Snow Skills

An earlier post discussed the importance of using hip angulation to create more effective edging on ice or hard snow. The use of hip angulation in the last half of the turn will improve your edge grip, especially in a longer turn. You can apply that hip angulation more efficiently if you think about your body representing the center of a clock face.

Standing in a hip-width stance on your skis, face your jacket zipper straight ahead between the ski tips. Now place each hand on the bony part of your hips: your arms (and hips) are now at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock from the direction of your skis. Still touching the bony part of your hips, now swing your hips to the left without moving your feet. Position your hips so that your zipper is facing just to the outside of your left ski. Your left arm should be at about 8 o’clock and your right arm should be at about 2 o’clock.

This is the image that you should be creating as you move into the last half of the turn. In this position, you should be feeling the side of your left foot applying pressure down through the left ski’s edge. Now try swinging your hips in the opposite direction so your left arm is at about 10 o’clock and your right arm is at about 4 o’clock. You should be feeling the same sensation as before along the side of your right foot.

The pressure you’re feeling along the side of the feet is the result of hip angulation. In either position, your upper body has a different orientation to your skis than the direction of travel. These angles will help you to edge more effectively, allowing for greater balance in slick conditions as you move toward a new turn.