Versatility Point of no return in K2 hip replacement

Pressure vs Force Pressure Only 1

Page 2 Peak Performance, October 2015 Photo on the Summit

Photo courtesy of Scott Marland, a National Ski Patrol Board Member.

From the Top Contents By Witold Kosmala The Publisher and the Editor of Peak Performance Gazette PSIA-E Alpine, Level III Page 5 Versatility (of the third Ski Instructor, Coach and Trainer mostly in NC K2 Ambassador

kind) October – what a glorious month it is. Fall colors Gordon Carr mean that slopes will open up soon. Are you ready? Are you ready physically as well as mentally? Do you have a car that will safely take you to the slopes? (See the September issue of Peak Performance Page 8 Point of no return (in hip Gazette.) Do you have appropriate equipment replacement) including clothing? Do you have knowledge of technique so that you can focus on it from the Witold Kosmala moment you put on? How about your physical conditioning? Is your cardiovascular system efficient? Are your muscles strong and balanced? Are you flexible? Are you consistently doing your dry-land? Page 10 K2 Ski Boots Did you follow activities taking place at Interski 2015, Jackson Hogen the world’s largest gathering of ski and instructors that took place for the first time in the southern hemisphere, Ushuaia, Argentina? What did you learn? Page 13 Pressure, Force and Wow, so many questions. I am overwhelming myself Sports on Ice and Snow just thinking about all this. All this will take time, so Richard Gray now is the time to start. Don’t delay. First, of Page 14 Pressure Only course, you Witold Kosmala need to read this gazette. It has some information that you cannot do without. In fact, previous issues of the Peak Performance Gazette also contain information that perhaps you have missed. Just because something was published last month or some months ago, it does not mean it is old and should be dismissed or ignored. This is our 60th publication and I hope you had a chance to view all these publications. Perhaps you might like to look at the ARTICLE INDEX prepared by Gordon Carr of Sugar Mtn. Resort in NC. All the great articles are listed there.

I hope that this gazette proves to be helpful to you under every respect. Often I find myself rereading previously published articles in Peak Performance. Every time they speak to me differently. But, there is one common theme to all those feelings – I wish there was a resource like this when I was preparing for my Cabin at Linville Falls, NC, just a certification journey. There was nothing wrong with what was available at that bike ride away from my house. time, but the flavor of this publication is different. There are different voices and You can view more beautiful they say different things different ways. And best of all, it’s all for FREE. autumn photos at www.blueridgecountry.com. 2

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I hope you will consider writing an article for this gazette. You might want to share your knowledge and love for skiing with our readers. Maybe there is something funny that took place, a new or different experience which you like to tell others about. Maybe you would like to write something that you would like to see printed in a particular month. Write it now, so you won’t have to write later when you will be busy on the slopes.

If you are a ski instructor, don’t you enjoy teaching? You can do teaching on or off the snow. You can write about it. Some students will not remember what you said. So, if you tell them about this publication, then they can read about skiing, and reread, and review, and remember that much better. If you are a trainer at your or a director, then you are also an instructor or a coach. You can write about your training scenarios. You can also share this publication with your members to promote versatility and increase enthusiasm. You might want to encourage instructors to write an article because you know that they will have to give it some serious thought before they can put things on paper. If you are a race coach – you can write about issues that come up in racing. For all the certification exams you will need to read. Well, someone needs to actually write things that you can read. There is plenty out there, but nothing like Peak Performance Gazette. It is covered with good information and with very few advertisements to sift through.

Therefore, take a minute and write me at [email protected] and tell me what you think about this gazette and how you would like to get involved. I hope you choose to help. Spread the word, LIKE us on Facebook, send a photo, send a donation. Do SOMETHING. Wouldn’t you like to see your name and maybe a photo in a national publication? Show your buddies and your supervisors that you care about promoting skiing and you took this step to write about issues pertained to skiing? Maybe your other profession is something different then skiing. Then you can write how your professions are linked. EVERYTHING is linked to skiing. My surface address is given on the last page. Look me up on Facebook. Show me that you care about our great sport of skiing.

I also encourage you to write a note to our authors. They care about you and our great sport of skiing. They took time to share. Tell them that you appreciate their time, effort and passion for the sport.

It is easy to find Peak Performance Gazette on line. There are many ways to do that. Below is what you can do. Choose your favorite method.

• Use the dropbox www.dropbox.com/sh/wjrz16pzrpho63i/PQr004dmUj • Go to the website www.peakperformancegazette.com • Look up the Facebook www.facebook.com/peakperformancegazette • Google search “Peak Performance Gazette” and see the first item. • Go to the bottom of my Appalachian State University (ASU) webpage www.mathsci.appstate.edu/~wak/. This one is easy for reading on line. • Go to the ASU Library's webpage at www.library.appstate.edu.

My hopes are that these gazettes will serve you as an outstanding reading material no matter what your calling is. Hopefully these publications will make your skiing passion grow even more, bring you awareness, improve your technique, and take you on the hill more often.

If you like what you are reading in this and other issues of Peak Performance, would you be kind enough to tell others about it? Share it with your employees, friends and family. LIKE us on Facebook. Spread a good word.

For legality issues: The ideas, concepts and opinions expressed in Peak Performance are, as always, intended to be used in good taste for educational purposes only. The opinions expressed or implied in these publications are not official positions of the Gazette, unless explicitly noted. Authors and publisher claim no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application or interpretation of the materials in these gazettes. Skiing is a dangerous sport. Do it at your own risk. In addition, an advertisement in Peak Performance does not constitute endorsement by Peak Performance.

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Main Course

VERSATILITY (Of The Third Kind)

By Gordon Carr PSIA-E Alpine, Level II Ski Instructor at Sugar Mtn. Resort in NC

My contributions to the Peak Performance have been absent for quite some time. And have you noticed that the Peak Performance has risen to a higher level of excellence? I wonder if the two previous sentences are somehow related. Can’t be! The increase in excellence has to be a direct consequence of Witold’s editorial and publishing guidance! Kudos, Witold! We appreciate your efforts more than you know. The inspiration and technical information contained in Peak Performance over these last 7 years are truly unique for instructors interested in improving our teaching and personal skiing/riding performance! The more I read (and re-read) this gazette the more I realize how special a publication it is.

With that said, “Versatility (Of The Third Kind)”…”Whaaa..? I’ve previously written several Peak Performance articles about the need for versatility in our ability “to have a positive selective effect on any skill on either foot at any point in the turn” (quote attributed to Sean Smith). I will take it a step further and add that this type of versatility should be reflected in our performance in any snow condition and on any type of terrain. “Vim, Vigor and Versatility”, March, 2014, “A Paradox of Skiing”, January, 2012, and “The Paradox of Skiing (Continued), February, 2012 speak to this skill type of versatility. The articles also provide specific exercise progressions to help us hone our on-snow versatility performance.

During this article whenever I can, I want to say “skiing/riding” for inclusiveness when speaking of versatility but must state a qualifier: I am not a rider and I don’t know much about . But to show I’m not totally clueless about riding, I do know one fact about learning to snowboard. A bullet-proof-ice day at -10 is not the day for your first effort to learn about the wide plank. A toe side fall onto your wrists and knees is only exceeded in pleasure by a heel side fall onto your butt and ! But I have to believe that skill application versatility is a mark of riding experts’ performance just like in skiing but in ways I can’t articulate. Certainly many of the one legged exercises germane to skiers enhancing their overall versatility by improving their “off-leg” performance have little application for riders (I think). So to all my riding colleagues, you will have to fill in the blanks so to speak and use the spirit rather than the letter of this article.

But the above jumps ahead and articulats what I consider “Versatility of the Second Kind”. “Versatility of the First Kind”, a more basic one, and one comprehended even by the most inexperienced newbie on their first day on the slopes, is the versatility to manage, even enjoy the vagaries of and thrills associated with all the possible combinations of terrain and snow conditions. That first timer, whether skier or rider, looks up from the learning area towards the upper mountain and intuitively knows that there are steeper trails on a mountain, which if skied or ridden, would validate progression on their personal improvement journey. “Skiing or riding on steeper terrain and doing so faster means I am getting better!”, so the mantra goes. It is so common to hear learners ask, “When can/will I be going up the hill?”, and this reflects their understanding of the terrain difficulty continuum and their desire for greater versatility on that dimension. Of course those of us who have been around the block a few times know there are challenges to the application of fundamental skills more difficult than just terrain steepness! I also suspect that what we, individually, consider the most challenging on this continuum is unique and specific to each of us. Steepness, narrow chutes, ice, moguls, cornice jumps, pow-pow, chopped up mashed potatoes, frozen chicken heads, or, heaven forbid, all of the above on the same day on the same trail, all add sportiness to the trail steepness dimension. Many Eastern skiers and riders actually seem to enjoy icy, glazed trail conditions which many exclusively Western skiers would call “tilted ice skating” and many North Western skiers/riders seem to have mastered and enjoy the Sierra Cement which we Easterners would call “super glue”! But, in fact, a truly accomplished snow sport expert has exquisite mastery of the blend of the skill sets to safely ski/ride any and all combinations of trail surprises and snow conditions.

As a side bar to this discussion, we know that the skill sets are all interrelated and the application and mix of edging, rotational, pressure management muscular forces within the balance envelope, while unique for each trail and snow condition, are still the same fundamental skill sets. The D.I.R.T. (duration, intensity, rate, and timing) of application of these

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skills permit their effective use in changing snow conditions on the different trail features. While all the skill set combinations, in application, are blends, for learning purposes, it does seem to have benefit to focus on them in “isolation”. That is, a training exercise may intellectually and verbally focus on an “edging” skill for skiing/riding when obviously, as mentioned above, all the skills involved in actually skiing/riding down the trail during the exercise are blended. In this regard, note is drawn to Witold’s July 2015, and promised future articles in which he will offer specific training and practice suggestions with just this learning strategy in mind. Analogously, breaking out the three kinds of versatility mentioned in this article in isolation, as an intellectual exercise, is like focusing on the skill exercises in isolation. It may clarify our focus, but all this stuff is interrelated. The underlying physics, muscular physiology and skill sets remain the same. Several recent 32 Degrees articles refer to this constancy of fundamentals and are worth a re-read.

But now to the third type of “versatility”, the point of this article: the versatility with equipment. To illustrate mastery of this type of equipment versatility in extreme, what springs to my mind are the World Cup class of athletes who complete in more than one venue. I don’t know how many of you have actually stepped into the bindings on a pair of downhill “smoke wagons” (I imagine 7 foot long 1 X 6 inch pine boards) … maybe they will turn but you have to get going 30 mph before even thinking about it. They may grip like ice skates on the Birds of Prey course at 70 mph, but not even the best of the best would think of a steep slalom course run with them. By the same token, World Cup slalom skis with rebound enough to ski the walls of a corridor wouldn’t be too much fun on a downhill course at 70 mph! The point being the use of these two extremes of equipment require vastly different application and mix of fundamental skills.

But for the rest of us, equipment versatility, I believe, shows itself in a negative way by its absence. All of us have tested different skis or on a demo day that just didn’t “feel right”. Somehow our habitual and comfortable pattern of muscle movements just didn‘t produce the anticipated result in initiating a turn or completing a turn or absorbing terrain irregularities, etc. We may have tried a new brand or length because we observed some really great skiing/riding colleagues on that brand or perhaps we read great reviews of that particular ski in an annual buyers guide or heaven forbid, they just looked way cool. (I hope by the time we become instructors our equipment selection choices are based upon more than just “looks”!) Probably this experiment with new equipment occurred on a demo day, but if you are lucky there is a colleague you ski with who is of your ability, weight, and length with the same DIN setting where just for giggles you switch out skis once in a while. But when you do this drastic gear switch, the outcome was usually the same…the new stuff just didn’t work “right” for you. Of course the opposite can also be true…the demo skis work like they were built just for you! But this latter, in my experience, is pretty rare. And during all this messing and fussing to get just the right skis or boards, have you noticed that the very pair of skis/boards which just don’t work for you are proclaimed by a colleague to be the best equipment “ever invented”? And on those very crappy (to you) different brands and lengths, your friend can make them “dance”? What is going on?

I’ve read articles in reliable professional magazines which talked to the point that within types of skis (e.g. All Mountain, Hardpack, Pow-Pow, etc. with their built in performance differences for unique snow and trail conditions) you just about CANNOT buy a “bad” pair of skis in today’s equipment lineup. But you can buy skies which, upon first blush, do not feel comfortable in response to your typical habitual muscle movements and DIRT pattern. This became tremendously more complex with the introduction of the rocker technology: tip only, tail only, both…rise point etc.

But now to the point of this article (finally!); rather than immediately rejecting this “uncomfortable” gear because it “doesn’t work” for us, we should cherish it as an opportunity! Because this particular brand, length or type doesn’t feel comfortable to us and doesn’t seem to “work right” and given there are “no bad skis or snowboards” it therefore means THE EQUIPMENT IS CHALLENGING US TO ALTER HABITUAL PATTERNS OF MUSCLE MOVEMENTS. And for this reason we should welcome this as an opportunity to expand our versatility! Now I’m not suggesting you go out and buy thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment which you don’t like. But I am suggesting on demo days we spend a bunch of time on gear that doesn’t seem to work for us and with that experience we should become really introspective and self- observant. Ask these questions: “What about the performance of this pair of crap skis is not what I want it to be? How is the ski response to my typical movements not “correct”? What specific dimension of the fundamental skills set and/or DIRT affects this performance? Can I turn my brain back on and consciously move past habitual patterns and initiate movements with a different blend of skills with altered DIRT patterns?” etc.

Now the confession…last season this old Luddite GOMER took the plunge into the 21st Century and purchased a pair of highly rated, full rocker skis and hit the slopes. I unloaded from the chair at mountain top and with great anticipation started down. WHOA!! My first thoughts were: “You old fool! Why did you buy a pair of skis without demo-ing them?”, and “Who might be interested in a set of brand new, really great skies for sale…cheap?” Then I realized these questions might have to wait until (if) I got to the trail bottom. I had many times demo-ed equipment which just didn’t work for me and 6

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typically just reverted to brands and lengths which were comfortable for me. But I had NEVER been on a pair of skies which were such a piece of junk that I questioned if I could or would ever make it down the mountain. Embarrassing thoughts and mind pictures of myself walking down trail side flashed though my atrophied brain cells which I previously had called my mind before making this bone-headed decision. And then this blinding flash of the obvious…the epiphany upon which this already too long article was based…flickered through my mind. “Hey! Pal. Yeah, you, you old fool! This is Operator error! It is the Singer, not the Song! In the computer help center world of today, this is a PICNIC call (person in chair, not in computer)!” And then with much deliberate introspection and at a much slower speed I began to deliberately engage in muscle movement patterns to engage with the skis’ characteristics attempting to use the rocker technology. As my long time mentor, Peter Howard, always said, “It is not a good idea to ‘surprise’ your skis”, which was exactly what my habitual movements were doing. Another confession: my personal albatross and constant battle has been to be forward enough in balance point when skiing (and a stinker it still is after all these years). And with the rocker…Oh! Boy!, did the skis ever let me know that being the tiniest bit back will not engage edges like when on my stiff tailed favorites. But to make a long and boring story short, with deliberate concentration and making sure I brought my brain with me on each trip, I began to feel how these rocker rockets did deliver performance touted in mags and journals. Not the first day, but on the second time out I began to “play” with their performance (more accurate phrase: I began to play with my muscle movements), to effect different snow tool response, and I really valued and enjoyed this, to me, significantly different way to ski. In retrospect and upon honest reflection, all those demo skis in years past weren’t the problem. I just wasn’t technically accomplished enough to control my movements at will and I was looking for the “Magic Ski” to make me more proficient. But all along it really was (and still is) the Singer not the Song.

I’ll end this missal with three points. First, vis-à-vis equipment versatility, consider World Cup performers who can compete and win in all the specialties from Downhill to Slalom and try to imagine their mastery of muscle movements to effect responses with delicate precision on hugely different equipment. We likely won’t get there, but we should try. Second, you’ve all known really expert skiers who would probably look smooth and slick on 2 X 4s. Several come to my mind. Early in my Instructor journey several of us 1st year instructors would stand around before class line-up thinking up outlandish tasks to challenge this senior, very talented instructor with. One of the best was skating backwards uphill ! For you Sugarloafers, Art H. tilted his head to the side, thought about it a bit like he was wont to do, and said, “That is going to be tough” but then skated backwards uphill! This next demonstration of versatility was NOT one cooked up by us aspiring first year goons but it is of the same genre. It sounds easy, but try it then asses the “easy”. On a non-flat, but not too steep an area, plant your pole in the snow, never pick it up and never let go of it and skate around it. Because of the slight tilt of the area, each skating step requires a slightly different blend of the fundamental skills. I would stand in awe watching (Hey Sugarloafers) Pete do this with his enigmatic grin, circling his pole fast enough to make your head spin! And third, take every opportunity to use gear which doesn’t “feel” comfortable. It ain’t the gear my friend, it is you who is uncomfortable. Identify how the gear isn’t working for you and then use this information to analyze in detail how you need to change your muscle movements to affect the fundamental skills in ways to make the gear “feel” comfortable. By doing this you will become a more versatile, self-aware and expert snowsport performer. Also, once you do that you will understand why it is that EVERY brand of skis (and boards, I trust) have athletes who are expert performers on that particular brand and type of equipment.

IT WON’T BE LONG NOW!

Following retirement from the Department Veterans Affairs as a Clinical Psychologist and health care executive, Gordon began teaching skiing in 1999 at Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. After teaching there for 7 years, he moved to North Carolina and has been teaching at Sugar Mountain Resort since the 2008/09 season. He is a member of PSIA, Eastern Division and is certified at Level II, Alpine.

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Point of no return in getting a hip replacement

By Witold Kosmala PSIA-E Alpine, Level III Ski Instructor, Coach and Trainer mostly in NC

When I was young and healthy I could not understand why there were support groups, which bring together people facing similar issues, whether that's illness, relationship problems or major life changes. I thought that these people just get together and feel sorry for each other, they have pity parties. Or they just use each other to listen to their individual complains.

Now, that I am older and have been hurt and destroyed, I have a better understanding of how beneficial support groups are. I never actually belonged to a formal support group of any kind at any point in my life, but it seemed like whenever I needed a boost – I got one. It was either seeing someone worse off then myself, or hearing of one, or imagining someone. Or, a mental voice would tell me that I had to recover if I wanted to get back on the slopes. Lately, I watched the movie entitled “Unbroken.” That really toped it off. I am truly one lucky guy.

When I was getting ready for my total hip replacement, which took place mid-May of this year, I had opportunity to hear many spoken voices. I want to thank each and every one of you who has talked to me about your own hip replacement or talked to me about someone else whom you knew that had one done. Hip replacement is permanent and there is no going back. Yes – point of no return. But, we all know that, so there is really no need to write about how irreversible this major surgery actually is. What I did not know is that you can get to the point when hip replacement will not be possible, or next to impossible to be performed. There is a point of no return, and when you get past that point – you die with your own hip. But, since medical capabilities keep improving at a very fast pace, one day this point of no return might be erased.

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In my case, at this moment in time, if I did not get my hip replaced now and tried to wait another year, then perhaps I would have gotten to the point of no return and not been able to have this procedure done. The head of my femur was very quickly fusing to my pelvis. Can you imagine that?

Let me quickly present to you my physical life in a nut-shell. Perhaps you can use it as a voice from a support group, which might help you in one form or another. After all, my hip situation, especially my right hip, was quite unique.

I was heading toward my recent hip replacement since the day I was born. Till about 3 years ago, I thought that I was a healthy child who explored many sports while growing up. This included horsing around, running, playing hockey, soccer, tennis... Loved discovering racquetball where I could exhibit speed, precision, mathematical geometry and the fact that the ball would not ever go too far away. Cycling was another of my loves especially when I was finally able to build my quality bike from all the bike parts which I won on bicycle races. Waterskiing pacified me during off-season from snow skiing. Swimming kept me in shape, but it was really springboard diving that kept me on my toes. Platform diving seemed high and made adrenaline flow quickly. I loved kayaking and almost became a whitewater rafting summer guide. Sidewalk cracks never were an issue as I roller-skated on 4-wheel skates all over my university campus. With friends or with wind, Frisbee was always fun and kept my arm strong. Hiking and later construction became additional hobbies. My scuba diving certification opened a new underwater world for me. I like it better then snorkeling where all my time I spent clearing the thing out.

Sure I got hurt. Many times. Broken bones and surgeries were plentiful. I was always recovering from something. Waking up in a hospital after an accident was never much fun. I really felt for my parents who did not know what to expect next.

Little did I know that I was born with my right hip joint deep inside my pelvis. The cartilage on femur’s head did not go down my bone far enough and raw bone was rubbing against my pelvis all the way from day 1. All my activities were deteriorating my hip joint. My body was reacting to this by trying to alleviate pressures by growing bone spurs. Of course, no one knew that.

I remember having pain in my hip when horseback-riding, swimming breaststroke, even tapping to a beat with left foot while standing on the right. I could not spread my knees much apart and could not ski in a snowplow. But, life was good. I could do ALL these other things instead quite well, so why worry.

Then, March 4 of 2008 came. My PSIA-E, DCL Tryouts turned my life around. Or should I say, nearly finished it. I was given 5 minutes to live at the scene of my skiing accident – my first skiing accident to speak of. I destroyed my body severely by leaving the slope at a very fast pace. Miraculously, I survived. Unfortunately, since that time my hip deterioration started to increase exponentially. Since that accident I was not able to straighten out my right leg. But the focus was to live, not to have a straight leg. After months and months of very limited movements and tedious healing, I went back to skiing. You can imagine my frustrations with myself. Even my “good” leg was so weak that it could not support me when walking on a walker or later on crutches. I skied in 2 different ski boots dealing with pain of all sorts (including those caused by sticking out bone spurs around my ankle) and restricted movements. Coaching became hard since my time on-snow was limited as well as was my performance. This is when Peak Performance Gazette was born to help me coach others through reading and talking.

After my “recovery” from my ski accident I had a number of follow-up surgeries and things were getting better up to a point. About 3 years ago my hip pain was really cutting in on my daily life. I went to an orthopedist who told me about how deep my hip socket was inside my pelvis and all about the excess bone spurs growing all around, and about bone on bone movement, which was more like spike on spike. But he also told me that hip replacement would not take my limp away and that I would need to tone done my skiing. So he advised that if I can take the pain, to just live with it for a while longer. And, so I did – for 2 years. 9

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Last Fall (a year ago) my walking was so hard and pain in my lower back was killing me, I went for another orthopedic opinion. This outstanding physician showed me x-rays of my hip and told me what was going on. My femur’s head, which was covered with spiked bones where the cartilage is supposed to be, grinded against other bone spurs with danger of getting stuck in an odd position. There were possibilities that a bone spur could actually break off if I stretched too much. Doctor was shocked that I was actually skiing on a hip that could hardly turn. Femur’s head was very quickly growing into my pelvis.

After the visit I set a date for a minimally-invasive Anterior Supine Hip Procedure at the most convenient time for me – May 13, 2015. As the date was approaching, I had numerous medical and dental preparations. At least my weight was low enough so I did not have to loose any before surgery could take place. The most difficult preparation was being able to endure life till that date. Since I could not straighten my right leg, I was always in a flexed position. On skis it was not too bad since my ski boots supported me. But, after the season was over, my street did not provide that needed support. My left leg tried, but that tipped my pelvis and lower back pains came. So, my flexed leg tried harder to support my body, but for hours and hours on my feet, muscles would get tired being continually flexed and would create killer cramps. I was tempted to go to work in my ski boots – for real.

At last, day of surgery arrived and I did not know that I was almost at the point of no return. After over 4-hour long morning surgery, I found myself waking up in a new chapter of my life. After all these years, my right leg was lying flat on the bed and knees could touch each other!!! Simply, unbelievable.

Later that day doctor came in and told me that mine was the hardest hip replacement surgery that he has ever performed. My lower body was fully asleep but still the muscles were so tight that he had hard time going in between them. After the head of the femur was cut off, he could not pull it out of the socket. It was jammed in there to the point of no return. It had to be cut out from my pelvis. And then, after all the excess bone was removed, the opening in the pelvis became extremely large. He had to use the largest socket that is made, having to squeeze it through a very small opening between tight muscles. Popping the new femur head into this socket was another story. But, he did it. I was told that the surgery was extremely intense.

The easy part about recovery from this surgery for me was that physical therapists had me on my feet about 4 hours after the surgery was finished. This meant that my healthy left leg still had strength to help in holding me up. This was not the case after my ski accident in 2008 where I could not even sit up for a couple of months or roll over for many more. Going “healthy” to a surgery is much better then destroyed from an accident.

Presently, I am still learning how to walk, dealing with stretching muscles and all these other things that now I need stretched in order to keep my leg straight, which I could not straighten for years and years. This in turn creates more horrible muscle cramps. In addition, my leg turned out quite a bit shorter after the surgery, and I still have zero dorsi- flexion. This makes walking still difficult.

I have additional nerve damage to add to that which resulted from the ski accident 7 years ago. This means that most of my right leg is totally numb and left side of my whole body is tingly and partially numb. Jerking nerves still wake me up at nights.

But, all this is besides the point. It’s a story for another time. Now, the point is: don’t wait too long before getting hip replaced. The time might come after which a surgery may turn out to be next to impossible to perform.

K2 Ski Boots

By Jackson Hogen Editor of www.realskiers.com

If you’re a close observer of the ski equipment market, you might be excused for thinking said market was well served in the alpine boot department. If you were selling boots in the mid-1970’s, you also had the chance to experience K2’s last effort to re-imagine alpine . As to the merits of this ancient attempt, let’s just say it didn’t kowtow to conventional notions of fit or performance.

This time around, K2 has done its homework and produced a far more conventional product. As America’s preeminent ski brand, K2 has made the core recreational skier—and not the race competitor—the focus of their best engineering. This 10

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philosophy has been extended to the new boot line, where K2 has aimed at the all-terrain, big mountain skier as the top- end target. To take an obvious example of how this orientation finds expression in the new shoes, flip one over. The sole of a race boot tends to be single, monoblock structure, but the Spyne series uses a grippy sole that’s a far better solution if you’re climbing a rocky ridge or riding a snowmobile in the backcountry.

The central feature from which the Spyne derives its name is the Powerfuse Spyne, a carbon exoskeleton that adds rigidity in the rear, allowing the rest of the boot structure to be a more effective shock absorber. This is a design element that, in conjunction with the Energy Interlock that controls the rivet-less rear connection between shell and cuff, makes the K2’s particularly well suited to charging through the irregular terrain features and broken snow conditions that prevail off .

In another echo of their ski origins, for every Spyne there is a Spyre, or a parallel female-specific boot made for the go- everywhere gal. Both Spyne and Spyre flagship models use a Precisionfit Intuition liner that takes full advantage of this heat-moldable, custom inner-boot technology.

In the two years since K2 debuted boots, they’ve had to compete against a Salomon boot that has that has taken a chunk out of everyone’s butt, yet they’ve used clout earned as the preeminent ski brand of the last decade, as well as innovative boot-technicity, to grab and hold a piece of the specialty retail pie.

K2 deserves special commendation for introducing their boot into a brutally competitive market and never wavering on the first principle of their commercial plan: they would not, have not and will not authorize the sale of their boots on the Internet. K2 is run by skiers. They understand the special requirements entailed in fitting a boot properly, an exercise that can only be accomplished long distance with the intervention of a thousand angels. Since most angels are busy elsewhere, we wouldn’t count on them sorting out boot-buying on the Internet anytime soon.

Spyne

narrow (LV) medium wide (HV) Flexes: 130, 110, 90 (HV only)

K2 deserves a lot of credit for resisting the temptation to re-invent the alpine ski boot. Not that they didn’t do their due diligence and re-think the requirements, but their thinking led them back to a fresh take on some well- established concepts. The Spyne 130, whether in its high-volume (HV), low- volume (LV) or relatively roomy medium issue, works because it meets every expectation for performance, and then adds a little extra feature/benefit that assists the all-terrain skier.

Yes, the stance is spot on, but the rigid spine (its signature feature) coupled to a well-conforming cuff keeps the skier in a centered stance that is also elastic. The Intuition® inner boot does as much with the heat-moldable concept as any stock liner extant, although it feels skiable right out to the box. The flagship Spyne 130 doesn’t have any more built-in features than other boots, but every component from the sole to the power strap has a smoothly integrated extra touch.

The same fit options that grace the Spyne 130 are also on display in the slightly softer Spyne 110. The Spyne 110 feels a little more substantial than most 110-flex boots, which makes it a strong candidate for any expert skier who motors through chunder on a relatively short, rockered ski. While the LuxFit Intuition® liner on the 110 can be heat molded, it feels ready to ski from the moment it’s buckled up.

The Spyne 90 is only available in the wide HV last and the more relaxed CushFit Intuition® liner, so it’s not a precision machine like its beefier brothers.

But it’s not mushy flexing and the ankle fit remains snug despite the wide forefoot dimension. Along with its uncompromised stance and firmer-than-the-field flex, the snugger ankle area improves the Spyne 90’s steering control in all conditions. It’s a good choice and a good value for the skier still developing their all-terrain skills.

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Page 12 Peak Performance, October 2015 ♀ Spyre

narrow (LV) medium wide (HV) Flexes: 110W*, 100W**, 80W*** *No HV, **No LV, ***HV only

K2’s line of ladies’ boots parallels the men’s collection in most respects, but instead of offering a full range of widths the women’s collection has only one or two lasts per model. The stout Spyre 110 offers a choice of narrow or medium; the Spyre 100 comes in medium or wide; and the soft 80 is available only in wide. All get a shorter cuff and a women-specific, narrow heel pocket built into a moldable Intuition® liner.

Otherwise the new K2 women’s models deploy the same well-conceived technology found in the men’s line.

The sweetspot for value, price and performance – in addition to fit and function – resides in the Spyre 100. The boot retains the PowerFuse Spyne and Energy Interlock system that give the K2’s their personality, and a heat-moldable, LuxFit Intuition® inner boot is standard issue.

One could make the case that if a boot holds you comfortably in the correct stance, it’s done its job. The wide-lasted Spyre 80 sticks to the basics, putting the intermediate woman in a position to advance. What it lacks in frills it makes up for in fundamentals.

Pinnacle

narrow (LV) medium wide (HV) Flexes: 130*, 110**,100***

*No HV, **No LV, ***HV only

K2 had an advantage when they built their first hike-mode (HM) boot: they hadn’t made any boots, so they could build the HM model from the ground up. Since making a killer BC boot was central to their line from the outset, they built an alpine boot technology, Energy InterlockTM, which was easily adaptable to hiking. This is why Synchro InterlockTM, K2’s HM mechanism, has first-in-class rear support without losing the needed range of motion to make hiking feasible.

K2 also concocted a replaceable walking sole that will work with any binding from everyday alpine to high-tech Dynafit, and they offer it all with a narrow (97mm) or medium (100mm) PrecisionFit Tour Intuition® liner in the top-of-series 130. The Pinnacle 110 comes in either medium (100mm) or wide (102), and the Pinnacle 100 gives big feet a chance to live the sidecountry lifestyle with a wide-ass 102 last.

♀ Minaret K2 isn’t confused about who’s likely to end up in either of the new Minarets, the women’s incarnations of the men’s medium / wide (HV) Pinnacle HM boots. The stiffer 100 uses a medium-volume * *** Flexes: 100W , 80W 100mm last in an accurate LuxFit Tour liner, so when this woman says she’s hiking to the top, she’s not kidding. The Minaret 80 lady isn’t likely to hike further than necessary, *No HV, ***HV only but when she does have to hoof it, she at least doesn’t want to walk like a zombie.

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Peak Performance, October 2015 Page 13

Jackson has played more roles in the ski trade than Eskimos have words for snow:

Si designer, binding and boot product manager, freestyle competitor, retail salesman, lecturer on risk management, ski instructor, marketing director, resort feature writer, ski tester for 25 years and boot tester for 20, OLN and RSN television show host, extreme camp ski coach, Desperate Measures co- creator, 4X Warren Miller screenwriter, R&D chief, honorary Canadian, college racer, 2X personal therapist to Greg Stump, regular contributor to at least ten different ski magazines, and in his guise as Pontiff of Powder, married Paul Hochman and Carrie Sheinberg in all ways but legally.

Jackson is all but universally considered to be the best currently active ski writer.

Turn to Physics

Pressure, Force, and Sports on Ice and Snow

By Richard Gray Professor of Astronomy Appalachian State University, NC

Pressure and Force are two closely related concepts in Physics, but there are important differences between the two. Force is a vector quantity. What that means is that it has both a magnitude and a direction. An example of a force is the gravitational force that the earth exerts on us in the downwards direction. Or, we are exerting a force if we press with our into the ground. The direction of that force will be in the direction of the pole.

Pressure, on the other hand, is a scalar quantity, which means that it has a magnitude, but often no particular direction. A classic example is air pressure. If we blow up a balloon, air pressure on the inside of the balloon is responsible for stretching the balloon outward in all directions. Pressure is a force exerted over a certain surface area, and has units of force divided by area. So, air pressure is, at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch, or in metric units, 101325 Newtons per square meter, where the pound and the Newton are units of force.

You might think that if pressure is force exerted over a certain area, then it should have a direction as well. That is certainly the case if the area is flat, but if it is not, then pressure will be exerted in a variety of directions.

What does all this have to do with skiing and other sports, in particular ice and snow sports? The distinction between pressure and force is critical here. Why, for instance, don't you attempt to ski downhill in a pair of slick shoes? There are a number of reasons here, but a major one is that with a pair of shoes you will tend to sink into the snow and not go anywhere. But if the force (your weight) is spread out over a larger area -- the area of your skis -- then you will not sink into the snow, but will be able to glide over the surface. The same principle applies to cross-country skis and snow shoes. The opposite extreme operates with ice skates. Here the enormous pressure, caused by the force being exerted over the extremely small area of the skate blade, acts, in a still mysterious way, to greatly reduce the friction between the blade and the ice.

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Page 14 Peak Performance, October 2015

Richard Gray is a professor of Astronomy at Appalachian State University, NC. He specializes in stellar spectroscopy and wrote a book on the topic, "Stellar Spectral Classification", published by Princeton University Press. He is an avid hiker and bird watcher.

Training

Pressure Only

By Witold Kosmala PSIA-E Alpine, Level III Ski Instructor, Coach and Trainer mostly in NC

In skiing, the 3 main physical skills used are: rotary skills, edging skills and pressure management skills. In the last month’s issue of Peak Performance edging skills were discussed, while keeping rotary and pressure constant and to the minimum. In the current issue we would like to explore pressure, while keeping edging and rotary constant and to the minimum. As in the case of only edging, only pressure awareness drills are not too much fun, but so very important. “Pressure” is, in my opinion, one of the most misunderstood concepts in the world of skiing. “pressure” and “force” are often confused with each other and used interchangeably.

Force is, basically, in skiing, the total impact of one object on another. Force is a vector, which means it has a magnitude and a direction. Pressure, on the other hand, is the ratio of force to the area over which it is applied. It is a scalar quantity that has no direction – only magnitude.

For instance, if I stand on the floor with two feet, the force I exert on the floor is the same as if I stood only on one foot. However, when standing on one foot, I put twice the amount of pressure on the floor as if I was standing on two feet.

In view of the above example, you can see how skier’s pressure changes all the time. When one leg is lifted, when skis go on edge, when body tips more forward or backward, when skier accelerates or slows down, when skier gains or looses weight, when skier has different shaped skis of different widths of different stiffness and of different torsional stiffness, when boots are stiffer or less stiff, when snow is soft or firm, and so on, and so on. Wow, it is amazing we can actually ski with all those variables constantly present. And this is only pressure. Now add to it all other constraints and sport becomes – fun.

Let’s start with dry-land. Pressure awareness begins with our feet. We can do the following series of tasks. We will perform balancing on one leg while keeping the other only 6 inches above the floor. So, put on comfortable snickers on and head off to your kitchen where you can hold on to a kitchen counter if support if needed. Try doing the outlined tasks on page 16 for at least 30 seconds each.

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Peak Performance, October 2015 Page 15

Click Link Below to Request VIProTM Form:

http://www.kneebinding.com/KB-Contact-VIPro.aspx

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Page 16 Peak Performance, October 2015

• Stand on one leg sideways to a counter, hold it with one hand, keep eyes open and look at a spot on the floor 4 feet away from you. • Stand on one leg sideways to a counter, hold it with one hand, keep eyes open and look straight ahead of you into the distance. • Stand on one leg sideways to a counter but do NOT hold it, keep eyes open and look at a spot on the floor 4 feet away from you. • Stand on one leg sideways to a counter but do NOT hold it, keep eyes open and look straight ahead of you into the distance. • Stand on one leg sideways to a counter but do NOT hold it, keep eyes open and move your head different ways. • Stand on one leg sideways to a counter but do NOT hold it, keep eyes open and move your head and swing your arms different ways. • Stand on one leg sideways to a counter but do NOT hold it, keep eyes open and move your head and swing your arms and sway your torso different ways. • Next, repeat the above sequence, but this time close your eyes.

Repeat the above sequence, but this time switch the feet.

To challenge yourself more, perform the above drills with closed eyes.

To challenge yourself more, perform the above drills standing bare foot with closed eyes while the lifted leg has a heavy ski boot on. How about adding a ski to the lifted leg as well?

When performing selected tasks given above, did you feel your toes moving? Did you ever get to the point of no return when you could not hold yourself up for a predetermined period of time and had to put the other foot down?

Doing the above drills we were constantly adjusting pressure on the floor with our feet in order to stay balanced. The quicker the response, the better balance we could keep. This is exactly what we need to do on the slopes. The problem is that we are not going to be just standing there trying to stay in balance, but we will be moving and all the pressures will need to be readjusted to fit the need. Some pressures will need to change to active forces to resist exterior forces acting on us.

We should make one more observation: the above given drills perhaps seemed easier to do if other body parts then feet were used to stay in balance. That is true but only if big corrections needed to be made. In general, it is better to make a correction with your feet without involving larger parts of your body, which often work for just a while before point of no return occurs. Skiers with calm upper bodies seem to be in much more control going down the hill then those who tragically swing their arms and head. Skiers with calm upper bodies catch their imperfections with their feet before a big movement is necessary, this way they can perform their desired tasks with better accuracy. The bottom line is: keep your upper body in such a way that it will allow your toes to do their work. For example, if you are sitting back, there is no way your toes can make up for it no matter how hard they try.

Below are a few more dry-land activities pertaining to pressure and pressure awareness.

On the next page there are about 18-inch squares drawn on a pavement. In Here is Gordon Carr on a BOSU ball. the first photo, jump with both feet laterally from one X to the other X, back and I bet you each toe applies different forth, many times. Do you feel where the pressures are exerted on your shoes? force on his shoes at different Now look at the next photo with Xs on a diagonal. Jump laterally with both feet times. These forces will be magnified if Gordon took his shoes from one X to the other X while moving forward on a diagonal. Do not double off. Shoes help support the foot and bounce. You land on an X and the landing is also a takeoff to go to the next X, equalize the magnitudes of forces and so on. Think back at the pressures applied to your shoes. Where is the needed to stay balanced.

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Peak Performance, October 2015 Page 17

pressure as you land on an X, and where is it as you take off? Isn’t the second of these jumping drills more common in what we do while skiing?

Lateral jumping from one X to the other X, back Hop from one X to the next starting on the and forth. Good for a short swing on an bottom right. Most pressure is exerted on the intermediate slope where there is no need for side of the toes as they take off of an X. This speed management. Pressure is exerted on the translates to applying most pressure just past skis in the belly of a turn. the belly of a turn with torso moving forward.

For different results we apply pressure to different parts of the boot. They all are adjusted by gentle correctional pressures by our toes. In the second of the two photos above, the pressure of a big toe on the corner of the is very brief and hard to feel. So, let’s lengthen the sensation by standing in the way I demonstrate in the next photo. This would be equivalent to standing in a diverging position (a reverse ) on the slopes facing up the hill. Here to create additional pressure of my toes, I leaned forward.

“.” I Below is pressure applied equally to the inside am creating an edges of the shoes, just like in lateral jumping additional pressure of my toes in the in the first photo with Xs on a parking lot corner of my above. shoes. Feet are diverging so the forces actually go the way I would want them to go when turning skis. The result of this pressure will be steering of the ski in the direction of a big toe. (On the slopes, turn one foot at a time while the other one is parallel for support. Or, use a reverse wedge facing up the hill.)

Standing on a cinder block forces you to pressure edges and soles of the inside “edges.” Zero edging and zero steering. My pressure is equally distributed along a whole inside shoe. Like in side-stepping or in gentle railroad tracks on a green terrain. This is a great way to strengthen your feet and shins. If you do this exercise sideways on a stair step which will not roll over, then you can do it one leg at a time for more extensive strengthening. 17

Page 18 Peak Performance, October 2015

Again, we are trying not to confuse a “pressure” with a “force.” Look at 2 photos below. I used a chair to scrape its leg with my shoe. See the last issue of Peak Performance in which we were concentrating on the edging skills. Here I am concerned about which way I apply the force to my shoe sole. So, I am actually talking about a force since here direction matters. In both photos edge angles are the same, but forces are different, indicated by big arrows.

In the first photo, force is going straight down. In this situation, on this steep slope, chances are little that snow will be able to provide enough force to overcome my momentum and keep me from slipping out. Bad news.

In the second photo, my platform angle is smaller then 90 degrees and chances are much higher that I will be able to cut a slope without slippage. How do you think racers can have such high edge angles and not slip out? It has Here is an illustration created by my son Konrad something to do with how they exert forces with their feet. indicating what is meant by a platform angle.

I am scraping a chair’s leg with my foot (edge No, don’t look at my destroyed leg. Look at angle vs platform angle). This foot slides down my toes in the right shoe as I am sliding it quite easily since my right leg’s big toe exerts down the chair’s leg exerting a force in the force (as indicated by the arrow) straight direction the arrow points – as if I wanted to down onto the footbed. On a steep slope this scrape off the “paint” or give it a deep scratch leg would not hold me up. mark. Here we can practice changing the platform angle. Same edge angle as in the previous photo, but much more effective on a steep slope.

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Here think about the forces of my toes so I don’t slip out. (Carpet is slick and so are my boots.) Apply smaller platform angle. I apply force to the edges of my boots and not to their footbeds.

A ski slicing through the snow is like a knife slicing a tomato.

Apply force toward the center of the tomato (and sliding back and forth would also be good). Sharp knife will cut easier and cleaner then a dull one, Even scraping the paint off of this plastic cap requires a smaller “platform since pressure would be increased along the

knife’s edge. angle” then 90 degrees.

Next, we will move up the leg some. Where should we pressure our ski boots? That all depends on what we might want to do. In the normal, recreational skiing, we apply a force to the boots between 10 and 2 o’clock. Look at the photo on the right. Pressure should move in a circular motion without skipping any “hours.” These steady forces normally will put the skier in the right place over the skis, called the “home position”.

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Page 20 Peak Performance, October 2015

The boot has a correct forward lean if gentle pressure against the boot cuff brings the knee to the position right over the toes, as my vertical right pole demonstrates. The boot has proper boot flex if it takes a much larger force to move the knee further forward from this point.

I love roller skating since the pressures applied to roller skating boots are very similar to those of the ski boots.

OK, so now let’s take all this pressure awareness to the slopes and go through some drills which will improve our skiing performance. Try the following activities on the skis, where pressure skills are needed, while keeping edging and steering to the minimum.

• Bounce the whole body, hop up, lift up one leg, lift up only tails, only tips, march.

• Do above while gliding down a gentle incline.

• Do above while gliding in a traverse across a slope.

• Side-step up the hill; side-step down the hill. (See photo on the next page.)

• Hop sideways up the hill, hop sideways down the hill.

• Do the sideways hopping on one leg.

• Do side-stepping while traversing. See the illustration on the next page. 20

Peak Performance, October 2015 Page 21

Here, Jim Hanson (PSIA-E, Alpine Level 3) is sidestepping to his right up a little incline. I asked him to illustrate how beginners often do this by reaching up the hill with inside edges. (This is much easier for them then a correct way of lifting the knee up and reaching the hill with the uphill edges.) In order to do this, they tip their body quite a bit so that they can actually laterally lift their leg with ski boot and a heavy ski hanging on it. Due to the extensive lateral tipping, they take away pressure from the edge of the downhill ski. The downhill ski becomes flat and slips out. Often their correction is not to reach up the hill with the outside edge (like it should be done), but to over-angulate, so that when they pick up a heavy uphill leg, the downhill ski will not slip.

Here is side-stepping while traversing. The illustration by Konrad Kosmala.

• Hop sideways up the hill, hop sideways down the hill while traversing a hill.

• Do the sideways hopping on one leg while traversing a hill.

• Leave one track in a traverse, but hop laterally from one leg to the other.

• Traverse the slope leaving a straight line. (Since skis have a side-cut, the track will be somewhat fuzzy.)

• Traverse the slope leaving clean and narrow tracks, called railroad tracks. (This will require you to lock the edges in the snow and let the skis follow their build-in shape. Pressures will build the faster you go.)

• Do side slips.

• “Run” sideways until you start sliding sideways. (This is a good way to do sideslips when the snow is softer or the slope is not steep enough and starting sideslips is difficult. The running increases the momentum.)

• Do sideslips to a sudden stop.

• Perform “falling leaf.”

• Do all the above drills in both directions.

• Stand backwards, face up the hill in a reverse wedge. Try not to use poles for support. (Apply force to the corners of your boots with the big toes.) 21

Page 22 Peak Performance, October 2015

• Point the skis close to the fall line, set them on an edge and glide. If the speed remains somewhat low, you can maintain this fixed position without changing edge angles or excessively decambering the skis which would result in producing less then clean inside ski track. The pressure on the outside ski will be greater then the one on the inside ski. Nice railroad tracks should result. See the photo.

Here are my railroad tracks

at a reasonably slow pace

where the inside ski still has

enough pressure to

decamber the inside ski to match the outside ski. But, it

is clear that the outside ski

has more pressure.

All the above-mentioned drills performed on snow deal with pressure, but one might not realize why and how things really work. Uneven snow’s surface prevents us from accurate feeling of exerted pressure on the skis. So before closing this article, I want to take you indoors where we can “truly” feel how pressure acts on our skis when we do different things with our bodies. We will start with just plain old standing on flat ground. Can you feel how the pressure is equally applied to both skis throughout their entire length? This is of course true only on decambered skis which do not have any rocker, with correctly mounted boots and in a proper stance. Let’s explore how this equally distributed pressure changes as we lift one ski. There are many ways to lift a ski. We will just look a few of them. If I pick up only boot with no ski on it, I can lift it straight up keeping my body equally balanced from tip to tail of my ski. There is some lateral movement to the outside edge, but relatively little. So, if I was to ski on only one ski, I would prefer skiing this way since my ski technique would not change drastically having to deal with increased big pressure on the outside edge, (unless fear of not having the other ski for security would mess me up.)

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Peak Performance, October 2015 Page 23

If I had to keep both skis on, but ski only on Another way to lift one ski is to move it one, I would prefer keeping the lifted ski laterally, like Jim Hanson did on page 21. right next to the one on the ground in order Unlike him, I am tipping my entire body as to minimize lateral movement which will the pictured left leg goes up. increase pressure on the outside edge of the ski that is on the ground. Lifting the ski moves the knee forward, which in turn

moves the upper body back. So, higher you lift the leg more to the backseat you go.

For recreational skiers, this is probably the maximum of their Higher the left lateral ability. leg, more After this point tipped I am. you better be This means strong to lift a more pressure heavy boot/ski on the outside combination ski. If I had to laterally. Like Jim ski on one ski, Hanson I would prefer illustrated, this is not to ski in how beginners this way. But, side-step up the a good thing is, hill. He used the pressure is more knee spread out angulation and I throughout the am using more ski from tip to tipping. In either tail. case, this is NOT a way to side- step up an incline. Definitely not possible on a steep terrain. 23

Page 24 Peak Performance, October 2015

Above we explored how lifting a ski laterally which resulted in lateral movement of the torso and increased pressure on the outside edge of the ski which remained on the ground. Lastly, we will explore the pressures when angulating, inclining and leaning.

The ankle angulation starts it all. It is difficult to see it, but easy to feel it. The results of the ankle angulation are obvious. When forces are small, the ankle angulation might be all that is needed. If forces get bigger, we can move to the knee angulation. This terminology may be confusing because knees do not bed sideways. The bend of the knees is a result of rotation in the hip and the ankle. If I was to teach someone to side step up a hill and they were loosing their edge grip, I would advise them to increase edge angle by “tipping skis more on edge”, or “pointing knees more uphill”, but definitely not by bending knees sideways (or even bending them any way at all.)

In this photo, I put in a little hip into the angulation. This resulted in increased tip lead higher edges and much more pressure on them. Yes, it is awkward demonstrating all this on a carpet with no movement and no natural forces coming from the snow. The result is somewhat fake since either I stand exerting equal pressure on both skis, or I push on the poles which is Note that in the knee angulation there is a also inaccurate. But, gentle forward tip lead with one ski, body we get an idea. is twisted a little and edges are actually not that big.

This is leaning, usually toward a hill when one is across the hill. Skis are flat on the snow, or just gently tipped on edges and laterally sliding since there is not enough pressure exerted on them. This position is often caused by fear. Needs to be avoided.

My body is twisted a little more here, but not that much more angulation since hip is heavier then shoulders and I would fall “inside” of this turn. From here, we simply must take it on a hill. 24

Peak Performance, October 2015 Page 25

This may look like leaning, but it is not. The whole body tips laterally, including boots. This means that skis’ edges are engaged, hopefully enough to hold the skier up. There is definitely pressure on these edges.

I think we had enough talk about pressure. Next month – rotary and steering sensations.

Turn to Wisdom

• We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

• Humans were never meant to hibernate!

• If you want a rainbow, you’ve got to put up with a little rain.

Deep Stuff

Not everyone can become a great skier, but great skier can come from anywhere.

Thoughts for the Month

• Is it harder to learn how to ride a bike (just learn how to balance and ride at your own speed on a flat, straight paved road) or how to ski (just balance and ride the boards down a very gentle smooth slope)?

What would be some drills you could do to improve • rotary skills while keeping constant edge angles and constant pressure?

Elaborations on last month’s Thoughts for the Month.

Question. What is the main difference between a coach and a racer?

Answer. A coach looks from outside and a racer looks from within. 25

Page 26 Peak Performance, October 2015

Question. For skiing, what is more effective: lifting free weights or working on exercise machines?

Answer. Free weights. They improve toe reactions to loss of balance.

Question. What would be some drills you could do to improving pressuring skills while keeping constant edge angles and turning off steering?

Answer. See article on page 14.

This and That

FUELING

Focus on eating to prepare yourself for a workout. It is not a workout that prepares you for a meal. You need to replenish after a workout, but you will have a much more productive workout if you fuel for it wisely. Especially after a workout, eat proteins and carbs but only until you feel good, not until you feel full. You always want a little hunger in you – mentally and physically.

The Bottom Line

Peak Performance depends on its sponsors. If you find these publications worthwhile, I hope you will choose to support them. Every little bit helps. Sponsors of this issue of Peak Performance are:

• KneeBinding Company • K2 Ski Company • Kudzu Music Store and Supplies • Eastern Division of the Professional Ski Instructors of America. • Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project • Anonymous individuals

Base of Support

I invite you to support this gazette. You can do this by one or more of the following:

• Send a monetary donation to Witold Kosmala, Dept. of Mathematics, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA. • Sponsor the gazette and in return we will publish your ad for a month, several months, or a year. • Submit an article or a photo for publication. • Share Peak Performance with your friends and co-workers. • Like us on Facebook. • Send suggestions to me at [email protected].