Assignment 2

Evje Ski trip    5/2/18-9/2/18

During the week of the 5^th of February we started our ski basic course at Troll Aktiv. During this week most of our class would get their first experience on cross country ski’s. The main goal of this week was learning about ski technic, – equipment and overall experience in mountain terrain. All these themes are in preparation of our big mountain ski trip in April. Were our skills will be put to the test.

Area:

During our basic ski course we were located at troll aktiv in Evje. Troll active is an outdoors company which provides overall outdoor activities during the summers and ski courses during the winters. Next to these activities troll active offers cabins to rent for a longer stay. We made use of these cabins during our basic ski course.

During our 5 days of skiing in Evje we went to several locations in the area. The first day (day of arrival) we stayed near the troll active cabins. The other days we went out to Evje Hornnes. This location offered a lot of prepared tracks were we could practice technic. The area itself has a lot of height differences which makes it ideal for practicing mountain skiing. The area is easy to reach with a car and is quite close to the village.

The role of the (vei)leader:

The role of the (vei)leader is not just guiding a group to a certain location. Its about guiding a group process and teaching your group certain elements physically and mentally. Its making your participants aware of their own skills and abilities.

Len was during this trip my instructor. During all lessons we had a high movement rate, which means that he didn’t talk much but let’s us practice after a short explanation. These short explanations worked because he picked all the small parts of the techniques apart. So we focused on all different movements that were essential for different situations like: Downhill, uphill, straight forward, and ways of turning with ski’s. During the week he would add a new focus to different techniques. I noticed almost from the start that he didn’t tell everything immediately but he would add something at a different area and let us play around. The way he lets learn us was mostly semi-self experiencing.

Len gave always a picture of the movements. He would start with easy and he would later on even learn us to telemark turn. There was a logical order in his learning plan. We started with just standing in a circle and getting used to hour skis and ended practicing telemark turns.

Next to the practical lessons we got theoretical lessons in the evening. During these lessons we would debate different themes, like ski’s and wax, first aid, daypacks (what to bring). We would get the space of the teachers to share out own ways. This way of sharing our knowledge is what values during classes.

During the days The teachers would start in the morning with a warm-up focused on the ski movements and then start with easy skiing. We mostly head out off the slopes into the deep snow after the warm-up. There was a logical build up during the day. As the day progresses the drills were getting harder and more challenging. The good part about Len’s teaching was that het gave us the possibility to differentiate. He did this by letting us pick our own hills etc.

 

During all the practical drills len would stand on a position mostly down at the hill were he could see us coming towards him. This way he could give us feedback at our technique.

 

Concerning differentiation Len would let us play around. This way he would let us pick our own challenges. The area always offered something for everyone. The group activities were mostly skiing of the slopes and that was doable for everyone. Even then people could pick there own challenges.

 

The role of the students:

During the week we got a lot of opportunities to play around in the area with our (vei)leader near us to give us feedback. We also had moments were there was organized play. We did this mostly at spots were good hills were near. Then we focused on new techniques and repeating specific old techniques. When we did practiced in an organized form we mostly would play around after. The advantage of free play was the freedom to practice your own movement problems. We got the freedom to differentiate for ourselves.

Because of the freedom there was motivation to complete every task. Next to that we were able to challenge ourselves and others. This motivated me because most of us are competitive in a good way. Another reason for motivation is the ski trip in April were our skills will be put to the test we need to have our technique on point when we go out in the mountains.

The motor skills were mostly new for the group. Especially turning on steep hills was one of the harder techniques to practice. The other technique I struggled with was going downhill and bending my front knee. During the week I got more control in these techniques but I still have to repeat this on the student organized trips.

The learning outcomes of this week were for me: the turning techniques, using  different waxes and when and how to apply them, Downhill techniques, tele mark turning, what to bring for a day trip and how to build snow shelters in emergency situations.

 

Personal comments of the week, “evaluation”: pros and cons, compare to your home country.

Day 1:

During our first day we settled in to the cabins at Troll Activ. Troll active is an outdoor company that gives cross country courses during the winter and during the summer they have different activities like paddling, climbing etc. next to these several activities they rent cabins.

This day was my first experience on cross country skies. The first lesson we played around on the Troll Active terrain. We practiced turning in several ways. By lifting your toe or heel we learned to turn our skies. Next thing we did was relay races to practice the movement with the skies. After this part we went in to the woods to practice in slightly deeper snow and more small hills.

During the evening we got a lecture from Tim about skies and different kinds of wax to put on your skies. Each wax is designed for different temperature/weather conditions. For instance the bleu wax works best between -3 and -10 degrees. He also explain what to do when the wax didn’t grip. For example: extend your wax over the camber or add a different wax.

Day 2:

This day was our first day trip. We went to Hornnes, we practiced first on the prepared slopes, we focused on the technique of sliding forward. It was an extension of the lesson of the day before. We focused on looking forward, moving our arms and bending our knees when we were skiing. Afterwards we practiced some downhill on the prepared slopes. It was important to bend the knees and pretend we were holding a plate. We also went a little bit of the slopes and had a first proper experience with going a little bit down hill true the deep snow.

In the evening we would talk about first aid. This lecture was mainly about what to bring on your trip and how to assemble your personal aid kit. During this class we shared different ideas with each other about stuff that we would bring. This way we could compare our first aid kits with each other.

 

Day 3:

The third day we had our first proper day tour. We would ski at least 10 km. to hill top called Himmelsyna. The goal was to reach this mountain at lunch time. We took sadly to much time navigating so we had to change our plans. We had found a different hill were we could practice our down and uphill techniques. This day we mainly focused on turning up and downhill. We were allowed to play for ourselves a lot which worked really well for me. It was also nice to experience a first day of longer distance skiing. This way I noticed what my level of endurance was.

In the evening Thomas/Len talked about what he would bring on a daytrip. We were also asked to bring a special item we would bring in our daypack so we could maybe give each other tips. The main things Thomas/Len named were: Avalanche shovel, gps, compass, first aid, emergency bivy, extra warm jacket, hardhell layers, extra food, Woolen socks, fire starter kit, sunscreen, thermos bottle. These items gave me a guide line of what to bring in the future in my daypack.

 

 

Day 4:

During this day we went to a ski area were we could send a slightly higher and steeper mountain. It was could first experience to have a longer and steeper climb then the days before. Once we were up the mountain we took a short break and went down again. Also going downhill was a fun experience. It was quite hard to break on a small steep track. The rest of the trip we could go back on our own pace this was nice because we didn’t have to wait for others. Once we were back at the starting point we had a short lunchbreak. Then we went to a big  hill were we would practice breaking on a hill. The was were telemark turning and making steps uphill. Again we got plenty of time to get individual attention from Len and enough time to practice these new techniques.

In the evening we had a Caleigh. It was an evening were al the different country’s would organize a game or dance for the rest of the class. It was a fun and relaxing evening were we had another opportunity to get to know each other better.

Day 5:

This day we went back to the area were we went during the 3th day. This day was mainly about building different snow shelters and using the avalanche beepers. First we went near the start and Len showed us how to build a one man emergency shelter in a hill. The other way was digging our own grave. We would dig a trench in a flat area and use a roll mat as a roof. This was really fun to build it als showed how the layers of snow were build up. After we did this we went back to the start of the track. Here we had lunch and len explained everything about how to use the avalanche beepers. We would hide the beepers and our group mates would look for the other beepers. It was an nice experience to practice with this equipment. This was our last activity of the week. We went back to the cabins, took our stuff and went home again after an amazing week full of new experiences.