Skiing the powder - Jane Peel, Tignes
Monday February 1, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

It look so effortless and gracefull, but how do you do it? The first thing to do is have a lesson and then a whole new world of skiing might just open up in front of you.

Most of us will have learnt our first moves on skis from a professional ski instructor. But not many of us continue the learning process once we've mastered the blues and reds and can get by on the blacks.

So, will some personal tuition improve my technique and revolutionise my skiing?

One of the first things my instructor, Rorie Scott, says to me is that I am far too good at carving.

That sounds like a positive start to me.

"So good," he continues, "it's all you do. It's very difficult to control speed in difficult terrain, such as off-piste or on the bumps".

This is going to be tougher than I imagined. I have to forget what I do best in order to get better at the rest.

I should say that Rorie has been recommended to me by my partner, James. James is a boarder who occasionally gets a pair of skis out. James went on an off-piste guided tour with Rorie and was impressed with his words of coaching wisdom.

Rorie Rorie ScottRorie's skiing pedigree is unusual. He was introduced to the sport at the relatively ancient age of 11 on the dry ski slope in Gloucester.

But he considered skiing as a career only after university and a "year of boredom" working as a financial adviser.

Aged 31, he arrived in Tignes by way of Canada and now has the rare honour for a Brit of being a qualified international ski instructor, working not just privately, but also for the Ecole Du Ski Francais (ESF).

On the day of my lesson there is little easily accessible deep powder, so we're concentrating on how I need to adapt my skiing to the changeable conditions that are more often the norm outside of the piste markers.

Looking good

In three hours, and with the help of video analysis, Rorie tells me things I have never been told before.

Here are just a few of them.

I should forget about the exaggerated up and down movement I've always associated with off-piste skiing. It requires a lot of energy.

Start off with a wide stance, low to the ground with very bent knees and ankles. Start initiating the turn early, by pressing the uphill leg out, pushing the snow away, using my heel to push the ski around. These movements are adaptable. They can be slow or quick, according to the conditions.

Rorie, tells me to do lots of "skiddy, rotational movements". This will help me to adapt better to moguls as well as powder.

Perhaps the most suprising revelation is that I shouldn't worry about that old skiing commandment: "thou shalt always keep your shoulders pointed down the mountain". There is nothing wrong with using the body to control rotation, he says.

I have a feeling this is going to take some time to crack. When Rorie puts me on really steep difficult terrain, I manage a few good turns, and then lose it.

The next day I realise some of it must have sunk in. Someone I'm out with tells me it's the best he's seen me ski all week.

According to Rorie, almost everyone could benefit from taking a lesson, whatever their skiing standard.

"There are skiers who think they can ski anything, especially now with the all-mountain skis that are out there, and they are not interested in learning," he says.

"I'm not out to ruin anyone's holiday and say you must have a lesson, but my job is to ensure skiers have control of their skis, and that doesn't have to be just for beginners, but also for the more expert skiers when they get into difficult terrain.".

For more information on Rorie Scott's ski coaching in Tignes and Val d'Isere go to www.abraskidabra.com

This is how he does it.......

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