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Progress while skiing alone...?!

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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
Hello guys,

I have many sessions where I am skiing/rollerblading alone and its difficult for me to have fun and progress when I am alone. Usually I skate with friends and we are always having a great time, having a lot of fun and always pushing each other to the limits and we progress a lot and really fast! But if I am alone, it completely change my mind and I suck.

1) I am not really motivated/pumped up
2) I have fear of falling/getting injured
3) I dont push myself enough

I want to explain this three things a little bit:

Motivation
I always skate/ski alone during the week, that means I had a really long day with learning a lot in school etc. I always want to go skate, and looking forward to it, but I think: Oh man I dont really want to go out and do another challenging activity and it would be much easier just sitting at home and doing nothing (I think everybody has experienced this) but I can always manage it to push myself and finally go out.
So I am not really motivated to push my limits and doing another challenging thing!


Fear of falling/getting injured
One guy said one the ns forum:
"Dont care what could happen to your body"
And thats kinda true (dont be stupid of course) but I always give a fuck what could happen and thats holding me back so much!

Pushing myself to the limits/hitting new stuff
Probably biggest problem. I always repeat all the tricks that I already learnt and arent challenging for me anymore, so I dont progress...

Question:
So how can I turn into this "boss mode" when you feel yourself like a king and you just hit every single rail and throw out the biggest things you can do and you really dont give a fuck what could happen and you are just having a great time :D?

I know its not easy to answer this big question, and I know it will definately take more than just a day to change my mindest and let the motivation come from inside, but I will change it :D!

I already read the 10 commandments to successful park skiing from a member on the ns forum, panojibber, its really helpful but I dont do this things while I am having a session :(
The ten commandments to successful park skiing:
(you can skip this)
1. Ski every day and be willing to hike for ridiculously long periods of time to get a trick.
2. Just do shit, don't think about it that much. The more instinctual it is, the better it will often go. This obviously doesn't go for tricks that you haven't done on tramps/diving boards.
3. Ski with people who are better than you.
4. Huck your tricks off of everything. If you can do a switch three, do it off a cliff. Then do it off a bigger cliff(really impressive btw, and ridiculously easy). If you can do tap 180 in the park, do it somewhere on the mountain. If there is a random roller that nobody is tricking off of, then trick off it.
5. Be dedicated, remember that the only reason the pros are pro is because they wanted it more than everybody else. You have to ask yourself if there is someone who is willing to work harder than you. If you find the answer is yes, then make it no.
6. Compete, no matter how badly you get owned. Getting destroyed in a comp is one of the best motivators in skiing.
7. Push yourself. Hit bigger jumps, do your tricks off bigger jumps. If you can hit it comfortably, chances are you're ready to start throwing tricks off it.
8. Don't skip features. If you see a rail that you think is a bit too gnarly, try it anyways. The worst that could happen is you fall off it. Obviously there are exceptions, but don't ever skip something you know you could probably do.
9. Learn lots of tricks. The more rightside and leftside stuff you do, switch and forward, off axis, inverted stuff you do the better you'll get at everything. Do it all.
10. Be diverse. Learn rail tricks, box tricks, hip tricks, jump tricks, pipe tricks, silly tricks like hand drags and butters, and generally just try to be as good as you can be at everything. This will not only make you look good, but allow you to progress your skiing no matter the conditions, whether windy or sunny, slushy or icy, hard or soft, jumps or no jumps.


I hope you guys can help me, share your experience with skiing/skating alone and I would really appreciate it if you can give me some good tips :D
Thanks :D
Jul 2 2013 2:39PM
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scarsimd
Posts: 668 - Karma: 773
i never seem to learn new tricks without my friends
Jul 2 2013 2:50PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
thx for replying :)
So how do you guys get in the same good vibe while skiing alone?

Jul 2 2013 2:53PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
Thanks you are the man!
I will definately try this out next time :D

Jul 2 2013 3:06PM
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milk_man
Posts: 5252 - Karma: 5,983
Ski with music that gets you pumped. Just start landing tricks-even just small ones because it will give you some confidence to want to try new ones. You have to want to get better to get better, just focus on what you want to achieve and give yourself reasons to try it.
Jul 2 2013 3:11PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
When I'm alone I try to avoid skiing trees for obvious reasons, but other than that I'll just hit lines I find challenging that people can see from the chair in case I blow up. You don't have to wait for anyone, you can just push yourself- and of course repetitive skiing of lines you are unsure of will result in comfort eventually.


Skiing alone can get boring, but it's also a lot of fun if you aren't caught up about it.

Jul 2 2013 3:12PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
Ski with music that gets you pumped. Just start landing tricks-even just small ones because it will give you some confidence to want to try new ones. You have to want to get better to get better, just focus on what you want to achieve and give yourself reasons to try it.

Warming up and starting small to build confidence<-- Good advice, thanks a lot :)

When I'm alone I try to avoid skiing trees for obvious reasons, but other than that I'll just hit lines I find challenging that people can see from the chair in case I blow up. You don't have to wait for anyone, you can just push yourself- and of course repetitive skiing of lines you are unsure of will result in comfort eventually.


Thanks :) So I definately need to step up the game after warming up ;)
Another question, to actually make this advices happening:
How to NOT GIVE A FUCK what can happen to your body? Sometimes I am just not brave enough to hit something big, pushing it to the next level...
Jul 2 2013 3:18PM
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Bertrand
Posts: 423 - Karma: 457
This was my second season skiing, and I progressed a ton, most of it skiing by myself.

I did not progress much in the park this year because my best friend tore his ACL. Most, if not all, of my progression was just getting way better at skiing. If I was skiing alone, I would literally just lap under the Pali lift at A Basin. It got me so much better at steeps, bumps, some trees, and I found some fun drops too. All I did was put my favorite album on, and just go hard. Anytime someone cheered from the lift it made me stoked to do it again next run. I double ejected to my face a couple times, either because a bad landing, or just pure eating shit. It was awesome.

For park progress, learn it on a box first, then move it to rails. For me I see boxes as like, the least scary thing on the mountain, so I'll dick around a ton on them. Falling on a box hurts way less than a rail.
Jul 2 2013 3:24PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
Thanks man, congrats to your progress :D I will do this every single day now! Doesnt matter in skiing, rollerblading or whatever else :D
Jul 2 2013 3:26PM
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Karma_Police
Posts: 2655 - Karma: 1,628
I don't ride with anyone else because nobody is good enough to keep up.

Maybe if others were as good as me I'd ride with a crew but alas, I'm the best skier on any mountain.
Jul 2 2013 3:27PM
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PsychedelicMoose
Posts: 792 - Karma: 3,568
Having other people around has definately made me more confidant in myself. So having people and friends around while doing sports is a good thing.
Jul 2 2013 3:31PM
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amo
Posts: 6709 - Karma: 1,248
if you're riding alone and trying to progress in the park try this. scope things out and find a rider who's on a slightly higher ability level than you, follow them through the park trying the things that they do as if you were playing a game of skate. yes i realize this is odd and no ive never done it, but if you're really struggling alone it's super helpful to just have a goal to strive towards
Jul 2 2013 3:42PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
I don't ride with anyone else because nobody is good enough to keep up.

Maybe if others were as good as me I'd ride with a crew but alas, I'm the best skier on any mountain.

Best attitude ever... Just dont give a fuck how bad you really are just think you are a king (obviously dont be an asshole to other skiers). Thats how I will do this thx :D

Having other people around has definately made me more confidant in myself. So having people and friends around while doing sports is a good thing.

Definately true :)
Jul 2 2013 3:42PM
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CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5712 - Karma: 20,638
inb4 someone misunderstands.
Jul 2 2013 3:44PM
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Brown_Bag
Posts: 278 - Karma: 768
Just smile and have fun. Think about how awesome it would be to get the new tricks you want, and most importantly ski for yourself.
Jul 2 2013 3:52PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
if you're riding alone and trying to progress in the park try this. scope things out and find a rider who's on a slightly higher ability level than you, follow them through the park trying the things that they do as if you were playing a game of skate. yes i realize this is odd and no ive never done it, but if you're really struggling alone it's super helpful to just have a goal to strive towards

Great idea, thanks :) Definately going to try this, and I will also try to met this person because one of the best things ever can happen is that you meet new/best friends while skiing just because they are skiing to :P
Jul 2 2013 3:53PM
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Z-Juice
Posts: 3151 - Karma: 1,504
The past two seasons, I have skied a lot by myself simply because I like skiing outside the park and my friends like the park more. Here are some thoughts:

(2) Injuries, (3) Fear of pushing yourself, and (4) Lack of transforming into "boss mode" (similar to #3), are all normal and unfortunately pretty hard to change when only riding by yourself. There might be a day or two (or more) when you're really throwing down and having a good time. You"ll naturally push yourself harder (thus leading to "boss mode") and that will probably lower your concern of getting injured. But in my experience at least, those days are fairly rare. They do happen however, and they're some of the best days I've ever had.

(1) Motivation is one I never really struggled with though. I mean if I had the opportunity to go skiing, I would take it. Regardless of being alone, being tired, bad snow, etc. You can always motivate yourself to do something a little better. That could be locking in grabs, cleaning tricks up, better switch turns, etc. Motivation only comes from yourself in the first place, so that's always available.

With all of that being said, even skiing with one other person that has a good attitude and wants to get better is way better than riding alone. My favorite day was one where we had a group 6 people, and just like PBP's "We" it was a great day because we all fed off eachother's energy and tried new stuff. I'm going to try to ski with my friends in the park more this upcoming season because of the progress I can hopefully make in the park.

In a nutshell, skiing with others is better than skiing alone most of time. But if it's only you, you can still progress. Focus on what you want to get done that day, and have fun while doing so. Just calculate risks properly and make decisions that you're comfortable with.


Jul 2 2013 5:46PM
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cameron_taylor
Posts: 325 - Karma: 446
Personally i find that i get motivated by trying something new, and if i enjoy it i will try to improve upon it, and i come to really enjoy the session, whether i'm on my own or with friends. Hope this helps and good luck!
Jul 2 2013 5:49PM
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GaleTheSnail
Posts: 173 - Karma: 92
i didnt know a single person at the mountain i ski at until thte very last day of thte season. i skied everyday by myself and did not progress at all. it took me a whole season to learn a front 2. the last day i skied with 1 other kid who i had just met, and i definately improved a little for just a day. i also actually tried stuff. id say it is kind of harder to progress yourself by yourself.
Jul 2 2013 6:35PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
Weird, I enjoy skiing by myself, meet some awesome people on the lift, but then there's the total downers that ruin it.

And when I'm on my own I seem to be able to do much more haha
Jul 2 2013 6:38PM
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ricosuave
Posts: 73 - Karma: 621
i feel like the reason why i progress so much when I'm with my friends is because you want to show off and prove that your better
Jul 2 2013 9:14PM
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Bozite
Posts: 981 - Karma: 561
Skiing alone lets me try new tricks and hit bigger things because I have good music and don't care if I fall for no one will laugh at me.
Jul 2 2013 9:17PM
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NewEscuelers
Posts: 1210 - Karma: 10,960
didnt read thread
grow a pair doe
Jul 2 2013 9:22PM
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EvanMeyer
Posts: 3822 - Karma: 3,449
this and listen to some waka flocka to get you pumped, I usually end up learning something new when I'm skating or skiing alone it may not be the gnarliest trick ever but I'll focus in on it and practice/figure out how to do it. Its all in your mind honestly visualize yourself doing it and have confidence hell you may stomp somethin new first try.
Jul 2 2013 9:45PM
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fredyferl
Posts: 2943 - Karma: 14,828
It will come with time, the first times you ride alone you won't be down to try new stuff but as you're used to it you can really ski at your pace and you'll realize that it sucks to don't push yourself and you'll want to try new stuff.
Jul 2 2013 9:46PM
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ndye
Posts: 3756 - Karma: 7,094
be friendly, no need to ever ride alone. if your mountain is big enough to have a decent (ISH) park, then ski with the homies

Jul 3 2013 12:36AM
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Rparr
Posts: 5562 - Karma: 45,585
I enjoy spinning some solo laps when I really want to listen to some music while I ride, because I usually can't do that when skiing with friends.
Jul 3 2013 10:50AM
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nicetwins
Posts: 189 - Karma: -7
Hahahah awesome
Jul 3 2013 10:55AM
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thejackal1177
Posts: 3434 - Karma: 2,724
set your own goals, also strap a pov cam to yourself and see how many new shots you can get. even if you dont make an edit its a good insentive
Jul 3 2013 11:33AM
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East_Centric
Posts: 142 - Karma: 49
Whenever I ski by myself I always just bump some good tunes that get me pumped and just hot lap the park. Usually if I see someone who's better than me I just try to match what they do to try and get better
Jul 3 2013 12:17PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
@Dugskio$
Thank you for the detailed reply, this helped me a lot :)

Personally i find that i get motivated by trying something new, and if i enjoy it i will try to improve upon it, and i come to really enjoy the session, whether i'm on my own or with friends. Hope this helps and good luck!

Thanks, it helped a lot:) I think setting goals + really focus on enjoying the nice, quiet vibe where you can focus of yourself and your style is a good thing :)
be friendly, no need to ever ride alone. if your mountain is big enough to have a decent (ISH) park, then ski with the homies

I always try to do this, in skiing its most of the time no prob to meet nice people, but skateparks its a lot more difficult...

set your own goals, also strap a pov cam to yourself and see how many new shots you can get. even if you dont make an edit its a good insentive
Great idea, thanks. Setting goals always helped me with other things, so why not doing this in skiing/skatin. + recording myself.


listen to music and try to improve etc.
-> thx I will do this

Big thanks to all of you who helped me and gave advice/tips I really appreciate your help and I will do this the next days :)!


Jul 3 2013 12:31PM
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Byron_tha_gr8
Posts: 4573 - Karma: 14,299
DRINK. not enough to be hammered, but ive found that having a flask greatly improves my confidence and reduces my fear. Thanks Bode!
Jul 3 2013 12:35PM
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BNik
Posts: 543 - Karma: 268
Like to ski alone on a pow day (no freinds on a powday). But really any other day I'm with my bros, and nice to ski with people who are better then you push you and shit its fun.
Jul 3 2013 12:45PM
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juicedrummer11
Posts: 1960 - Karma: 1,331

I usually ride with friends a good majority of the time and there are days when i feel like my progression levels are at an all time high with them. 

 the days i ride alone, im usually stoked to be able to get in my own zone with some bumpin jams and just hot lap keeping my legs warmed up the whole time. or i even cruise some groomers and just get the need for speed going. 

i usually never pushed myself as hard for many of the reasons you mentioned above when riding alone, but i started trying to work on my style more by myself doing tricks that i was already comfortable with and trying to clean them up or make grabs more solid and what not. then when i was with my friends, i would have better form for when i tried bigger spins or what not and it would come easier.

one day by myself tho i was practicing switch lips onto this sorta janky down rail right under the lift and ate shit every time. sometimes you just need a good wipeout day too.

Jul 3 2013 12:47PM
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DeathByJibbing
Posts: 124 - Karma: 42
Damn this is my second season in the park coming up... and these tips were monumental..... but heres one I picked up this past year, playing skate with random people on the mountain, if you have the confidence to ask them to play while your alone is extremely helpful.
Jul 3 2013 1:22PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
Even more fantastic tips and experiences! Thanks for sharing it.

trying to work on my style more by myself doing tricks that i was already comfortable with and trying to clean them up or make grabs more solid and what not.
Great idea, + mixing it with switch slides etc. like you mentioned ;) Mix between style & learning new tricks.

Damn this is my second season in the park coming up... and these tips were monumental..... but heres one I picked up this past year, playing skate with random people on the mountain, if you have the confidence to ask them to play while your alone is extremely helpful.

yeah I will definately to this next ski season, meeting new people is always great & having fun with them. last season I was just to stupid & shy to ask them last year thats another reason why some sessions sucked.
Jul 3 2013 2:01PM
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EMH.74
Posts: 7 - Karma: 5
Do a banger trick you rarely do because it's scary as fuck OR try a new one when there are unknown snowboarders waiting for their turn and kick their ass mentally! I do like skiing with snowboarders but still, you know, you have to prove that you're better than them no matter how much better they really are than you ;)
Jul 3 2013 2:53PM
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Balbertt
Posts: 1585 - Karma: 4,723
When I drop in to try something new(this goes for skiing, biking, longboarding, and basically everything else) I get into this mental state where I kinda shut of the voice in my head listing the bad things that could happen and I just drop no matter what. It really helps with overcoming fears or nervousness about anything. Also after crashing a good number of times you get used to it, and it doesent become bad anymore. I like crashing, its a way of letting me know I am pushing myself.
Jul 3 2013 6:28PM
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TopherRitz
Posts: 239 - Karma: 1,322
I feel ya bro. I live in Virginia and I have friends that ski but aren't as into it as I am so I'm alone on the hill alot. Music would help the motivation factor but as for trying new things you just gotta go for it. Sometimes my best days will be when I'm alone focusing on one thing over and over again until I stomp it.
Jul 3 2013 10:25PM
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~Gotama~
Posts: 821 - Karma: 3,160
i always progress far more when i am alone. i find that when i am by myself, i can focus much more on analyzing what i need to do to make a trick happen. it is much easier to figure out what caused me to fail and how i can correct it, and basically work tricks out piece by piece until i can do them with ease. when im with friends i take it more as an opportunity to show off what i learned when i was alone, and to come up with ideas for new things to try. of course i love landing new stuff when im with my friends, but i can be far more disciplined to work on the fundamental components of a trick when i have no distractions.
Jul 3 2013 10:37PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
Some more fantastic answers :) Thank you very much guys!

you have to prove that you're better than them no matter how much better they really are than you ;)
Great idea to motivate myself doing bigger/scary stuff!

I get into this mental state where I kinda shut of the voice in my head listing the bad things that could happen and I just drop no matter what.

Great thing, but I definately have to work on that to actually do it. Is it like "Just do it?"

Sometimes my best days will be when I'm alone focusing on one thing over and over again until I stomp it.
i always progress far more when i am alone

Thx guys ;)
Jul 4 2013 12:55PM
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Balbertt
Posts: 1585 - Karma: 4,723
Now quote me in your signature. Do it you wont.
Jul 4 2013 12:58PM
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BornyHusby
Posts: 192 - Karma: 607
Didn't read every reply in here, but game of skate with a good friend that's a little better than you helped me a lot.
In that way you will see how he does the trick etc.
Also the way I learned my 7's.
Jul 4 2013 3:33PM
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jermhy
Posts: 119 - Karma: 619
1017, spliffs, and 40s. Being scared and not overshooting every jump will be a thing of the past
Jul 4 2013 4:18PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
I went skating three times since I postet this thread, all of them alone. First session was amazing, I just focused on learning some different tricks which weren't to crazy, more technical (no risk of injuries=no fear). Second session was good too, met some skaters in the park, but it was just to fucking hot to skate, I tried to give my best :) Last session sucked, bad mindet.
Thx for all the all the help, I will definately enjoy skiing/skating alone more in the future ;)

Buuut...
How do you deal with fear of falling? Does it just go away after some big falls?

Jul 7 2013 5:30PM
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BChaps1209
Posts: 1350 - Karma: 2,441
watch some edits where guys are just eating it all the time and youll be like oh its not that bad. someone post the vid of the dubs off that tiny jump from like a week ago
Jul 7 2013 6:40PM
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panojibber.
Posts: 1041 - Karma: 683
Honestly man you need to stop thinking about it as much. Don't stand up there thinking about it for 10 minutes, if you decide you're going to do something, just drop in and do it as soon as possible. The more you think the more scared you'll get and the less likely you are to stomp it. Less thinking, more doing.
Jul 7 2013 6:54PM
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GoosyTyphus
Posts: 3 - Karma: 17
Try filming yourself. Throw a GoPro on your helmet or a monopod and get some shots of what you're doing. Alternatively, if you're afraid of getting flak for using a GoPro, pick a spot, set up a tripod, and hit that a few times. Part of progression is being able to show that you're improving as you improve, so having it on film might give you reason to keep yourself excited about what you're doing. Also, batteries don't last forever, so you kind of have to ski with some urgency.
Jul 7 2013 9:32PM
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MagicMerlin22
Posts: 42 - Karma: 81
watch some edits where guys are just eating it all the time and youll be like oh its not that bad. someone post the vid of the dubs off that tiny jump from like a week ago

Try filming yourself

I will do that

Less thinking, more doing.
Going to try this.
Jul 8 2013 4:30PM
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awelton
Posts: 134 - Karma: 123
I can totally relate to this. Moved to UT 3 years ago for school, learned to ski solo at the bird because I was always nervous to look like a goober in front of my new friends. All I can say is keep going and don't worry so much. That sounds dumb, but it's really that easy. Try to keep tabs on your progress and make sure you aren't plateauing(my second year I was not getting any better). One thing that has worked for me is to make sure and explore your mountain or mountains, locate every possible nook and cranny, hit stuff that no one else hits, just explore. This year I progressed alot(not really tricks), but the quality of my skiing. I was spread eagling, daffying, and grabbing off of everything possible, but also dropping chutes and cliffs I would have never approached the year before. This was mostly done solo because I had class everyday and just went up for any turns I could get in the afternoon.  It's nerve racking to hit stuff alone, because there's no one there to pressure you and no one to save you if you explode. Someone above made a point about getting a buzz on. Do it. I usually have a few pocket beers and they calm you down to the point where you don't think so much about what you are doing. Also, breaking bones can help progress. Broke a few ribs off a cliff this year, made me motivated to stomp that cliff once I healed. Good luck man and just keep having fun because that is what skiing is truly about.
Jul 9 2013 11:49AM
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