System helps skiers take Nice Turn

The forecast is looking promising. As of Thursday morning, the National Weather Service was expecting snow through Monday.

Looking out my window, the snow is tumbling down. The local snow reports show that everyone is getting snow, with the most accumulation going to Mt. Spokane and 49 Degrees North.

I'm ready to close out 2004 and start anew, with plenty of fresh snow scheduled for the New Year. Watch that snowfall carefully. New Year's Day is the best morning to have a powder day. You'll find the real powderhounds in line that morning while the rest are still deep in slumber.

I have to say, the past week has been good. We received a few inches after Christmas and the sun came out to shine on all our visiting friends and families for days. If it's not going to snow, it might as well be beautiful outside.

My stepdaughter, Catherine, is visiting this week from Oklahoma. She doesn't get to ski too much in Oklahoma and we couldn't talk her into taking a lesson, so I found myself being a ski instructor - an uncertified ski instructor. Of course, this is not a recommended course of action, especially if you're dating or newlyweds, but it was Christmas week and we all wanted to be together.

I spoke with Gary Carlson, the creator of the Nice Turns program, a season-long ski instruction program at Schweitzer Mountain Learning Center. It's been a long time since I took a lesson and I thought I would check in and see what skills and techniques he is passing along to his students. I found I had a lot to learn.

Carlson designed Nice Turns in response to intermediate adults who haven't improved their skills in years. They suddenly realize that with a little effort and time commitment, they can get off the groomed runs, ski the powder and keep up with their kids.

The Inland Northwest ski hills all offer group and private lessons for intermediate adults throughout the winter. Some, such as Mt Spokane, have women's only clinics. Nice Turns caught my attention because it is a longer-term commitment, meeting weekly for eight weeks.

"Skiers who have been skiing a long time are finding themselves more challenged to unlearn certain skills and relearn new muscle memory," Carlson said, in reference to the new shape skis.

When we were on those skinny skis, we used a lot of up-and-down body movement to "un-weight" the ski and force it to turn. We kept our feet and knees together and used that strength to move into the turn.

With the shape skis, we tip the foot and allow the ski to turn itself, thanks to its natural curve. Because we are tipping the feet, we ski with our feet hip-distance apart.

Your feet should have an equal edge angle and be flat on the ground. If they are too close together, you'll find it hard to tip into the turn and you'll be on your outside edges. If your feet are too far apart, you'll find yourself on your inside edges and the skis will want to turn out. This may seem obvious, but give it a try on the slopes and you'll notice a difference.

With programs such as Nice Turns, the technology is available to watch ourselves in action, get a slow-motion analysis, get critiqued and bring our skiing to a new level. Most of you may have noticed that the technique remains the same on the groomers, the powder and the crud. We're suddenly getting on these skis and breaking into new terrain we never thought we'd be able to ski.

For more information on Nice Turns, visit www.niceturns.net. For other Inland Northwest lesson programs, visit skiinlandnorthwest.com. You'll find great deals for first-time skiers such as the EZ Ski 1-2- 3 and Lookout Pass' free ski school for beginners.

SIDEBAR:AT A GLANCENEW YEAR'S SKIING Great skiing and riding are scheduled at all five Inland Northwest Resorts. Dec. 31: Schweitzer Mountain: Party in Taps and live music at Chimney Rock Grill, night skiing until 8. Jan. 1: At Lookout Pass, football plays all day in the day lodge.

Lisa Gerber's column appears every Friday during the ski season. If you have an event or story idea, contact her at skiinglisa@bigleapcreative.com.

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