Snow Skills

Whether the chicken or the egg came first can be debated forever. What’s not debatable is that your ski boot most directly contacts your foot, not the ski. If you were listing the instructions to edge the ski, that list would place moving the ski boot before the skis roll onto edge. The ski boot directs the ski to subsequently contact the snow along its edge and generate the turn. With this sequence in mind, improve your edging by focusing on how your foot brings the boot up onto edge.

Ignore the resulting action of the ski by feeling the pressure of the boot on its side all the way from your toes to the heel. You can practice edging without skis by standing on a firm, flat surface in your boots and exploring the motions and sensations of balancing on the sides of the boot soles. By focusing on the smaller area of your boot rather than the entire ski, you’ll be more likely to isolate the edging motion to the leg and avoid introducing an unwanted twisting of the body. You’ll see the ski and boot roll onto edge at the same time, but the thought that the boot directs the ski will help you to more distinctly translate your foot movements into good edging of the ski.