Cookie's Corner: Red, white and blue

Cookie’s Corner: Red, white and blueRed and blue…Not only are they the colors that represent our country, they also play a vital role in our sport of alpine ski racing. Yes, they are the colors of the gates that we go around but what about that other color? White — granted it is the blandest color of the three — can be the most fun and the most beneficial. Of course, you cannot have the red and the blue without the white, but what about the white by itself, without any gates. What’s that called again? Oh yeah… freeskiing.

The point of this entry is the point out the values of and encourage freeskiing. The older and more serious I have become in this sport, the more that word has slipped into the back of the vocabulary, and I know that this is true for just about everybody who gets older and more serious, but why? Remember the nine-to-four days that never even fazed you, and how they never seemed to get old either? Even now, as an avid free skier I look back and wonder how I did that. But it doesn’t mean you have to give up what you once loved so much just because you can’t do it as much or you have other things to do. Free skiing can still bring that same thrill, and may be even more beneficial now then it was then.

So many people think that the only way to get better at racing is to race, or train in the gates at least. But how can you get any better, honestly, if you cannot even ski in the first place? Sure, you may make a few improvements every now and then, but if you really want to get better quick, I will give you my little secret. Freeski! Free skiing has so many benefits. Increased balance, increased fearlessness, a greater sense of the snow, and most importantly, and renewed love for our original sport of skiing, not racing.

You can work on your balance in the gym, doing drills, or what ever other boring thing you may be into, but nothing compares to the fun, or productivity, of skiing a steep pitch in the powder or a mogul field as fast as you can. Trust me, there is no quicker way to learn balance when you are at the top of a cornice with nothing but trees and rocks below you, that makes you have instant balance. Go powder skiing if you have the chance.

Powder skiing is hard, but as you get better at it, the fun seems to take the difficulty out of it. Personally that is the reason I still ski. I do love racing, but it doesn’t even compare to the thrill of face shots.

And skiing a mogul field most every alpine skier would say moguls suck; they hurt, they have no rhythm, and they always make you cross your tips or catch and edge…Huh? Read that again: All these things you can and will find in a race-course also. I know for a fact, my legs hurt so bad I can’t even stand up at the end of a two minute downhill, you will almost never find a course with the same rhythm the whole way, and I can’t even tell you how many times I have crossed my tips or caught an edge in just the last year in a course. So even though skiing moguls is not the most fun thing to do on the mountain, and I know how much more appealing a groomer may look, I do encourage you to just try it every now and then. I guarantee that you will feel an improvement in your balance and skiing the next time you go out (maybe not that same day cause your legs might still be too tired!).

Freeskiing will also help if you have the problem of not really wanting to go faster. That fear is common and being comfortable going the same speed run after run is fine, unless you want to be a faster. There are times on the mountain that you reach speeds that you are not really comfortable with. Even the fastest skiers will scare themselves sometimes. If you are powder skiing (I am sure by now you know how much I like to powder ski since it is in every example!) a steep pitch that has a really long flat run-out, your only choices are to pick up some speed and try to make it all of the way across, or to skate. (By the way, just in case you have not tried to skate across a flat on a powder day, it is not recommended, and generally it will take you so long, that the whole hill may be tracked out by the time you get out of there.)

The more times you go out of your comfort zone, the greater your tolerance will be for going faster. That tolerance will be carried over into the gates also. Pushing the limits freeskiing is a great way to help you push the limits in a course. Typically, the snow on the mountain will not be as good as the snow of a race-trail or arena. Most ski resorts will let the ski teams use our high-tech methods to adjust the snow to our liking on our one trail, but the rest of the mountain is all-natural.

I am sure most racers can remember that day that their coach made them run this course and the snow was sooooo bad… And they told you it was good for you, makes you work a little harder and exposes your bad habits. Skiing in the crud does make you work harder and it does expose your bad habits that sometimes we would rather not see, but if you give it a chance, I bet you will never have had such a fast learning curve. When falling over every ten feet is not on your agenda, you probably will find a way to fix it. You will find ways to adjust your skiing that you never thought of just so you can stay on your feet. Being able to make these adjustment is an accomplishment on its own, and if you can take these newfound techniques into a course, you just might find success.

Lastly, having the advantage of loving skiing instead of just racing is so great. Running gates is not always possible, that is the way outdoor sports are. If you can value your time freeskiing as much as in gates, you really are getting in almost twice the training as everybody else. Becoming a better freeskier will no doubt make you a better racer. Having a place to just have fun is valuable in itself because this sport can be so frustrating to everyone. Besides you don’t even have to go anywhere to find that place! And you can’t race forever, right?!

Stacey Cook is the reigning overall NorAm champion. She will update her online journal here every two weeks this season, and hopes you’ll send her your questions about life on the U.S. Ski Team. Contact her directly at cookie@insideinc.com. Make sure to include your name and a note about yourself. If you’d like to remain anonymous if Cookie answers your note, say so in your e-mail to her.