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Distance learning: the key to unconscious effort - technique & Training

Cross Country Skier - January 1, 2004

Time on skis is the ultimate teacher. Racing or long distance tours on lightweight equipment gives you even more time to learn and can teach you things that shorter ski outings can't. Competition or the simple need to reach your next bed forces your mind out of the way; your body then can figure out how to cover ground with the least amount of effort.

One day on a hut to hut trip in Norway, my classic skiing forever changed. The reindeer on the wall watched suspiciously as I ate a breakfast of reindeer sausage, cheese and bread. Twenty kilometers later while crossing Bygdyn, a large lake in the Johutenheimen region, I found myself riding my skis as if they were self-propelled. Thoughts of technique, like my breakfast, had faded long ago. I should have been cold, hungry and tired, but all I felt was the windblown snow beneath my skis as the branches used for trail markers whizzed by. With my mind at ease, my body figured out how to move across the lake with no conscious effort.

I couldn't tell if I was striding, one step double poling (kick double poling) of just double poling. My companions and I soon determined that we were doing them all at once--double pole with each stride, two or three step double pole, one double pole then two strides and so on. Pole use and timing changed even within each stride to maintain and maximize each glide.

To achieve that seemingly effortless efficiency in skiing takes practice. Transitions, timing, rhythm, intensity and power should all be broken into their component parts to explore techniques.

Transitions and Timing

Practice your transitions to create your own diagonal techniques, from stride to double pole and back. In the diagonal stride, one arm pushes on the pole while the other swings forward in recovery To transition from stride to double pole, let one arm pause after it swings forward while your other arm and your leg finishes the last kick. Pivot the pole forward from the grip, so the basket of the stalled pole swings into position for your double pole.

Reverse this procedure to switch from double pole of one step double pole back to diagonal stride. Swing both arms and poles forward at the same time after your last double pole, then pause one arm as the other arm poles, striding with the opposite leg. The basket of the stalled pole swings forward once again-in position for the next single pole push--while you push with the other.

Mastering transitions between and within established skating techniques offers the same benefits as with classic skiing. Once you can switch smoothly between established pole timings, you'll soon be inventing your own.

In V-1, you pole with every other skate. Switching sides balances the workload and allows you to choose sides on off camber trails, while passing other skiers or when you are skiing in packs. To change sides, cut your pole stroke short so you can recover in time to pole with the very next skate. An alternative is to eliminate a pole stroke and skate off each foot, then resume poling on the other side. Although dropping a stroke works well for a quick test, it will lose speed and momentum on a hill or in slow snow conditions.

Switching from V-1 to V-2 or V-2 alternate is where you begin to improvise to maintain or increase speed. When you first learn the various pole timings, stick to the songbook of established techniques; otherwise, novice skaters are likely to be confused, tending to use poles to push or pull themselves onto the next ski. Once you have a solid grasp on the established pole timings and the basics of moving from ski to ski, you can begin to make up your own tunes, finding new ways to extend and enhance glide.

To practice the jazz of the skate, start with V-1. Plant both poles slightly before your ski hits the snow; then change timing slightly to planting both poles just as you more onto the ski (the established timing). Continue to experiment, planting your poles just after you move onto the ski, then a little bit later, then much later and finally long after you have moved onto the ski. When the pole plant gets late enough, skip it altogether and shift into over-drive, skating without poles. As you skate without poles, you can swing both arms like a speed skater, hold one arm behind your back and swing the other, or make it up as you go.

Switching sides in V-2 alternate is a chance to bring another musical form to the snow--the waltz. To change sides in V-2 alternate, apply the same technique as V-1 with small adjustments that I'll trust you to figure nut. For far more fun, pole on one side, then add two skates without poles before resuming poling on the opposite side. During the free skates, swing the opposite arm like an ice skater. The waltz rhythm is 1, 2, 3, 1,2, 3, pole, skate, skate, pole, skate, skate. Add as many skates between poling as you care to, but poling on tire odd count feels great and keeps you alternating sides.

Rhythm and Intensity

Transitions mainly involve a change of timing, and help you to adapt to the challenges of hills, corners and snow conditions. Sometimes, however, a better approach is to carry your speed and momentum through these challenges by changing the intensity of your movements to maintain a steady rhythm, allowing you to practically ignore variations in terrain and snow.

Soon after the start of the second day of a pursuit race in Washington's Methow Valley, I was surprised to find myself skiing in a pack led by former Olympian Leslie Hall. Falling in behind, I marveled at the speed we maintained through corners, rolling hills and variable snow conditions. Her tempo was high and unaffected by anything we encountered. Matching her tempo required an intensity I thought I couldn't handle, but her quick turnover rate kept the effort within each skate at a level I could maintain (photo of blurred skater).

As we neared the only long hills on the course, I realized we had broken away from the pack when she yelled for someone to take a turn at the front: There was no one left but me. Near the base of the first rise, another skier did catch us, pulling slightly in front when I switched to V-1. Switching back to V-2, I caught and passed him, only to be passed again on the next hill when I switched again to V-1. At that point, Leslie yelled, "Don't V-1! He passes when you do!" Then she moved by in a V-2, disappearing with the other skier over the rise.

Although I certainly faltered because she is an Olympian and I am not, I suspect that I could have been pulled up those hills by her rhythm. If I had been behind her when we first hit the rise and ready to climb hills with a V-2, I might have succeeded.

Several years ago I attended a race camp at Bear Valley in California and watched Vladmir Smirnov negotiate a hill too steep for his grip wax. Although his skis splayed into a herring-bone, I detected no change in his tempo, speed or poling. On another day, a U.S. coach illustrated how to maintain rhythm while skating through an uphill S curve. To start, each of us went through the turn, adjusting for the pitch and the curves as we went. Then he demonstrated, magically negotiating both the corner and the hill without appearing to alter a single aspect of how he was skating on the straight and level.

To understand the power of rhythm, jump in and hang on if you're lucky enough to be able to ski for even a short distance behind a better skier. Mimicking another skier helps your transitions and forces you to develop new timing and technique variants as you adjust to match their rhythm and intensity. Better skiers often drop those behind with quick transitions and by powering over the crest of a hill. To stick with them, following their timing and transitions, key on their pole plants. When you crest a hill, maintain or increase your intensity as the pitch flattens out. Remember: when skiing closely behind another skier, protective eyewear is highly recommended.

If you have difficulty staying with a better skier even with these tips, put in some kilometers using only legwork or only poles. This helps develop the power, intensity and adaptability needed to match another skier over varying terrain.

In your skis slow too much between each pole or leg push, you may not be able to keep your skis gliding with just your arms or just your legs. Keep your tempo--how often you pole, skate or stride over a given time period--high enough to maintain a relatively constant speed during each pole, skate or stride. On steeper hills or slower snow, increase your tempo but not the intensity or effort you put into each stroke, an advantage you'll readily see the first time you double pole up a hill.

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