Wide Stance

A month to go and I'm moving on from being excited to slight trepidation as I remember that I'm not very good at this skiing lark!

Been doing it for quite a while and am at the point where I can "get down" pretty much anything but with little style points. Dont get scared by much, though I'm not a real fan of moguls or ice, so really enjoy myself which is surely what its all about!

I'm fond of a "wide stance" so as to set me up with a platform to get by my poor technique - I have strong thighs so tend to rely on brute force rather than finesse as an instructor in Vermont once pointed out.

What are some good tips to get my feet closer together and to keep my weight forward to give me a little more finesse in those tricky moments?

Yes I know the answer is more lessons but just thought I'd see what ideas people have?

Thanks

Andy

Nothing wrong with a wide stance...welcome to the club!
As you say, it's more about the fun than the technique....and don't forget, ten years ago the teaching was all about feet being as close as possible. Now it's more about shoulder width apart, so don't get too bogged down in technique..if it works, it works. Enjoy! Who cares about style points anyway.......

Wise words Rat !

Though I still think some more "style and control" as Brylcreem adverts used to say would be handy if I'm to risk the Face this year in VDI

Every morning, yes every morning, on your holiday .....
Have a couple of runs to warm up and enjoy and then .....
Take some time out on your own on a run that, to you, feels comfortably within your competence etc.
Could be a blue or a red, who knows. Good snow, quiet, and no big bumps or surprises would be my criteria suggestion.

And practice!
Work on skiing in control and really thinking about where your body is and how it feels and try to "do it right", whatever "right" happens to feel like!

You could pretend you were being videoed for a "this is how you do it video" so that you concentrate on all the bits that bring it together.

Thanks Andy

I guess I know all of the above and, when I do concentrate, I can do it and look vaguely competent.

Problems come when I'm out of my comfort zone and fall back into the bad habits in order to stay vertical when I should probably stick with the technique and accept a few falls as part of my development.

The trick of course is transferring that from the logical part of my brain that does analysis whilst I'm sat here at my desk to the bit that has to make split second decisions on a piste!

Still - I always comfort myself that Didier Cuche probably knows naff all about IT Consultancy......

Actually, the comment about pretending to be videod may be nearer the mark than you realise OA.

I find it amazing to watch myself doing various things, as I always spot something I need to change and improve within seconds. I find it works for Skiing, Golf and many other things.

Just take my Snow Dance video for example :shock: :oops: It took me just 3 seconds of watching that, to realise I should never, ever, ever post another video of me on the internet again :twisted:

Far Queue wrote:Actually, the comment about pretending to be videod may be nearer the mark than you realise OA.

I find it amazing to watch myself doing various things, as I always spot something I need to change and improve within seconds. I find it works for Skiing, Golf and many other things.

Just take my Snow Dance video for example :shock: :oops: It took me just 3 seconds of watching that, to realise I should never, ever, ever post another video of me on the internet again :twisted:

Snigger

Though I do find that I can fix my golf swing a lot faster from 5 mins of video footage thatn from hours of lashing away at balls - the wife will be pleased to spend her holiday following me down runs with the camera - revenge for all the posh shops she'll want to go in no doubt!

Think your self lucky as with a bit of practice you will get your skis closer together unlike me who has to ski with a wide stance due to the shape of one's legs :lol: