Snow Skills

Here’s a balance tip, from a doing approach:

Doing: “Balance more on the outside leg than the inside leg”
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Build your balance on the outside ski with a soft leg.

Parallel skiers have learned to develop a turn by changing their weight from one side of their body to the other. Improve that skill by building good balance on the outside ski with a ‘soft’ outside leg. Relax your knee and ankle joints to allow your body to fully balance over the outside ski. A stiff outside leg will cause your weight to fall off your outside ski; a soft outside leg will keep your primary balance on the outside ski and help add black diamond trails to your terrain list.

Compliment the balance of your body in skiing with the movement of your arms.

The movements of your arms will help to fine-tune the balance generated by your body. Stand in a balanced stance and place your forearms roughly parallel with the snow. Keeping your head facing straight ahead, explore the range to which you can move your hands without taking them out of your vision; these movements help balance. Then explore the movements that take your hands out of sight; these movements will not help balance.

Now, make some turns and try to keep your hands where you can see them. Each hand should move independently to assist any variation in your balance while moving. Add in a pole swing that meets these guidelines and the entire body will begin constantly moving to maintain balance. These arm movements will also help you in skiing terrain such as moguls and trees.

Here are four simple tips for that same focus, from four different approaches:

Thinking: “Keep your inside leg light”

Seeing: “Put your jacket zipper over the downhill edge of your outside ski”

Feeling: “Make the turn such that it feels like your outside half travels further around the corner than your inside half”

Doing: “Balance more on the outside leg than the inside leg”

Here’s a suggestion to build on that is to allow a little more ‘anticipation’ by separating your upper and lower body more. Read the rest of this entry »

Separate the upper body from the legs at the hip joint.

The ability to twist the legs without steering the body is crucial to short turns. Stand in a hip-width stance without skis on flat terrain. Using your poles to stabilize your upper body, explore twisting your feet with all the parts of your legs from the hips down. The best twisting movement is one where the toes and heels move a similar distance to leave an hourglass shape in the snow.

Next, twist your feet without using the poles and focus on isolating the movement of your legs in relation to your body. Now, apply this move in gentle parallel turns by focusing on twisting your legs together such that the skis turn more than your body. You’ll find your balance is more steady from turn to turn and your short turns more precise.

Here’s a skiing tip, from a feeling approach:

Feeling: “Make the turn such that it feels like your outside half travels further around the corner than your inside half”
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Develop balance that uses the location of the body to allow the skis to turn with ease.

The position of the body in relation to the feet is critical to balanced skiing turns. With your skis across the slope, stand balanced on your uphill edges with slightly flexed ankles and knees. Simultaneously release your edges just enough to begin sideslipping and move your torso slightly ahead of your feet. You will begin to move forward diagonally to gravity; now move your torso slightly behind your feet and move backward diagonally to gravity. Begin to make alternating redirections that sweep forward and backward, similar to the manner a leaf falls from a tree.

Later, do five redirections and, on a frontward movement, fully release the edges to allow the skis to enter a turn. Keep doing sets of five redirections and one turn; focus on the sensation of having your body slightly ahead of your feet as the skis drop into gravity. Now, make gentle parallel turns and focus on moving your body into gravity with the skis as a single unit.

Flex your ankles and knees to balance and move with the skis.

Moving Balance is generated by bending and extension movements of the legs. With your skis across the slope, stand balanced on your uphill edges with slightly flexed ankles and knees. Alternately shuffle your feet forward and back, focusing on moving them a similar distance in relation to your hips. Discover that the best shuffles keep your ankles bent constantly, moving under you with steadiness. Now, begin making turns and shuffle constantly through the turn. Focus on moving the skis such that your balance stays built from the base of your foot and never braces off the upper part of the boot. Eventually, make gentle turns where you move with your skis by keeping your ankles under your hips at all times.

The use of a gliding wax like Swix F4 Glidewax will protect your gear and improve your sliding fun!

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