TDC ski coaches are on the hill practically every day of the season; it’s fair to say that we see our fair share of nonsense, please enjoy these 5 of Kieran’s pet hates!
- Parents of small children, taking them down a steep red/black run when they are clearly too small and inexperienced to cope! Small children have big heads, add a big helmet to that, and I think that’s why most little ones ski in the ‘back seat’. There is no rush to get a 4 or 5 year old to ski steep slopes, let alone when they still have a big pizza! Keep them safe, make it fun, and they will learn, trust us, we know!
- If I have just spent the morning with a nervous skier, I will have been working hard to build confidence; confidence in themselves, and confidence in their ability to control their speed and direction. Skiing therefore becomes enjoyable, rather than a stressful experience where they fear they will hurt themselves. It’s a Holiday! Having just had a hugely successful breakthrough in a morning session. What happens after lunch? The other half (usually the boyfriend/husband!) says “come ski with me, you will be fine!” By 4pm the same person is now in bits, confidence ruined, and has un-learned the whole morning. Very frustrating when you have to start again the next morning. (Not to mention the arguments it can cause!)
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Skiers who ski at a speed way beyond there capability – this is probably my biggest pet hate of them all! It never ceases to amaze me how many skiers hurtle down the hill, with no awareness, consideration for others, or just general safety common sense. You can probably picture the type – usually male, 15-40 years old, off balance, jacket undone, goggles all squinty, in a racing snow plough with no turns, doing about 50 mph!! When these people get close to us ski instructors and our lessons (especially little ones) we get infuriated! And boy, if we catch them on the lift, we sure let them know, politely and professionally of course, which is rather difficult! FIS ski code/rules
Off Piste with all the Gear…. - Skiers or snowboarders off piste with no safety equipment – Transceiver, shovel, probe is the minimum. When I am coaching my groups in off piste private lessons or off piste clinics, I often see others near us with absolutely no safety equipment. They are usually thrashing around all over the place, all on the same slope at the same time, charging over convexities and showing absolutely zero off piste safety knowledge or etiquette. It infuriates instructors and mountain guides when we see these people! The main reason for this is that they may start something (ie an avalanche) above you, and put your group in danger. As coaches we are very aware of this, we always try to ensure we are never placed in this position.
- Massive ski school groups snaking across the piste!! We have all seen it, an instructor, with about 10-15 people snaking down behind them (sometimes even more!) taking up the entire piste. There is nothing wrong with skiers following an instructor down a run, as they may be working on line, or turn shape, or speed control, but 15 people! How can anyone in a group this size receive any individual attention or feedback, it is practically impossible for the instructor to develop peoples performance in groups this big. At TDC, we never take more than 6 people in a group, maximum feedback, development, safety and enjoyment per person!
Kieran is normally an entirely positive guy and absolutely loves: Really big dogs, Savoyade Food, Good Whisky, Powder Snow and Working lots of hours. [ed]