Tips for taking private ski lesson?

[martyg]

Totally agree. Don't "kick off the season" with a private. Give it several days until you remember how to do it (whatever "it" was) and then take a lesson.

I also think a group lesson or two before you take a private makes sense. Private lessons are pricey, and should be saved for when you need a keen eye to identify your faults. Right now I could probably do that and I'm not an instructor AT ALL.

Don't agree with that. My first day of the season was always in a clinic with D-Team members and USST coaches, past and present. My regular private clients book me on their first day. It is best to start rewiring inefficient movement patterns on day one, rather than building more mylan sheath and further ingraining inefficient movement patterns. Waiting does nothing to move your skill set forward.

Early season you can probably go out on a weekday, sign up for a group lesson, and you will likely be the only one in it. Ski area's top trainers are with new staff for several weeks of on-boarding, so you will likely get a seasoned instructor. My preferred jam is to have three guests, of similar ability in a lesson. I find that they can feed off of each other, and learning is accelerated. Once you have some mastery of the three (or five - depending on which model you follow) fundamentals, it is time for a private. Then it is a bit more coaching / less instruction.

If you are Stevens, look up Anne Healzer. She has her fellowship in PT and is a PSIA L3. Very few instructors know body mechanics like she does.

Get on it now. Hit me up if you come to SW CO.

 

[Sibhusky]

Don't agree with that. My first day of the season was always in a clinic with D-Team members and USST coaches,

These are beginner skiers. You are not. You have years of muscle memory. They do not.

 

[martyg]

These are beginner skiers. You are not. You have years of muscle memory. They do not.

Nope. You gain nothing by building more mylan sheath to support inefficient movement patterns. As I said, my return private guests, many who are medical professionals and one pro athlete, book me for their first day back. It doesn't matter what levekl you are at, the physiological mechanism is the same.

"Muscle memory" doesn't exist. It is about neurological pathways. Research the work of Dr. Anders Ericsson to learn more.

 

[Henry]

Some skiers can self-coach pretty well, especially if they have someone take a video of their skiing. They know the drills they need to wake up those neural pathways, and they know when they're doing them right or doing them wrong. Otherwise I totally agree with Marty. Get going the right way. Tell your instructor what you want to work on and what you want their critique on. Lead your instructor. You show your evidence, and they're the judge. Marty wrote, "Once you have some mastery of the three (or five - depending on which model you follow) fundamentals." Important. Instruction or coaching in the three, four, or five movements that are most important for you makes a great lesson. Too many topics covered means that nothing is covered well. It may take many repetitions to awaken those neural pathways. It can't be rushed.

Muscle memory is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition, which has been used synominously with motor learning. When a movement is repeated over time, the brain creates a long-term muscle memory for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed with little to no conscious effort. Wikipedia (And those neural connection in the brain, not in the muscles, takes repetition to be formed. That's "learning." It can take several hundred repetitions to learn a new movement and several thousand repetitions to replace a movement. Old habits are indeed hard to break.)

 

[HardDaysNight]

It’s myelin. Mylan was a generic pharmaceutical company. Muscle memory is a common shorthand for the motor engrams that underlie learned movement patterns. No one thinks that muscles themselves form memories.

 

[HDSkiing]

@Jittery3 sounds like you already booked this lesson from your post (and maybe already had it?).

Anyway it seems like you were looking for tips about the lesson itself. I’ll give you my 2 cents from 50 plus seasons of skiing and coaching.

I think it’s great to take a lesson first day out, especially as this is only your 2nd season. It’s likely that some skills have perished, so maybe approach it as remedial training, and don’t pressure yourself with moving to more challenging terrain as the lesson goal, that will all come in it’s own time, and in fact one of the limitations on skill development is moving too quickly to more challenging terrain.

The second point I would make is your level of ski and overall fitness. Advancing skiers often find this a limiting factor in reaching that next level as Strength, Flexibility & Cardio become an increasing factor in upper level skiing, especially as we age. This is something many simply don’t want to hear but remains an absolute truth, trying to ski yourself into shape is a fools errand and injury is more likely.

Skiing is counterintuitive in the way humans move on a daily basis, and as such your brain and muscles have to fire in an unfamiliar way. Skiing as an athletic endeavor is an eccentric muscle activity, doing dry land exercises to train for this type of strength pays dividends, your body is simply better prepared and you will last longer and perform better both during the lesson and in practice afterwards.

So in a nutshell, use those first lessons as a review without worrying about the color of the trail, and being ski fit will maximize your advancement.

Good luck, and have a great season!

 

[mister moose]

Leaving aside if you should take a private lesson, or when you should take a private lesson, or other alternatives to a private lesson, and answering the question asked....

We decided to kick off our 2nd season with a private lesson to help us better progress into Blues.

I came across the section and thought I could ask any tips or suggestions for taking that lesson.

So here's a few.

Be focused. Think about what you want to address. Something from previous classes you didn't understand, didn't master? Something you feel unsure about, some time in your skiing you feel it just isn't working?

Be on time. For that matter, be early. Clock is ticking.

Be well rested, and warmed up.

Be open to new ideas, be willing to try new things.

Ask lots of questions.

Right after the lesson, write down drills, feedback, pointers during the lesson. You'll forget half in the next few days if you don't.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Leaving aside if you should take a private lesson, or when you should take a private lesson, or other alternatives to a private lesson, and answering the question asked....


So here's a few.

Be focused. Think about what you want to address. Something from previous classes you didn't understand, didn't master? Something you feel unsure about, some time in your skiing you feel it just isn't working?

Be on time. For that matter, be early. Clock is ticking.

Be well rested, and warmed up.

Be open to new ideas, be willing to try new things.

Ask lots of questions.

Right after the lesson, write down drills, feedback, pointers during the lesson. You'll forget half in the next few days if you don't.

Good list. I'll add to it.

After the lesson, after you write down what you did and what it was supposed to accomplish, repeat each of the activities the instructor did with you. If you are taking this lesson with your partner, do this together so the two of you can discuss with each other what you can't remember. After going through those activities, add notes to your earlier list. Write down what you can't remember, what is confusing, and note which new things you are successful at and what you are not so successful with.

Then all through your season, return to your list with its notes and go through the activities again and again. They do you no good if you don't work deliberatively with them. Your goal is to do those activities with more and more precision, and to figure out how you can transfer the movement patterns used in the activities to your personal skiing. Note with pride your successes, especially those when you apply those activities to your skiing and discover your personal skiing is now better.

But also keep writing down what you'd like clarified by the instructor if you take another private. Then consider taking another private before the season is done; you can take this private with the same guy if you like in order to get those clarifications. Take the list with you.

 

[charlier]

After a month of teaching avi classes and guiding, I will take a group skills clinic at Red Mountain with Mark Impey, Canadian Ski quest. Mark is a CSIA level 4 instructor and trainer. The best part, I get to ski from my condo and meet the group at the Red lift.

 

[David Chaus]

Let's keep in mind the OP's location and experience level. Location is Stevens Pass, which has a small beginner area, the Daisy chair, and to progress from there to intermediate runs, a lot of the intermediate terrain gets busy with skiers and is cut up into non-groomer surfaces pretty quickly. Some of the runs get steeper in sections, so it's just as important to have an instructor who can suss out what terrain is appropriate for the individual or group at that moment with current conditions, as it is to help coach the skill development part. So what I'm saying is local knowledge is helpful and there are many decent instructors in the area.

@markojp knows the terrain and many of the people at Stevens, most of the other people posting here do not. I'd second his suggestions.

Once you've gotten a good experience at Stevens, consider taking a longer drive to Mission Ridge where @markojp works. It's a fun area with long intermediate groomers with a nicer quality of snow and better grooming than Stevens. Also much less crowded.

But I digress... privates are excellent, as are clinics. I think it's less important to maximize the learning with any one lesson, that it is to be inspired to keep at it.

 

[beginnerskier96]

This is my own story plus useful advice. I could not initially afford the price of lessons so I had my ski lessons instead on a bunny slope. I stayed there alone at the top of the slope with a well meaning friend who guided me. If you can afford to do so, feel free to happily take some proper lessons in order to boost your own skiing skills and knowledge of skiing. Seriously. It will help.
We did the basics quickly, what to do in a avalanche, safety, ski lifts and so on. Then we visited the hire shop to try out skis and purchase a suitable pair. I made brief summary notes which I still have. We then did some helpful activities to get me used to the industry and to the world of skiing.
This was a while ago now however and I need a refresher. Talk to the friendly ski instructors there anyway. They may kindly offer to reduce the overall price of the ski lessons. It is worth a shot. Good luck. See what they say. I still wish I had insisted on formal ski lessons five or six years later. Take my advice.
But I did not like to force the issue. Do your own resort research properly. Look at details on their website as well. Snap some colourful photos and look at contact details. Use TripAdvisor to learn a bit more. Read far beyond the lines. Pay very close and careful attention to the types of feedback. This includes the number of reviews that are left on such sites by former visitors. Trust your gut feeling.

 

[markojp]

If you are Stevens, look up Anne Healzer. She has her fellowship in PT and is a PSIA L3. Very few instructors know body mechanics like she does.

I was wondering where she was. We did our L3 ski together.

 

[Chris V.]

Don't agree with that. My first day of the season was always in a clinic with D-Team members and USST coaches, past and present. My regular private clients book me on their first day. It is best to start rewiring inefficient movement patterns on day one, rather than building more mylan sheath and further ingraining inefficient movement patterns. Waiting does nothing to move your skill set forward.

Hmmmm. IMHO it doesn't matter if you're a novice, or a high level advanced skier. After seven months off snow, there will have been backsliding. You need to reestablish the quality and intensity of the movements. Lazy skiing and lazy habits will result in mediocrity. You'll be well served spending a bit part of your ski day on drills and on skiing with a strong focus on a particular fundamental movement, which of course you can change up through the day. Some skiers know what they need to do, and can productively practice on their own from day one. Others will need professional instruction...or motivation. If as a student you're dedicated to getting better, you want an instructor who's going to be hard on you, who's going to make you work, and not spend much of the day on what the average person would consider to be fun. The fun will come when your skiing improves.

 

[fatbob]

Hmmmm. IMHO it doesn't matter if you're a novice, or a high level advanced skier. After seven months off snow, there will have been backsliding. You need to reestablish the quality and intensity of the movements. Lazy skiing and lazy habits will result in mediocrity. You'll be well served spending a bit part of your ski day on drills and on skiing with a strong focus on a particular fundamental movement, which of course you can change up through the day. Some skiers know what they need to do, and can productively practice on their own from day one. Others will need professional instruction...or motivation. If as a student you're dedicated to getting better, you want an instructor who's going to be hard on you, who's going to make you work, and not spend much of the day on what the average person would consider to be fun. The fun will come when your skiing improves.

Can't really argue with that. My personal experience is that ski fitness and "feel" is somewhat lacking on those first couple of days ( which is why starting the season on a powder day is a double edged sword). I wouldn't want to be paying someone on the clock while I'm working my way up to ok plus continually backchatting the pro saying " I already know what I should be doing but I'm just trying to get it to work" isn't fruitful for either party.

 

[Sibhusky]

Yeah, my 51st season is about to start and i just want to get the first day out of the way. I'm actually close to panic before turn number one and do that on a bunny slope. Until I'm turning smoothly and unconsciously anyone discussing my skiing is liable to get a pole in the eye. I have zero bandwidth for "pointers". Paying absolutely exorbitant rates for a private is a joke, even if I was some surgeon and could "afford" it. You don't learn in panic mode. I take two to six runs and go home. Just please get day one out of the way.

 

[markojp]

I learn something new every season, and my thoughts are changed mid course. Having just finished the first weekend of returning staff training, I think it was a large net positive to take people out their first day on snow. It was great not to have to undo habits and start fresh. For the OP, with the right coach, and if it's in budget, why not a private?

 

[Gina D]

I'm with @Sibhusky my first hour or two there's no way I'd want someone watching and evaluating my skiing, and trying to make it better. I do quite well at that myself thank you. Once I'm back to myself I'd love some help.

 

[SkiMore]

If you are Stevens, look up Anne Healzer. She has her fellowship in PT and is a PSIA L3. Very few instructors know body mechanics like she does.

I was wondering where she was. We did our L3 ski together.

I've been working with Anne this fall to get some more dorsiflexion on my left foot (fractured ankle as a teenager). She's the first person to confirm what I have felt which she described as "locked up". She knows my ski goals and it has been a pleasure working with her.

 

[Disinterested]

There are no absolute guarantees, but, when it comes to the private lesson experience:

i) ask for a fully certified instructor
ii) be very clear about what your expectations are for the pro and the lesson when you make the booking so their notes give the person assigning the lessons the best chance to give it to someone who fits with you
iii) reiterate that information when you meet your instructor
iv) when you find one you like, get their information and book them again next time.

 

[Jittery3]

Hello all, thank you for all the feedback and tips. To follow up here (sorry I should get on here more than I do lol) we pushed out our lesson and it is currently a week from today. I tried calling up to Stevens just now to inquire about some of the names dropped above (Which looked to be Mike Douglas or Anna Heazler) for next week but they were closed. I will give it a try in the morning.

Any chance of a seasonal clinic? I've gotten a lot out of doing the women's clinic at my local hill. As long as you have a good fit with the instructor, working with the same person can be a big plus. And price wise it is usually a bargain.

I do want to check into a multi-week lesson/clinic next year. We hope to be moving closer to one of the local mountains this summer so that will also help with that.