"If I hit 3 shots perfectly during a round of golf I am doing well. Golf is not about the shots you hit perfectly, it is about having better misses and recovering from them." This is a paraphrase from Ben Hogan, a legendary golfer.

I was reading a thread in a ski forum. The author of the thread posted a few pictures of himself and titled the thread "I suck @ skiing". And how after all the work he has been doing, what these still displayed were very discouraging.

I understand his thoughts. Watching world cup sequence photos can be amazing. Every move seems to have purpose. Every move is showing the skier moving down the hill as effectively as possible. Well, just like in Televised Golf, you see the leaders of the tournament, not the guy or lady who is missing the cut. They are still excellent players, just not having a spectacular day. Rarely would you see a photo sequence of a Europa cup racer, or a racer who did not qualify for a second run. Why, probably because it doesn't display perfection, or at least excellence.

A few years ago I was skiing in a clinic group. We were skiing some firm snow and talking about World cup racers. How do they ski so well on hard, hard snow? How do they recover from near falls and late gates? The clinician was a skiing mentor of mine, Joel Munn. He shared with a group, "We all suck at skiing. However, some suck at a much higher level."

I have included a video of my free skiing. I was very pleased with the runs, especially in that I had only time for one run in 3 distinct segments. And as usual, I caught my self "sucking" some turns.

I will give you a time line and description of the mistake and correction:
http://mysnowpro.com/jonathanlawson/2007/01/sucking_at_a_high_level.php

to your sliding success,
Jon
www.mysnowpro.com

It has been a very windy couple of days in Breckenridge. Friday Morning through Sunday morning the wind has been ripping. The Breckenridge stop of Honda Ski Tour had some weather issues.

A good amount of snow came with this wind storm, and has made the upper mountain absolute paradise. The formerly hard, choppy bumps have been filled in and smoothed over with nice dense windbuff snow.

Turns down on E-chair are soft and grippy. Turns down the bowls are velvety smooth. Do look for the occasional moon crust in places. I have included some pictures from our ski group on Sunday. The first day the winds were somewhat down. Rooster tails 40ft long and 10 ft high were then norm.

Today - Monday there is great skiing to be had. It is warm today. 38* on the mountain. Wear your sunscreen.

Jon
www.mysnowpro.com/jonathanlawson

p.s. For the full story with pictures and video go to:
http://mysnowpro.com/jonathanlawson/2007/02/january_31_feb_4_honda_ski_tou.php

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
At Breckenridge, we celebrated 2006, then welcomed 2007 in high style.

12,840' starting elevation. 2 hrs after dark. 50 skiers and riders. Level 3 teaching certification or patrol certifications required. What an awesome experience. Thanks SS Director John Buhler for putting it together. In fact, there were two torchlight parades going on simultaneously on Peak 9 and the top of Imperial Bowl on P8. We think this is a Guiness Book of World Record for the highest Torchlight Parade.

It was certainly a special event. All the participants were eager, yet very aware of the Double Black Diamond terrain that had to be skied with a bamboo pole with lit flares on both ends. Oh, yeah, did I mention it was in the dark?

At 5pm we loaded the Colorado Superchair on P8. From the top we made our first post-dusk turns.

The full moon made the skiing to 6-chair quite entertaining. Great visibility for nighttime, no light skiing.

We met at the Warming Hut between 6 chair and the Imperial Chair. We warmed up in the hut, and received our briefing from John Buhler. I don't think anyone really thought about the highest Torchlight parade. Rather the energy was great. Lots of fun. Plenty of smiles.

After receiving our instructions, it was time to get the bamboo and 2 flares. Patrol dispersed each participant their tools for the night.

We then loaded the Imperial Express to take us to the summit.

This is a fun shot at 12,840. I called Sadie and the kids to look out the window and see dad on the mountain top. Very fun.

After synchronizing the torchlight with P9, it was time to go.

It took about 30 minutes to ski and ride down the Imperial Ridge, then Horseshoe Bowl. When we finally made it through the bowl. It was time to pick up the pace down Northstar to the bottom of P8.

There was applause from the Ski Watch condos. And giving high-fives to the awesome kids at the bottom was a great time as well. After all, that is who we did this for in the first place. Thanks for coming to Breckenridge to welcome 2007.

For the full article, including photos and Photo Album, go to:
http://mysnowpro.com/jonathanlawson/2007/01/highest_torch_light_parade.php

to your sliding success,
Jon
www.mysnowpro.com/jonathanlawson