Bumps Skiing
In a previous blog I alluded to the fact there are 3 things that I won’t do in terms of skiing; off-piste, bumps and ski touring.
Why ski off-piste when there is a perfectly groomed run you can use which will take you to the same place ? I just don’t understand what the point of it is. Bumps are much easier and safer to negotiate if you take your skis off and walk down the side. All that bumping, jolting, having your body shaken every which way only to end up in a painful crashed heap and very quickly. No thanks. Ski touring is another thing I just don’t understand. Basically, ski touring is where you ski up the mountain so that you can ski down it. What !! Just buy a lift pass ! It’s so much easier !!
Besides which, I am at the age now where I have enough difficulty remembering what I have already learnt without learning new things. However, if I am going to Lead for the Ski club of Great Britain I need to be able to ski bumps in a half decent fashion and not end up in a tangled heap of human, skis and poles.
When I did my British Association of Snowsport Instructors (BASI) Alpine Level 1 bumps wasn’t one of the so called ‘strands’. In my original BASI Alpine Level 2 bumps weren’t an assessed part of the exam week either due to the terrain at the resort we were in. At my BASI Alpine Level 2 course in Zermatt the following summer the group did ski bumps but by that time I was in a knee brace and effectively skiing on one leg !
I came back from Zermatt that summer knowing I needed to improve my bumps skiing. How though, living in the seaside resort of Filey, was I going to improve my bumps skiing ???
James Lockerbie
The obvious place to start was PDS Snowsport. My BASI trainer and examiner in Zermatt was one of the PDS instructors. A quick trawl through the website led to the list of their instructors. After a bit of profile clicking I hit the jackpot. James Lockerbie. I clicked on his profile and read the following ‘BASI Level 4 ISTD … James can often be found at the Chillfactore coaching apprentice instructors indoors over the summer.’ I realised I had seen him previously at ChillFactore coaching one of his moguls courses with Pulse Snowsports. I got in touch.
James was more than happy to help me out. His passion is teaching and developing others. Using his years of teaching experience and knowledge he is dedicated to helping you achieve all of your skiing goals. We even ran bespoke moguls sessions for the Ski Club of Great Britain. Over the summer, James worked patiently on my skiing taking me from someone who would rather take their skis off and walk down the side to someone capable of skiing a pitch of bumps from top to bottom without falling over and ending in a crumpled heap of human, skis and poles.
As always, the winter season came along. James headed out to Morzine and I headed back to Saas Fee for another winter there; this time with the Ski Club of Great Britain as a Social Rep. When I returned home to the UK my focus again turned to bumps skiing. Although I like continuity in my ski coaching it is also possible to ski with someone too much. Partly because you need the patience of a Saint when trying to teach me something new. I’ll either get it or I won’t. There’s no middle ground.
On one of the sessions with James we had shared the bumps pitch at ChillFactore with BASI trainer and examiner Ben Arkley and his Alpine Level 1 group. Bumps is not part of the Alpine Level 1 exam (or wasn’t when I did it in 2018). For Ben to be taking his group into the bumps on the last morning it meant they must have all passed. What an opportunity for them to have, what fantastic experience for the Alpine Level 2. I watched as he carefully coaxed a cautious group of skiers into the bumps. The approach was simple, one of slowly but surely, starting off with some gentle dipping into the bumps lower down with the main slope a mere turn away. I was left very impressed. James had worked wonders with my skiing but was it time for someone new ? Perhaps.
Ben Arkley
It was whilst sat looking through one of the BASI Facebook pages that I saw a post pop up. ‘Better at Bumps’. Who had it been posted by ? … Ben Arkley. Better still, he was running regular bumps courses at Chill Factore throughout the summer.
Ben has an unsurpassed depth of ski knowledge, with a passion for those dreaded moguls! He has bags of coaching experience; 26 years teaching skiing and is also an examiner for the British Association of Snowsports Instructors where he is highly respected within the organisation.
You don’t have to be BASI to ski with Ben. He runs regular bumps coaching at ChillFactore. His sessions are aptly named ‘Better at Bumps’. Ben loves skiing bumps and loves coaching them with a relaxed and friendly style. The groups are small with a maximum of 6 people per group making the sessions sociable, but small enough for him to give you loads of attention. You enjoy the challenge of bump skiing and also improve your skills. Ben is brilliant at recognising when the brain fog has set in and knows I can only cope with one task at a time. I just need to remember to breathe. I tend to be concentrating so hard that the basic functions of life get forgotten.
For those of you who haven’t skied with Ben … you need to. He is amazing. My bumps skiing has totally been transformed. Whilst James had transformed my skiing, Ben made it unrecognisable.
Am I skiing with Ben this year ? Well … I spent part of last winter in the Arctic. I think I need to see if my middle aged brain can remember how to ski first before I join Ben at ChillFactore.
Links:
From NHS Nurse to Ski Instructor 