High Country Fishing Charters is an equal opportunity employer and service provider operating under special use permit on the San Juan National forest. U.S. Coast Guard licensed & insured. Colorado Outfitters Lic. # 2352 Float Trips, Wade Trips, Learn to Fly Fish        Scott Taylor          970-946-5229        bass@highcountrycharters.com              Ski School Progressions and Exercises A-B Progression Outcome:  Learn to stop and turn. Introduction to the beginner lift. Develop excitement for a new sport. Familiarity with equipment, new movements, new environment and the skier safety act. Learn the basics of walking, straight run, and braking/gliding wedge. Develop the sensations of moving and sliding. Ability to vary speed and stop by controlling the size of the wedge. Introduction to wedge turns. Movement cues: Balance – tall stance balanced on the whole foot.  Slight bend in ankle, knees, and upper torso. Flexing and extending movements – ability to go from foot to foot while walking. Equal weight in straight run to transferring from foot to foot. Equal weight in the wedge. Turning the feet and legs – introduction to foot/leg steering in walking, sidestepping, straight running, and changing the size of the wedge. Tipping the feet and legs – develop the basic range of edge angles. Flat ski to walk, edged ski for sidestepping. Flat ski for gliding wedge to more edge angle in braking wedge. Sample Progression: Introduction – Introduce yourself (learn their names). Explain the objectives of the class, let the guests know that they will be learning the basics at the bottom and then when they are ready they will be introduced to the chair lift. Check their equipment, and ask questions. Find out how their boots feel, do they have on sunscreen, hats, sunglasses etc. Do they have meeting times set up with family members? Go over how to use the equipment. Stance - Tall stance balanced on the whole foot.  Slight bend in ankle, knees, and upper torso. Feel the front of the boot with the chin. Boot Drills – Foot arcs, wedge, side stepping, fore aft movements. One Ski Drills – Side Stepping with down hill ski on. Scooter Turns, make sure that all the students have on the same ski (up hill or down hill). W/right ski on go in a counter clockwise circle. Have guest keep the ski in the snow, adjust stance as needed and look for an active guidance of the turning ski. After some success switch feet and go in a clockwise circle. Two Ski Drills – Make sure your guests are across the fall line! Set them up for success. Explain that they are standing still because their edges are holding them across the hill. Introduce sidestepping with two skis on. Adjust individual stances and edge angles as necessary. Look for the ability to keep both skis parallel while side steeping. Step up the hill and then back down. While standing still have your guest go in and out of a wedge. Gliding Wedge, this should be a traversing gliding wedge, gradually work towards the fall line. After success with the gliding wedge, introduce the braking wedge. Introduction to lift load and unloading procedures – Position your class where you can watch the loading of other skiers while giving an explanation. Organize your class outside of the maze. Enter the ski school line and let the ticket checker or lift operator know that you have beginners and how many chairs you will need. Ride in front of your class. First Run- Braking wedge one at a time down the first part of Nova or Susan’s. Do not go past the road on Susan’s! If you use Susan’s take the road under the chair lift back to Nova. Wedge traverse across Nova, (no new information is needed, develop some mileage with skills already acquired). At second pitch on Nova go back to the braking wedge one at a time. After the second pitch re – organize in flat area but not under the lift. Keep working back to the chairlift with emphasis on the gliding and braking wedge. Develop more mileage before the introduction of turns. Often the strong students are already making direction changes. Second Run – Braking wedge on steep sections, then lead the class down the hill with slight direction changes. See if they follow. Don’t move too fast. Get the class out of the base area if time allows and introduce turning and develop quality mileage on Kelly Boyce. This will also help free up Nova for slower classes or classes just starting.
High Country Fishing Charters Fly Fishing Pagosa Springs, CO