CSIA Fitness Testing

That is me on the bike getting ready for misery.  This was a VO2 MAX test.  Unlike a regular ride when there is a goal, the top of the hill, in this test the imaginary hill just gets harder and harder until you fail.  Breathing into the tube seemed to be a limiting factor for me.  It was an interesting experience.  The test (evaluation) was conducted by CSIA member Jill Sagan's company TCR Sports Lab.

The idea of this evaluation was to determine a baseline fitness recommendation for CSIA members training for upper level certifications.  I think this is a good start for Instructors who are going for their Level 4.  Training for the level 4 requires a huge amount of skiing mileage and thus a high standard of physical fitness.  As an Examiner of this certification, fitness is definitely and aspect that in some cases I have seen make or break a candidates success.

My recommendation for fitness training as it relates to Level 4 certification is to interval train at a rate that simulates the performance required.  For example the bump run in a Level 4 exam is an intense 40-60 seconds so it makes sense to do exercises in 40-60 second intervals.  This might be running stairs, box jumps, sprints etc.  After a proper warm up go as hard as you can for this short amount of time.  If you really push you will be exhausted after 50 seconds, the same way you might feel after a 50 second bump run where you have put in a 100% effort. 

I recommend this for on snow training for the Level 4 as well, of course get your quantity training in, but everyday that you are on snow take one run where you charge100%.  Take a moment at the top of this run, tell yourself "this is the one run that counts" (just like on the exam) and then perform.  In dry-land training or on the Level 4 ski off there is no better feeling than knowing you showed your absolute best.

Rossland Street Ski

More snow in Rossland.  It is tough to match the skiing enthusiasm of an 8 year old.  We have skis, we have snow, and we have a run- Spokane Street.  Simon had to ski it.  Simon and his buddy Finn skied four laps of Spokane Street from Mcleod Ave to Columbia Ave and it just got better every time.

Spokane Snowlander Expo

I worked the Spokane Snowlander Expo over the weekend with Fran Richards, Lorilie and Terry Jones, and Keiren Gaul (pictured).  Spokane is an interesting place as a skier market.  Spokane skiers have a lot of choice in where to ski.  Mt. Spokane is quite decent-it blows away expectations of a "local hill", then there is 49 North, Schweitzer, Silver Mountain, Lookout Pass, Whitewater and of course Red Mountain.  I honestly would have a hard time deciding where to ski if I lived there, as a skier I love variety.

I do see a tremendous potential for Red Mountain in Spokane.  Just in talking to skiers at the show who said "I skied there 7 years ago, I would love to go back".  Either people had not heard of Red or they said something along these lines.  That is the thing about Red Mountain, skiers (serious) who have been here want to come back here.  At Red Mountain there is always something to come back for.

Fischer Vacuum Boots

I had my new Fischer Vacuum boots fitted yesterday by Ian McAdams at Village Ski Hut in Nelson.  This is quite an innovation in ski boot technology.  Instead of the traditional fitting and molding of the boot liner, this technology molds the plastic shell of the boot to the skiers foot.  It is amazing to see the cuff of my boot, looking at it from the back the plastic of the cuff is bent to the shape of my lower leg.  The process is quick and very simple, or it might be Ian's 40 years of boot fitting experience that made it seem simple. 

Ian warmed the plastic shells up in an oven, inserted the liner which I stepped into, I then stepped onto the platform that you see in the photo.  He then fitted a vacuum bag over each boot, turned on the machine and chatted and sipped coffee with me for I guess about 10 minutes.  The vacuum process feels like one of those blood pressure cuffs that you put your arm into.

Looking forward to putting the boots to use soon.  Thanks Ian.