Ski turn initiation, Sliding or carving

Verbia is in Switzerland by the way! and yes I do think I'm over complicating it! I guess it's what I do best! I do like to understand how things work and why things happen the way they do... :)

ps I do really appreciate all your replies and help you have given! Next year I'm gonna try moguls!! hahaha watch out :) to be honest I don't I will even attempt them as they look far to much hard work!

Think Tony was having a dig - 'Verbier'?

Moguls aren't hard work if you know how. You can almost ski them like they aren't there ;)

apologies for the spelling had a few to many glasses or red wine tonight!

Some skiing concepts can be hard to grasp. You can have an instructor get you doing something right, but still not understand what you are doing, or be able to incorporate the skill in another context. For some people, this is all they need, or want. For others, thinking, and analysis are needed to feel good about a skill. It all depends on your learning style. While instructors are taught to identify learning styles, and try to meet the students learning style needs, Instructors themselves have teaching styles they are best at, and in a group setting it can be hard to teach to all styles.

Very often it takes a certain phrase, model, or experience to achieve the aha moment. Independent learning and guided discovery, can be a useful supplement to instruction (and the feedback that it provides) for some people.

A good drill to focus on with shaped skis, is to flatten both skis at transition, then tip the new inside ski into the turn. The outside ski will naturally follow the inside ski. This can used for skidded, and carved turns. This is only a good drill, and there are other ways for the skis to work in turn initiation.

Trencher

My thoughts must be taken on the basis that I am in my third seeason and no great skier. Learnt mainly from gf who cannot give the analysis a teacher would (but born and bred in a ski resort, a qualified mountain guide in the family, decades of experinece) so is able to keep an eye on safety & mountaincraft, and demonstrate safe and stylish skiing in most conditions).

So a teacher would be good, and I like to watch good skiiers, and teachers when teaching others too. Don't over analyse.

What I did and still do was learn the old way, keep weight forwards and in the knees (bit learning not to lean upper body too much), first snow plough, then half christie, them stem christie, then do a traverse and if necessary stop at the side of the piste, keeping an eye on skis staying parallel through turn. Then wedeln (more or less tight zig zag) but try not to throw upper body arround or start turn with shoulder, just face the way you are going and use legs / hips to do a skidded turn side to side). Anyway the sidded turn (not only the carved turn) involves transfer of weight, keeping weight on the valley ski and off the mountain ski. Then when the traffic & snow & steepeness suit me (in terms of it being safer to get up a bit more speed and take up more space), I will sometimes open out the skidded turn, just using transfer of weight to initiate more open s shaped turns, following Sofa videos, more like carving. Also I am should be more careful about learning not only to ski without poles, but (at least as diffiuclt) to use poles correctly to assist the turn.

To go through this process has taken me three seasons including this one. Would have been quicker with a good teacher (in addition to, not insteaed of, general guidance from GF) and would have been much quicker with skis suited to my level, rather than the old skis, made originally for advanced skiers, which was all I could afford at the time.

Right through I have mostly skiied with my GF. Early on she tried a teaching method based on the way parents put small kids between their legs to teach them, but she skied in front, I just followed leaning against her back, my skis between hers, holding on, it must have looked hilarious, like ridding pillion, and must have been tough for her taking all my weight, and braking on demand, as I am far heavier than her. The down side is that (as she will admit) she has not the analytic skill of a ski teacher, but the upside is that it nice to ski so far as possible with someone who can keep an eye on safety, can spot instantly if I am getting tired or doing someting dangerous or stupid, can take respsonsibility for the level of difficulty and extra challenge I should take on, and who would know how to react if there was a major problem. So I recommned if you can ski with experienced friends, that is a big plus even though not a complete replacement for lessons.

I will try Trencher's drill. It would not have made much sense to me in my first season, but I think I have been a slow learner. It sounds like it might help me now.

For moguls, try using cushions in front of the sofa.

Verbia is not in Switzerland, by the way.
But Verbier is.

The most important thing to do when initiating a turn is to balance on the new outside ski. Then you have the choice as to use rotation to turn the skis for a shorter turn, bumps turn or on a steep slope. Or if you want to carve the turn you can balance on the new outside ski and roll the knees and ankles to tilt the skis and allow them to turn you.

The best way to get better at this is book a lesson, you will be shown how to use different techniques in different situations to get the best result.

There is no right and wrong way, just make sure you balance first!!