Thin snow log

Well it's been a bit of a long test on the thin snow, and I'm really proud to report our pros made more than the best of it.  It's just magical to watch the best pros turn the difficult snow into a magic environment for people to improve.  One of the most important goals that I challenge people with in my book is the idea of skiing all snow.  As the French say:  Toutes neiges, toutes montagnes.  The best skiers ski all snows and all mountains.

And today we were rewarded.  We had a reasonable dump of about 8 inches, and it brought the mountains alive.  I was on Aspen Mtn, and the smiles were almost more bright than the snow.  And how beautiful to see the whole valley become so white as the storm broke.  

I and few friends did a TV shoot for two different crews.  One local and one French.  And the snow was so delicious we could really open up and dance on it.  And for me, the thrill of being able to ski at speed again on all my new internal hardware was off the charts amazing.

What a beautiful sport!  What a state of grace we achieve while ripping through the snow.  Gotta have more.  I'm so greedy!  And I'm finally on the new skis with width and rocker.  Amazing sensation on my Blizzard Bonafides.  Every year it gets better.  Wonder what it will be like when I reach 120 years old?

Posted On: January 08th, 2012   By: Weems

Face shot!

When the snow is thin, you can still get a face shot! 

Watch Weems's head explode.

Also, check out Cindy Leuctenberg's  "ski like an Egyptian" pointer.

Posted On: December 29th, 2011   By: Weems

Skiing Versatility

Since the snow is a little thin this season (so far), a lot of us are making really excellent improvements in our skiing.  This is not as odd as it sounds, because it's easy to ski when the snow is perfect and deep.  It's a little more challenging when the mountain terrain underneath the snow is not rolled and smoothed over by the cats.  The original earth terrain is still visible under the snow terrain.  The best word to describe this terrain is chaos.  And the best thing you can do for your skiing and riding is practice your stuff in chaotic conditions. 

My suggestion is to do a gazillion short turns through all the little ripples, bumps, rolls, ice patches, old ski tracks.....just go anywhere that looks downright silly to ski on and make short turns.  Why short turns?  Because it'll keep your speed down to safety zone for the conditions!  And because you'll do more reps than anyone out there.  Every time I do this--every time I start a season like this--on thin snow with short turns--I become a better skier.

So stop complaining, get up off the couch, put the smartphone down, and get out and crank 'em

Posted On: December 29th, 2011   By: Weems

Dan Humphries in the half pipe.

Maybe you didn't know it, but we've got some of the most incredible snowboard pros in our Diamond Pro Group!!  Check out Dan Humphries, the lead snowboard trainer at Snowmass.  He just gave us a video of how to ride the half pipe.  One of the critical parts of the idea of the Sports Diamond is to continually engage the Will to leave your comfort zone.  Dan's journey into the half-pipe is a perfect example.  Makes me hungry to get on my new Burton!  

Posted On: December 15th, 2011   By: Weems

Better Skiing through Racing

We opened the season this year on Aspen Mountain with the fabulous skiers of the women's World Cup Giant Slalom and Slalom.  Although we've got race shots, you can really ignite your skiing by watching these women free ski.  Watch our video of these amazing skiers with the comments of Jonathan Ballou--Diamond Pro and the Training Manager for the Ski & Snowboard Schools of AspenSnowmass.  Racing is STILL the major template for great skiing.  You can get racing lessons with the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen/Snowmass on Aspen Mountain, or with Taché Racing at the Highlands.  Or find a racing program at your home area!

Posted On: December 15th, 2011   By: Weems

Fun at the Highlands!

Hi Folks!

Sorry I've been out of touch.  Have started my new job as Manager of the Highlands Ski & Snowboard School.  What a cool ski area.  

This valley is blessed with four terrific, but very different areas.  And for me, my connection to the Highlands is one of the biggest thrills in my career.  It's a magic place with a sense of intimacy and family that coalesces around the super big mountain terrain feel--with Highlands Bowl as the crown jewel.  I think it also has the most beautiful apine visuals in the valley with perhaps the only ski area where you can see the full glory of both Pyramid Peak and the Maroon Bells together.  You'll see in my book that there are several pictures that show this magical sight.

The area is big/steep/gnarly---with the feel of other steep legends like Taos Ski Valley, Snowbird, and Jackson.  

AND, after all my surgery last season, I'm finally able to rip on it.  Skied my second bump run today, and found my full speed on the groomers.  

Well....YEEEEEHAAWWWW!

New videos comin' at you!

Posted On: December 15th, 2011   By: Weems

October in Colorado

My second day at Copper Mountain in late October, and the Demo Teams of PSIA--past and present--skied together.  Some of my true heroes and colleagues, as well as all the young hot shoes new folks were out there.

I really appreciate the people in the ski teaching world.  They're dedicated and talented and kind and really fun to hang out with.  When I was a kid the thing that struck me the most about ski instructors was how much fun they have on and all around their jobs.  That sucked me to the profession like a hot pig to cool mud.

And the first couple of days in a season are so wild.  Even if you've done it all your life, you get a little anxious.  Do I still remember how?  Will I have to start over?  Can I even get off the chairlift without falling down?

My delight was off the charts on this second day.  After yesterday's tentative steps to start skiing again after all the surgery--two new hips and a new backbone-- well, today I felt safe enough to go a little bigger, and lit up the afterburners.  Don't know if I can stand this much joy.  I'll practice.
Check the photo.  Colorado in OCTOBER???!!!!  Dig it.

Posted On: October 29th, 2011   By: Weems

First Day of the Season!

Well, life is starting over.  After not skiing since April 2010...After 3 major surgeries (back, and two hips) in a seven month period....After endless rehab (with plenty more to go)...After all the incredible doubts about whether I'll ever ski again while lying there healing...  TODAY I SKIED.  No it was not a pretty sight.  I've got a ways to go before I'll be able to get where I was.  But now I KNOW I will.  All the new parts work!

I was worried that he put a left hip in my right socket and that I would ski around in circles!

We had a ton of snow so it quickly turned to that bumpy, powdery, icy condition that is so tricky when lots of people are skiing on new snow on a small space.  And it worked.  I can still do that.  Yeehaw!

It's been an interesting road, and a real test of the diamond model.  So here's the ski lesson, sport lesson, life lesson involved.  Summon the WILL.  The will to believe that this would project would work.  The will to believe that I could restart my skiing.  The Will to rehab one operation only to get sliced open again.  There were some really hard moments.  BUT I LOVE THIS PROCESS AND OUTCOME.  I really believe that you get better by finding the Will to test yourself, push yourself, face and recognize the anxiety, and take your life into your own hands.  Even for just a little while.  Make that choice and do the thing.

And of course I'm now addicted to invasive surgery along with the accompanying anesthesia!  I think I need a new transmission now.  

And I guess the message is that you can really step up and do what you need to do.  But you don't really know it  until you do it.  This is why Will is such a critical part of sports and living.  This is why Will is the corner stone of the  Sports Diamond!

Posted On: October 29th, 2011   By: Weems

New Season Coming Soon!

Just testing the new blog platform for EdgeChange.com. Be sure to check out the video ski lessons coming soon.

Posted On: October 25th, 2011   By: Weems

Confessions of a Surgery Junkie

I've just been rambling on a really fun discussion about artificial parts on Facebook, and it got me to realize that I am now an expert in being an orthopedic surgery patient.  I've had two major invasive surgeries (back and hip replacement) since November, 2010.  And I'm having one more hip replacement this July, 2011.  When I include the knee replacement in 2008, that will be four majors in three years.  I'm good at this!  And I've got some stuff to pass on about it for those either experiencing or contemplating the same.

I lot of people have sent me good healing "vibes" and others have commented on the fact that I have a good attitude.  I deeply appreciate both sentiments.  And I suspect they're really helpful.  But neither explains why this has been such a good ride for me.

So here are three key strategies to making this happen well.  I hope they help!

1.  Don't wait so long.  Wouldn't you do better having a big surgery when you're 60 instead of waiting until you're 80?  If the joint's gonna go, it's gonna go.  So don't turn yourself into a  painkiller addict and finally get it replaced when you can't deal well with the surgery and aren't gonna be able to do much with the joint anyway.  Do it NOW.  The doc said he'd give me thirty years on my new knee.  All I need is 25.  How silly would it have been to wait until all I needed was 5!!

2.  Be clear about your role.  For the doctor, the surgery itself is about 80% of the event.  For you, the surgery is about 20%.  YOUR other 80%--the meat of your job--is rehab.  And here's the big one--the one I just learned.  If you have the lead time,  become fanatical about rehab BEFORE the surgery.  I'm usually in pretty good shape.  But I worked out like an animal before this last one, and I'm about three weeks ahead of normal recovery, as I write this.  I have a pretty good constitution, but there is no way I'd be so far ahead had I not started a month before the surgery.  But even if you don't have the lead time, just realize that the doctor's job is the surgery.  YOUR JOB IS THE REHAB.  And rehab before and after also means keep your weight right!  If you're 50 lbs overweight, you're gonna be better off at 40 lbs overweight.  This is guaranteed.

3.  Be a patient patient.  First, so you don't overwork the rehab.  And second, just realize that healing takes some time.  You'll get there faster if you start with a slow but steady pace.

These joint replacements represent an amazing opportunity for rejuvenation and getting into old age with a real chance at not being disabled.  Imagine this 40 years ago.  People used to ask me what I was going to do when my body caved in from all the beatings I gave it.  I had no clue.  Now I know.  I will be able to annoy people on skis until I'm well over 100!

Posted On: April 27th, 2011   By: Weems Westfeldt

New Hobby

I always knew that the Sports Diamond™ was transferable to all sports.  Only recently have I discovered that it is useful for inventing new sports.  

My new sport--and new hobby?  EXTREME SURGERY!

Seems like the knife doesn't stop.  Had a total knee replacement three years ago after numerous spring "scopings".  But now it's escalating.

Did a triple laminectomy (that's where they rotor-rooter your spinal column and decompress your spinal cord) and triple fusion, last November.  Now Wednesday, I go in for a new hip.  And possibly August I'll get a second new hip.

I'm going to win at Extreme Surgery.  And here are the criteria for success.

Frequency:  25 points for every surgery, 50 if you do them in one year.

Amplitude:  This refers to size of surgery.  For example, arthroscopic meniscus repair--5 points.  ACL reconstruction 50 points, total joint replacement 75 points.  (back fusions and laminectomies count as TJR's)  

Degree of Invasiveness:  External, 5 points.  Arthroscopic, 25 points.  Body flayed open, 50 points.

After effects:  Infections, 25 penalty points.  Infections cured, 50 points.

Rehab:  No rehab, 50 penalty points.  3x week rehab activity, 10 points.  Daily rehab, 50 points.  Rehab is your life, 75 points.

Amazing how cool it is to be able to replace all that stuff that I've trashed over the years.  This gives me another 30 years of annoying people on skis.

And before you throw that old cliche about "bionic" at me.  This is not bionic  Bionic implies electronic functioning.  These are just new parts  that fit in where the old ones were.  I suspect that they are really made out of legos.

Diamond applications

Will:  The absolute commitment to building an entirely new body before the age of 70.

Purpose:  To ignore the passage of time.

Power:  Mechanical advantage of titanium, ceramics, plastic, and no ACL to worry about.

Touch:  Trying to coordinate all this new hardware! (It's not my knee, but it works like a knee, so I'm going with it.  "All right!  All you ligaments and muscles!  We're turning left.  TOGETHER this time."

So go to it.  Extreme Surgery is the new skiing!  You can get the parts on sale at Walmart's.

Posted On: March 26th, 2011   By: Weems Westfeldt

Fallen Friends

It's today at Aspen Highlands.  Check it out at

http://www.aspensnowmass.com/travelinfo/events/detail.cfm?&eventID=81

Posted On: March 26th, 2011   By: Weems Westfeldt

New Books!

First, ( I get to be first because it's my blog!), I am pleased to announce that my new book comes back from the printer on Jan 11, and I can ship any time after that. 

Second, here is a note from one of the truly great ski teachers in our business.  You should definitely check out Mermer Blakeslee's new book:   The new and revised edition of her book,  A Conversation with Fear (formerly In the Yikes! Zone) is now out and available as an e-book or in paperback. You can find it on the E-Reads website: http://ereads.com/2011/01/a-new-way-to-look-at-fear-and-accept-it.html or at Amazon. 

Posted On: January 07th, 2011   By: Weems Westfeldt

The New Brilliant Skiing, Every Day

My friend, Joanne, has asked me a great question.  (Paraphrasing) Why would I want the new version if I have the old one?  What's different?

Certainly there is much the same:  The ideas about learning, the pointers on skiing, the Sports Diamond™, the typos--maybe fewer typos.  And I believe that the underlying sense of total goofiness and fun of the skiing and riding remains.

What follows is a bit thick, so you should just get the book instead.  The information there is much more accessible and much more fun!   

Donning my professor's hat, here  is what I've added--and what inspired me to undertake a revision rather than just a second edition with new pictures.

• The most significant change is this:  Since I started using the Sports Diamond™ more in earnest, I've discovered something missing in the original iteration of the model.  Something that--once discovered--really ignited my sports development and teaching in a surprising and pleasing way.  I felt that choosing content from each corner of the diamond seemed sort of random.  While teaching in a more conscious way from the model I found that, in each category, there is one powerful and fundamental aspect or paradigm that structured the entire corner--giving it coherence, foundation, and some criteria for success. The four fundamental aspects are: dynamic and resilient alignment in Power, creation and management of the platform in Purpose, awareness in Touch, and action in Will.  They are explained in detail in the second section, and they are sprinkled throughout the book.
• Centering is also one of the primary aspects of how I approach sports.  This is essentially the work of Tom Crum of whose work I am a big advocate.  I've significantly expanded the reference to this work throughout the book, and also dedicating an entire chapter to it.
• I've clarified many of the issues that might have been a bit muddled in the first edition.
• I've referred, without to much ponderous detail, to some of the changes in modern skiing.
• I emphasize more insistently the necessity of attacking ALL the pieces of a sport--especially regarding balancing the issues of learning, understanding, and doing AND expressing my ongoing belief that both technical and humanistic issues are equally important.
• This book includes some new stories, new photos to illustrate the points, new graphic and physical design to make the major issues more accessible, reference to some of the modern technical issues without trying to be too techy, and some unapologetic references to what it is that we do out there--both on the light level of success/frustration, and on the deeper level of engaging your spirit to transcend.  And, probably, some new typos!
• I've had the fortune to be informed by the influence of Horst Abraham and Susan Scott--especially relative to conversation, adaptation and interrogation as teaching/learning tools.
  • Horst, a pioneer in ski teaching and leadership, correctly insists that adaptive--rather than technical--solutions are often ignored in the learning process. I have tweaked the Sports Diamond™ a bit to reflect my agreement with him. Also Horst has challenged me to "ask" more than "tell" as a powerful doorway to real learning.  This device is as effective as it is hard to remember to do.
  • Reinforcing and adding to Horst's concerns, Susan's book, Fierce Conversations  taught me that conversations filled with penetrating questions are the great secret to true collaboration. 

There are many questions in the book for you to ask yourself.  And your own answers will point the way to your success.

Thank you, Joanne, for your great question!

Hope everyone is enjoying great skiing and riding during the holidays.

-Weems

Posted On: December 26th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

SOME BIG NEWS!

The new book--the revised edition--of BRILLIANT SKIING, EVERY DAY is at the printers and will be ready to ship in early January.  And you can PRE-ORDER  it now.  It's got lots of new stuff in it.

• New stuff about the Sports Diamond™ and how to use it.
• New stories, new photos, and new ideas.

I'm personally very gratified with how this came out , compared to the first edition, as it more accurately expresses  how I view this material and how I approach snowsports in general.  The diamond is evolving.  As it should.

Now think about this a moment.  Right now you're buying presents for the people you care about..  But by January 1, it is a semi-pseudo-quasi-scientific fact that people begin to suffer severe present decompression toward the end of the year.  They've had this enormous flood of gifts suddenly stop, as if someone had shut down their oxygen supply.  Now wouldn't you be the coolest friend or loved one ever if, on Jan. 1, 2011, you informed your significant others of all kinds, that they have another present on the way!   BRILLIANT SKIING, EVERY DAY.  This is precisely the reason that the book will ship in January--as a favor--to help folks with present decompression.  (That and I had back surgery and was trying to edit while taking percocet!)

Alternatively, you could buy it tonight, and indicate in a card on Christmas morning that the book is on the way---only delayed by Weems's quest for perfection.

One last thing.  There will also be an ebook available near the middle of January for those moderns who can't stand the feel of curling up with a traditional book!

Oh yeah....Very Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

Posted On: December 20th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

New Turns: Part 2

I finished the other day talking about new skis.

Two big issues come to mind as I watch skiers these days:

1.  Torsion

2.  Rocker

On torsion, it seems to me that we've avoided letting the skis drift, or making them drift at the transition or edge change.  The main reason is that once they started drifting it was so hard to get them to hook up and carve, because they just weren't stiff enough torsionally.  I think those days are really over.  It was so fun to have students last season on steeper harder snow and be able to tell them not to try to hold so much at the initiation.  One woman told me that this was like taking a huge weight off of her shoulders, and she was still able to control her line and speed without TOO much drifting through the middle.  Watching the world cup it is really amazing to me how much they can displace the skis sideways and still hold cleanly in the middle of the turn.

On rocker, I was one of those that looked at this as something fad like.  And I think versions of it will be fad like.  There will be experimentation until they get it right. But at the very least, now there is a control in loose snow that was really difficult in the old days. Watching skiers check and sidelip/drift through powder is truly amazing.  The range of possibilities in the arcs are create a versatility in big mountain and back country skiing that is really nice to watch.  AND they tips sure don't dive like they used to!

I think rocker will start to develop really nicely for packed skiing as well--to allow more versatility--without losing performance.  Many companies are already doing it.

The lesson here:  Always keep the mind open to the new tech developments.  Sure some are just marketing hype.  But underneath the hype is often the seed of some great new changes in possibilities.

Posted On: December 13th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Some techy stuff on turns: Part 1

I wonder if many have noticed in the racing world how much the initiation of the turn--the edge change--has evolved.

My sources tell me that Bode Miller started the ball rolling by "backing" the tails into the turn. As usual, strange new words are used to describe it, like skivoting-- which seems to be a mix of skid and pivot. 

Two days ago, in the Super G at Beaver Creek, it was incredible to watch the racers completely pivot their skis toward the new turn, and side slip between 20 and 40 feet before hooking up the edge to bring them across.  This is a long way from the more recent conventional dogma that you had to have a clean carve from start to finish because 1.  it was faster, and 2.  Once you start skidding, it's damn near impossible to stop it.

Now for sure, these events seem to be mostly in very steep and/or very sharp corners.  However the look has really changed.  Check out Ted Ligety's run in the Super G on www.universalsports.com for an example.  He didn't finish the run, but the upper part was pretty fast.

Interestingly, ski racing now begins to look more like auto racing or motorcycle racing in that there are many ways to turn in depending on the situation--speed, line, tactics etc.

Why is this possible in skiing right now?

Well, first, it always has been, and it's always been used.  But more importantly, new skis have allowed new options.

In Part 2, I'll discuss some of those.

In the meantime, if you really want to understand exciting sports, check out Packy's blog on intramural hockey--wild, dangerous, dramatic, parties

Posted On: December 06th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Polytropon

My friend, Joan Rostad reminds me that Homer used the word polytropon to describe Odysseus.  The word evokes "a man of many turns".  

I love this word.  Polytropon is what I want to be when I grow up.  Or even before.

Certainly the Sports Diamond™ includes, even demands, this capacity.  And for me, it's the way I watch the turns of the world.

A friend wrote me the other day that he had been stalled in his classical guitar playing--not going anywhere.  And then he, almost by chance, changed his focus and picked up a steel string guitar and reinvented himself as a blues player.  Amazing!  What changed?  Just a small shift in focus.  Moving out of the stuck place into a newer realm.  And now he plays classical better and with much more spirit.  

My friend is a polytropon.  Be one of those!

Posted On: December 03rd, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

ski lessons

So given that I'm off skis, what am I gonna do this winter? 

Give ski lessons, of course.  If you've go questions, ask them at weems@edgechange.com  I'll answer right away.  

We'll also have more podcasts to help that process.

And mostly, I'll be watching the World Cup to stay current.

 That's where I learn to ski.

Posted On: December 01st, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

The first cut is the deepest.

Now I know what a fish feels like when it gets fileted.  It is so weird to have something as central as your lower back that screwed up for so long, and then all of  a sudden it's fine.  But it doesn't quite feel fine yet!  I still feel like a fileted fish.  

But my mind is good.  When I was in the hospital and the pt woman (bless her!) came and asked me if I was ready to walk, all I could say is, "That's what I'm here for.  That's my job.

So...three things today to think about.

1.  Clarity of Purpose:  My mission is to get better.  I will do everything that contributes to that and relinquish the all that doesn't.  I'll eat, but not too much.  I'll rest, but not too much.  It's interesting that moderation equals ferocious commitment.

2.  I will smile a lot, as I'm full of gratitude that this is possible. And besides, life is really strange and funny in so may ways.

3.  Accepting the help of friends is really hard, and I'm enjoying learning to do that.  When they ask if they can help, they really mean it.  It becomes my job to find something that WILL help , but that doesn't demand too much.  Like a meal here or a ride there.  But the harder part, and the most amazing experience for self-reliant people is to surrender to the compassion of others.  Wow, what a moment.

Posted On: December 01st, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

New pincer stick

I  would rather have a new pincer stick than opposable thumbs.  Or a new backbone.

And I think that Dr. St. John rocks...even though he rides a Harley.

Posted On: November 29th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

New Backbone!

It's funny all the thing you want for Christmas.  You barely think about maybe a spankin' new spinal column.  Well that' my Christmas present.  

Wow what a cool surgery:  four vertebrae with laminectomies and two with fusions.  Briefly, Lumbar 2, 3, 4 and 6 had the backs cut out of them and had the badly compressed spinal cord released--diminishing the possibility of catastrophic nerve damage.  And Lumbar 3, 4, and 5 fused so that they don't slip any further. In one day, I went from looking at the end of skiing to, like 25 more years of strong skiing.

Nice Christmas.

The whole thing is an interesting process...dealing with pain, functions, learning how to move differently, and best of all...Am I the only one who still didn't know that the best invention of mankind is that little trigger operated pincer stick that allows me to pick up my shoes without bending over???  You'd think your friends would have told you about such a device long ago.  But NO!!!!  

The pian is pretty interesting too.  

The nurses are constantly asking me, "What number is you pain between 1 and 10?"  

"Well zero if I don't move. 138 if I move."  

Naw.  It's not that bad.  Especially when you consider that I have  just been given 25 years of new living at a high level.

Dealing with pain sure calls upon the Will, and I'm learning new techniques of moving, and my motivation is off the charts.  (Another thing they don't really tell you in operation school:  For the Doctor, the operation may be 90% of the game.  For the patient, at least 80% happens after the operation is focus and rehab.  When the PT ladies ask me if I'm ready to do some PT.  My only thought is that I'm here to work.  It's wonderful to be so clear of purpose.  But there is another piece that really shocked me.  These people in the hospital--nurses, pt's, docs, PA's and others--are really nice.  Their compassion is endless, and it seems like I really feel drawn toward acknowledging that as often as I can.  They need to know that I get it, what they are doing for me.  And I do.  And I appreciate them so much.

Posted On: November 29th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

“Life is curly”

This is one of the great statements of Susan Scott, author of "Fierce Conversations"--possibly my favorite new book to tell by the dog-eared pages of my copy. She goes on to say that we seem to spend a lot of time trying to straighten it out.  And it won't be straightened.

Well in this case it really got twisted:  I went to surgery, got all prepped, all IV'd , and then got postponed (due to a problem getting all the staff to the O. R. because of the weather).  By the way what I have is  lumbar spinal stinosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis.  It's a lot more exciting than, say, cold sores.

So, two things in my mind to share.

1.  Allow Purpose to shift.  My energy was completely focused on positive participation in the surgical process.  And then that was taken away.  Option 1:  Whine.  Option 2:  Find a new process.  I went for option 2, so now I'm back home, blogging, and getting ready to ramp up the focus again.  There is no frustration here.  Only engagement in the "curliness" of living

2.  Suddenly realizing last night what the deal is on this operation.  It's about the Power corner.  Part of Power is the body--my fitness, my tool.  My own particular body is out of gas, out of power, due to a narrowing of the spinal cord.  If I didn't focus here, now!--it wouldn't matter how much technique, Will, Purpose, and Touch I had.  My skiing would go down the tubes.  Easy shift.  Easy to know what to fix.  And most importantly, this is part of my game!  This is ski training (or bike training).  Now I understand more about the athletes who get injured big.  They go right into surgery and get ready for the next year.  The French slalom ace, Jean-Baptiste Grange blew up his leg in the Fall races last year.  Instead of panic and try to get ready for the Olympics, he just focused on getting ready.  Man, was he ready!  He crushed the field in the first slalom this year in Levi, Finland, and will probably continue this season really strong.  When did this start?  At the moment of injury.  Nice choice.  Nice focus.

Posted On: November 24th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Pre-surgery Diamond

The Will is the primary resource the day before the spinal fusion operation.  And what strikes me the most is that the Will is NOT about having the operation or not.  It's about managing the anxiety.  And it is so easy.

I have learned to not be afraid of things that are out of my control.  Once I decide to do this thing, the control is in the doctor's hands.  And those of the other caretakers.  Once I've done all I can do to ensure safety, it is so easy to surrender the rest to the professionals, and the fear just dissolves.

What do I replace that with?  More stuff from Will:  The absolute understanding that 80% or more of this process is about my commitment to healing and rehab.  This is completely within my control.  The choice to move forward--rebuilding myself, reinventing my body--is what completely obliterates anxiety and pain (along with the drugs) .

I'm off for the big adventure to become a new person for the next 65 years.

Posted On: November 23rd, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Sports, Injury, Recovery

I'v'e skied every season since 1952.  Since I was six!  This season will be my first winter off skis.  

And, of course, we're going to have a boomer snow year in Aspen.  I'm only gonna shout this once.   I'm sooo happy for everyone!

So they give me a new backbone on Thanksgiving (spinal fusion) and a new hip in March.  Very cool challenge, and easy to buy into.  The back situation is really dangerous unless I do the surgery, and the him will deliver me from a fresh type of pain I had not experienced.  At the end, I'm gonna be super strong and ready for 25 more years.  Very exciting.

The process, however, is what fascinates me.  It will be a journey in the Sports Diamond™ like none other that I've experienced.  I know that the rehab commitment and process is 80% of the deal for the patient.  It's lots of responsibility and lots of possibility.  

Today is the 21st of November.  The knife descends on the 24th.  I'm looking forward to it. Looking forward to getting better. And looking forward to what I learn.  And looking forward to see if my tools in the diamond work as well as I think they do.

Will keep you posted.  In the meantime, I'm getting ready for intravenous turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted On: November 21st, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Diamond Field Hockey!

I've always believed that the Sports Diamond™ was a framework that could be used in team sports.  As I watch professional team sports on TV, it tends to be fairly easy to spot what's working and what's not working...at least on the level of an uninformed observer.  Try it some time.  Watch a football game through the diamond lens!

I finally got a chance to test my ideas last week.   Tom Crum and I were invited to assist the season start-up of the Johns Hopkins University Women's Field Hockey Team in Baltimore.  It was amazing.

First of all, I need to acknowledge the tremendous intelligence, motivation, kindness, and athleticism of these athletes.  I had no idea how cool this game is, nor how amazing the players are.  I'm really impressed.

Secondly, working with Tom was, as usual, a delight.  The power of his mind/body work--based on Aikido principles of centering and the flow of energy--are always astonishing.  And this session was special because his amazing daughter Ali Crum--a truly magical athlete and an ivy league scholar of some renown was able to join us and add much credibility in the eyes of these young women.  If you've never done it, do not pass up the opportunity to take one of Tom's golf or ski programs.  I work in his Magic of Skiing every year, and find it very satisfying...for the students and the teachers.

My contribution involved three parts:  

• showing them the Leadership Diamond® of Dr. Peter Koestenbaum and the Sports Diamond™ created by myself and Ahmed Yehia (who also taught me the Leadership work).
• showing them the process of "holding polarity", originally developed by Barry Johnson and further developed by Yehia.
• Giving them a book report on the work of Susan Scott and her book "Fierce Conversations"

It was wonderful to watch these intelligent athletes pick up all this information so brightly.  I think they are going to win the championships this year.  I think they would have won it without our coaching, because they're so well motivated.  I just hope our coaching makes it easier for them.

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge Coach Megan Fraser for having the courage to bring in a couple of old boots like Tom and me (and Ali--young boot!) to present material that she hadn't seen before, therefore, as a coach held the potential to actually undermine her work.  Her faith in our intention, her support for the women on the team, and her wonderful positive attitude was really refreshing!

Good luck JH and thanks for having us!  Thanks to the magical snowboarder and team co-captain, Sarah Jacobs, for setting this up!

Posted On: September 01st, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Patrick’s Big Mountain Journey #2

It's been fascinating, through Patrick, to be drawn in to the world of big mountain freeskiing.  There are so many events and disciplines in skiing these days, that it is hard to stay focused.  However, over the years, I've watched racing the most, because it really tends to develop techniques that are useable everywhere.  

I love watching it, when it is done well.  The sport is maturing, as the judges are starting to reward the skiers that really SKI the mountain rather than those who sideslip up to a big cliff and then fall off of it.  

Imagine, being at the top of such a huge mountain and looking for the most creative lines and features, and just dancing down them, with precision, courage, and invisible caution.  Patrick speaks of creative lines and "stand-up" skiing.  AND he has years and years of racing background that teaches him that the point is NOT straight-lining it, but rather making beautiful, fluid, connected turns through and over the features.

I'm in awe of this kind of skiing.  Follow the tour at http://freeskiingworldtour.com/  

It's a great way to watch the Sports Diamond at work:  

Purpose:  Working the lines and features

Power:  Using really good skiing fundamentals to work the skis, and using the great new skis to make it possible.

Touch:  The dance.  The complete connection to the mountain and gravity and all its nuances.

Will:  Commitment to action in a way that was unimaginable not too long ago.

Posted On: August 19th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Patrick’s Big Mountain Journey

EdgeChange.com is going pro!  Pro freeskiing that is.  We're sponsoring Patrick Westfeldt as he begins a new career as a pro freeskiing competitor.  

On August 21, he is off to Argentina to do the Subaru Freeskiing comp.  

You can follow his adventures on twitter @packquito.  And you can read his blog right here: 

He'll be giving us ideas, thoughts, pointers, and adventures, as he goes.  Find out what it's like to see the big mountain skiing through the eyes of one of the pros.

This is how he looks when he surfs.  Or...when he IS the surf.

Posted On: August 18th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

The Tour de France

I swore this year that I would not spend those hours watching the TdF, like I have for the last 8 years.  I mean, there are so many sports that take so much TV time.  This year I skipped the NBA and Wimbledon successfully.  But the bike racing pulls me in like hot pigs to cool mud.

I'm just amazed by it.  The complexity of this race and the breadth and depth of these riders leaves me pretty much speechless.

I'll talk more about it this week.  However, a quick look at the race through the Diamond lens shows:

Power:  Amazing technology in machinery, techniques for riding, and of course, beyond-fit fitness levels.

Purpose:  The strategies of individuals and teams, the number of different goals to be sought and traded off, the politics and diplomacy.  This is one of the most complex games I've ever seen from the point of view of intention-->consequences.  There is so much that counts!!

Touch:  The feel for the road, balance, smoothness, weather, timing of the sprints and the breaks.  The riders certainly have clear purpose, but their intuitive sense of the race and road is really a pleasure to watch.  (How often do you eat out of a bag while riding your bike?  Or relieve yourself while riding it, for that matter!)

Will:  Ultimately, it's down to this.  It is an epic battle against the self, the other individuals, the other teams, the roads, and the mountains.  The ultimate suffer-fest.

I am rapt.  More details tomorrow...with thoughts about the first six stages.

Posted On: July 08th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Ski Tip for Groomers #1

THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT.

We hear a lot about "long leg short leg" as if it is some magic new way of skiing.  It's not.  However, since the advent of shaped skis with better materials, carving is more available at slower speeds so the methods become more out in front.  

"Long leg/short leg" is simply this:  For the skis to carve two parallel tracks on a slope each leg needs to do a very different  movement.  The inside leg needs to be shorter, and more compact than the outside leg in order to leave room for both legs to lean inward.  If the inside leg were long, you just would not be able to achieve the platform angle necessary to make the edges hold.  This is a UNIVERSAL.  You will NOT see a skier carving without the inside leg being shorter than the outside leg.  So in a sense, all you have to do to show the soles of your skis to the cheering crowds below is shorten the inside leg as you initiate the edge change.  Try it on a nearly flat slope (preferably a convex one--over a little knoll).  Start traversing and (while maintaining pressure on the outside/downhill ski) ONLY flex the ankle and knee of the inside/uphill ski).  DO NOT try to turn with this exercise.  Just let the skis do it.  You've given them all the input they need.  Now take it on the road.  Try it everywhere.

One caution:  There is a strong tendency to advance the inside leg as you shorten it.  Keep the inside ankle bending throughout.  It will help with your alignment AND it will prepare you to be forward enough to start the next turn.

Another note:  This is not the same as getting low in the turn.  Certainly the center of the body is closer to the slope than it would be with both legs straight.  However, the outside leg is quite long.  Therefore, dynamically, in the turn, the skier is quite tall and long even though the hips are close to the snow.

Check the right leg in the image below.  And notice that the bases of the skis are very clearly off of the snow.  And notice that the skier is very very happy!

Posted On: February 23rd, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Tips for Teaching #1

HOW WELL SHOULD YOU SKI OR RIDE?

In your ski lessons, it's not about how well you ski or ride.  It's about how much joy your students have.

Learn to ski or ride well.  At all speeds.  At slow speeds you can even do it perfectly.  However, be clear about the reason for this.  It is not so you can impress.  It's so that you can make really good and fundamental decisions about what doors to open for your students to step through.  

The pros who are really well grounded in fundamental stuff, can create magic.  Those that work in the field of technical exotica, might be successful in the short term, but eventually the student will hit the wall.

Inspire them!  Not so much with your dazzling talent, but rather with the accessibility of your fundamentals.  They need to know that THEY CAN DO THIS!

Posted On: January 31st, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Ski Tip for Bumps #1

NOTE:  THIS IS THE EXACT SAME THING I WROTE IN SKI TIP FOR STEEPS #1.  IT ABSOLUTELY APPLIES TO BUMPS IN THE SAME WAY FOR THE SAME REASON!

Readiness for the NEXT turn is as critical as the performance of the turn you're in!  Near the start of, say, a left turn, I allow my hand, arm, and pole--for the upcoming right turn--to begin swinging down the hill toward the next target.  In this way my hand is ready for the pole plant, and my eyes are also drawn down the hill, so I can see what's coming.  It's important that the hand and pole move directly down the fall line so when the pole is ready, it will touch the snow directly downhill from the boot--not necessarily next to the tip of the ski. Furthermore, the pole should go in almost directly underneath the pole-planting hand.  

At the very minimum, this movement of the pole and hand establishes a position of stability in the torso at the end of the turn, allowing me to not spent too much recovery time so I can launch my next turn.  Ideally, this position will become a new pole plant very quickly---thus helping me link the turns seamlessly and confidently.

Posted On: January 06th, 2010   By: Weems Westfeldt

Got bad habits?

It's New Year's Eve, so it's time to talk about resolutions we make to break bad habits.  Well guess what?  In skiing there are no bad habits.  All habits are solutions.  One more time.  ALL HABITS ARE SOLUTIONS!

So I don't want any of my students to tell me they've got bad habits anymore.  Instead, let's get together and find out what the repetitive behaviors (habits) are, and figure out what they accomplish for you.  

THEN let's ask and answer, together, the following questions:

Is this what you want to achieve?  If not, let's find different things to do.  If so, is this the best way (efficient? effective? versatile?) way to achieve it?    If not, can we tune it, refine it, or replace it?  Can we find a better way to achieve the same thing?  Can we find another "thing" that will work better?The negativity around the "bad habits" is a waste of time.  Let's just clarify Purpose and find the best way to achieve it.

Happy New Year, friends!

Posted On: December 31st, 2009   By: Weems Westfeldt

What I have learned since I wrote the book.

• People don’t read books.  People may not even actually read, except in small tweetable increments (excrements?).
• HOWEVER…YOU do!  And I appreciate your being there and I appreciate those who have read the book (seen the film, bought the lessons, drunk the kool-aid).  And more I appreciate your great feedback—even the guy who said, “I used to really enjoy skiing.  Now you’ve ruined my life.”  (The rest of the story is that he even enjoys skiing more, and has quit his job, left his family, and become a ski bum in Aspen—washing dishes at night, and skiing all day.)
• Using the model has evolved how I ski and teach.  The reason is that, as I worked in and among the corners of the diamond, I’ve discovered what I believe to be a “most” fundamental paradigm of each resource/corner of the diamond.  Stay tuned for full disclosure on these magical secrets in upcoming posts.
• I’m not in it for the money (although this wasn’t my plan!)

And, by the way....It is snowing today in Aspen!

Posted On: December 23rd, 2009   By: Weems Westfeldt