8th Week, skiable snow but no tracks. #langrenn.

Ski conditons were hard rock ice(3cm) covered with just a skiff of snow and around -4C, cloudy, with a few promising snow flakes falling at SWC.
First thing I want to mentioned is the importance of skiing long and if not on skis get out and ski walk for 3.5 to 4+ hours in one chunk of time. This training is important for not just the body but for the mind. The mind must be able to keep the hammer down while working constantly on your technique. You have to have the discipline to ski within yourself at all the times. Your pacing is unique to you and if you start out too fast then you will lose a lot of time before the finish.
The first technique we practiced was the herringbone, Shake hands(really your elbow, lol) with the opposite tip was used as an imagery. Your pole is roughly parallel with the ski you are going opposite with. Hands stay low, poles plant a bit further back from the feet but still within 4 inches of the side of your ski.
After a bit of practice you then tried just herringboning with just one ski, while the other ski goes straight up the hill. This is needed as sometimes people are in your way and you should be passing them.
In quick succession we covered holding a tray in front of you as you went downhill, push the knees over the toes, pretend to sit down on a toilet seat with the head up looking ahead and keep the weight centered over the whole foot. As you get more confident going downhill, your weight can be shifted to the heels to glide faster. We also showed you how to slow down while going downhill without snow plowing by standing up a bit more upright and opening up your chest and arms to the wind. Do not lift hands more then chest height and keep control of the poles.
You also practiced learning where to double pole and do a high tuck. The low tuck is only used in very few circumstances.
Practice increased tempo while skiing uphill.
I then introduce the Klaebo run for the first time. This can be used before you go into the herringbone and after the diagonal starts slipping. Actually running uphill with a slight lean and knees driving quickly while coordinating a quick push of the pole will help everything. Running hard on your toes will push the wax into the snow strongly. This is tiring and so is best used for shorter steeper hills. One benefit, is that this movement gives the normal ski muscles a bit of a break because of the slightly different movement.
We touched on knowing where the warm snow and cold snow is. Talked about knowing where the hard snow and soft snow is. Always know where south is because that will affect these other factors.

There was one more thing that we covered and that was how to determine your wax pocket. Yes the store can give you an a starting point but only you skiing on your ski will be the real determining factor as to where your wax pocket is. Where is the wax staying on and where is it wearing off?