Snow Skills

Skiing’s just plain not like other activities, you know. Many activities require some form of a weight change in order to make a change in direction and skiing surely requires that as well. Where skiing is unique is that in order to move in the direction you wish, you need to initially move away from where you want to go. This subtle rule for the weight shift is critical and its absence will result in less balance and control as a turn progresses.

When a plane turns to the right, it banks to the right by dipping its right wing and raising its left wing. In skiing, if you bank your body to the right to make a right turn, you will also have dipped your right arm and raised your left arm. But now you’ll find all of your body weight on the right foot, which is also the inside foot. Considering that the most effective turns are made by putting most of your balance on the outside foot, you’ve put most of your weight on the wrong foot if you bank your body toward the turn. This condition results in poor balance which leads to a loss of control and usually requires a forced move on the part of the skier to complete the turn. In short, it’s not an effective series of movements.

So, what’s so different about skiing is that in order to move to the right, you’re initially got to move your balance to the left or away from the desired direction of travel. To make an effective turn, you need to un-bank or develop a stance where your inside arm is roughly the same distance off the snow as your outside arm. That’s a position where the majority of your body weight is balanced on the outside ski, so that at the start of the turn you seem to be moving away from where you want to go.

But thanks to the effect of your weight on the outside ski coupled with edging of the skis, your ‘wrong way’ image won’t last long. The skis are designed to turn in that situation and turn they will, similar to the sensation of being in a roller coaster car. Your skis momentarily act like rails to redirect you in a sweeping motion with balance and control and without any negative movements such as twisting of the body.