I try to do this every year, an honest assessment of the quality and quantity of the work I put in, the results (or lack thereof) that this work produced. More importantly I try learn from the year and build a mental game plan as to how to get better results with the same time allotted next season.
My season started off great with three days of pow skiing at A Basin in November. The combo of the work that I put in last year with the exercise regimen I put in place around September (focusing on glute and core strength) seemed to pay off great. My skiing was quite solid in November and I had Max, HH and Diana to point out what else was needed. After 2 years of hard work on CA it was showing up in the conditions we had which were quite fun but not overly challenging (8" of fresh over groomed terrain each day with some soft bumps forming at the end of each day). But I was losing some or all of my CA in transition. This perhaps summed up my season. Lots of work on holding CA through the transition and lots of work on perfect hand an arm positions throughout each arc. To have this hold up in the toughest of terrain and conditions was not something I was able to accomplish in my remaining 25 or so days that I got in this season. That is of course a disappointment.
I made some great progress with it skiing bumps with Diana in Feb at A Basin. Had a great day at Squaw after that where I skied steep soft bumps quite well but in relation to all the conditions I end up skiing, this was definitely easy and fun conditions even if a good bit of the terrain at Squaw was steep and challenging.
Looking at the season, continuity (lack thereof) was a major factor. I had 15 days in by the end of the Holidays but finished the season with a measly 28 days total (I realize that would be a lot or plenty for many but I try to ski 40+ days each year). Each time I skied it seemed like it took me two days to get back to where I was and then I was done and heading back home or I had one more day to try and move the ball forward. Getting run into by a friend at our annual men's weekend in Montana definitely sucked. I slammed my head quite hard and had concussion symptoms for 2 weeks (much better now with really no lingering effects). Skied the nest 3 days with Max and Heluva but I definitely was not myself. I did fight through and things improved on the last day but again I was just trying to get back to where I was, and was definitely not moving the ball forward. Gave up two weeks of skiing in Montana (when It snowed almost every day!!) to take my daughter around the US to look at colleges. Great trip!! Certainly did not help my skiing.
Takeaways:
had some great lightbulb moments where I was able to see and feel a new level of proficiency in my BPSRT on groomed terrain. Made some good progress on my arms and hands. None of the work was enough to fully ingrain the movements even if they are holding up well now on groomed terrain.
I have a solid framework to work from for next year and solid notes and understanding so that I can at least mentally start the season in the same place
Quite simply I need more snow time to make the progress I want to make and much greater continuity through the season. January (where I didn't ski past 1/2 until February) was in hindsight pretty costly. It is potentially easily rectified next season and even 3-5 days in the month next season will make a huge difference. I can't complain too much. I will be an empty nester starting the 2017-2018 season when I will easily be able to ski 60-70 days. Unfortunately my 56 year old body has started to notice that its not 34 anymore, but I have the right exercise program in place and I know that I can keep things at this level of fitness and flexibility for at least another 10-12 years.
The main reason I posted this is because its great time for everyone to do the same. Assess your season. Give yourself credit for the progress made for and for what you have learned. Be critical when you see areas that you can improve. Most importantly learn from it all and make sure you start next season having learned from this season and able to recall what you need to work on and how to do it.
Lastly, if you are inclined to share, please do as I and others would like to hear.