Squaw Valley, California

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Freeskiing camp day 2. Skied with <3 <3 INGRID <3 <3 in the morning and Elyse Saugstad in the afternoon.

Ingrid was an awesome coach and obviously an incredible skier. Skied almost entirely off the Headwall lift and worked on keeping our shoulders and arms square down the fall line and always coming back to a centered aggressive stance between turns. Also did some tiny (tiny!) airs and worked on being forward and committing in general. Again: Ingrid Backstrom gave me tips on how to air. <3 :D

Watching her ski was AMAZING. So smooth and confident. Every air she takes she tucks like she's dropping a 50ft cliff. You can just see that's she's a pro in every move she makes. Really inspiring.

The afternoon with Elyse was also really fun. We focused more on just planning your line and picking more than one turn at a time. Made our way over to Granite Chief via Rock Garden, Chicken Bowl (?) and Corkscrew. Hiked up to the Granite Chief peak, which took maybe 30 minutes and gave us unbelievable views of the lake and the valley. The first 4 or 5 turns off the peak were pretty steep -- I'd guess a solid 45* -- but then it mellowed up and was just open and fun.

Elyse also totally ripped, and opened up a little more while skiing with us than Ingrid did -- just making big, aggressive turns down even the steepest stuff we skied, basically making everything look like a groomer. It was a ton of fun to watch her ski.