Snow Skills

Improve your skiing on the chairlift! Try this to explore how to use your ankles in alpine and telemark skiing:

Take one leg off the footrest and let it dangle down in the air. Now move only your foot to push the tip of the ski away from you. You just extended your ankle joint to let the toes move forward and away from your leg. That position is also known as an ‘open ankle’.

Now move your foot to pull the tip to the ski toward you. That move required a flexing (or compression) of the ankle joint to let the toes move back, toward your leg. That position is also known as a ‘closed ankle’.

Now extend and flex the ankle and explore that range of motion. In both telemark and alpine skiing, the ankle has the important role of setting the balance through those motions.  Your ankle will mostly be closed, with some extensions as necessary to change weight and apply edging.  Your ankle will rarely be open, and if you can feel your boot on the back of your calf, that’s good feedback that you’re out of balance.