on our confidence.
This progressive learning allowed us to learn the motor skill from its bare minimum, before building up until we became more competent. This directly correlates to the three separate stages of acquiring a new skill. These three stages include the cognitive stage, associative stage and autonomous stage. The cognitive stage can be represented by Len demonstrating and the class copying his movements as there are often more errors during this stage. After we build some ability, we are then less supervised but still receive feedback through organised play. This can be represented as the associative stage. Finally, when we ski away fom Len and practice the skill in our own space, we are relying more so on our internal feedback and we adjust ourselves to correct what doesn’t feel right compared to what does. This stage is represented by the autonomous stage of learning (Pdhpe, 2016).
Although I do not have much to compare this ski course with at home as I have only participated in one before, there was definitely some differences that I noticed with the way the course ran and the way it was taught compared to the teaching of other Outdoor Activities at my home university.
In high school I signed up for a 3 day cross county (mountain) ski trip where we travelled for 3 days across the Bogong High Lands. As this course was short, we were not taught proper manoeuvring techniques or even how to get back up properly after falling over with our heavy packs on. Therefore I feel as if we did not do much more than walk with our skis on the main tracks. The skills we have learnt over the past week have definitely provided me with much more confidence and I feel like I can comfortably travel off track in the mountainous terrain without too much difficulty. I wish I had this same kind of preparation before my previous ski trip. This training week has definitely provided us with the basic skills to get the most out of our upcoming ski touring trips.
Another difference I noticed is how much more self-reliant we need to be on this course compared to our courses at home. At home I feel like we are ‘spoon fed’ a lot more and everything is organised/prepared for us and we just need to turn up. I also noticed this with the teaching style (as previously mentioned). At home, if someone is struggling the teaching staff will do everything they can to support the student to experience some success but on this trip when some people were struggling, Len would allow them some time to figure it out and learn for themselves rather than jumping in and helping them straight away. I really appreciate this style of teaching as it builds resilience and teaches other valuable life skills regarding self-learning. It also exposed the people who lacked resilience and gave them something to work on. I will remember to find this balance when I am teaching in the future.
References:
Pdhpe (2016). Stages of skill acquisition. [online] HSC PDHPE. Available at: https://www.pdhpe.net/factors-affecting-performance/how-does-the-acquisition-of-skill-affect-performance/stages-of-skill-acquisition/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].