Teaching Aaron, day 5

Today was a big success. Over the course of 3.5 hours at Wachusett, Aaron got better by leaps and bounds. I think he is in the phase where he is less in need of information, and more in need of miles of snow passing under his feet. We mixed up the terrain slightly and I got to watch him gain confidence, control and speed.

Aaron said the big realization of the day was a lower stance. For him that made it all fall into place. When you're on a board, standing a little bit lower might make a big difference, but you might as well get as low as you comfortably can. It will take more energy, but many things start working better...suspension, edge engagement, etc. Also, I think it focuses the mind.

Another thing we talked about today was the "oneness" with the board. It's a hard thing to put into words, but I think I recall snowboarders talking about the same thing. One board, one thing to do, no distractions, natural focus, and mental bliss. Something like that.

Another fun thing tonight was getting more attention than usual. I think we were on the schoolchildren's shift, which came along with many questions and candid appraisals of our strange ski-like devices. One child saw Aaron on his teleboard and asked him if he had a prosthetic leg. Another boy asked me 3 quick questions about my board, said, "I know what I'm asking for for Christmas", and sped off on his merry way. Aaron and I both enjoyed the attention. Personally, I'm better at having conversations with strangers than starting them, so it works for me.

A thought on poles. One of my ski poles got stolen yesterday so I've been riding without them for two days. Leaving poles behind for that long is only slightly unusual for me. I like to drop them occasionally to force better technique, but Aaron came upon a similar realization a different way. His skill got to a point where poles were less necessary and he just stopped using them. They were still in his hands, but he decided to stop using them to cheat down the slope, and thus force good technique out of his legs and torso.

Near the end of our session, I happened to notice Aaron slide to a stop with some real finesse. It started out like a carve, changing the direction of his momentum, then shifted into a hockey stop, leaving him facing the direction he came from. I often use the same trick to pull up right to the lift line. I think that it might be a good indicator of readiness to graduate from the bunny slopes.

On that note, I'm going to bed so I can drive to Vermont bright and early tomorrow, for two more days of hurtling down frozen mountains.