It takes awhile to learn how to ski. You finally have it when the skiing disappears. It’s the third phase in learning.
I’m thinking of tele skiing. And linked-turn skiing. But, really, it applies to all skiing.
First you learn the mechanics. Then you start connecting the dots. At each step the satisfaction increases. Then comes the third and biggest phase shift. This is the one with all the big payoff.
…It’s when you look down the hill and everything else follows.
The eyes lead. …Down the fall-line. You look where you want to go. The rhythm comes next, naturally, without thought. The skis and each component handles every feature that comes their way, doing the right thing automatically. Every part is your friend, after all. Looking down the hill guides you. Your core holds it all together. The pieces fall in place after that. All you notice is the satisfaction of skiing.
No more thinking about each move or about details. It’s travel down the slope. You’re just going down it in the way that works best. On the flats you kick’n’stride. On the way down you do turns with the same mindset. In both cases at this Third Level you’re not thinking about each move, you’re just going along, using what works and what feels best, adding niftier things in wherever they’re the funnest, without thinking.
Until you reach this Third Level, your eyes register conditions of the slope or trail as you go along. They notice obstacles. They see chunks of crud and individual moguls. They might even notice trees when you’re glade skiing, heaven forfend –a big problem. Then your brain considers each thing separately. It all might work fine but there’s time involved. You’re hoping each move works, instead of just doing them. It’s the learning or warm-up or getting acquainted or re-acquainted phase.
After the Third Level, you’re skiing.
I suppose it’s like being proficient in anything. The thing is that before you get there you can look good and have fun. Learning is a thrill. …But you’re not There yet.
I’m almost there. If I haven’t been skiing in awhile, it takes me a few outings to regain it. It also takes fitness — the core must be able to obey. It has to hold itself the way it needs to be. (Yet a further step up is when the core obeys even when exhausted. You have to be very careful here. This is going all in. It’s shifting to a Fourth Level — of skiing beyond what you’re ready for. Your body is failing but you can actually keep skiing. But if you’re not ready for this, when you sense some part losing its ability to keep its act together, rest or call it a day.)
In real skiing, your chest faces down the fall-line. You look downhill. After that your skis take care of themselves. They bounce left and right, doing their job, as they were designed to do. Your legs push and hold as needed, instantly, in the rhythm of the skis. Your hands are working with your legs. Your looking is all you notice. And your satisfaction.
(This general concept applies to Trail Skiing as well as Linked Turns. Heck, it applies to a lot of things.)
You’re no longer nervous or concerned about any particular. Each aspect is now engrained and you don’t think about it anymore.
