Skidding the end of my turns

Looking at the mamyrin article, and based on my own experience, I would have to agree with the general concept. However loading the inside ski does not I think, come naturally to most people, that is getting on to the outside edge of the inside ski.

I learned to inline skate a few years ago. This was befor I started skiing. It took a lot of drill time to start putting weight on my inside skate (one those drills I've since seen race coaches using with novice racers). So I don't think going straight to weighting the inside ski would easy, but trying to keep the weight even on both skis might.

If new skiers start out with the concept skis should always be parallel on corresponding edges (an inline skating term ?) and flat skis are to be avoided at first, they would be in the same mode as snowboarders. A beginner snowboarder learns the hard way to always be on edge by catching downhill edges and getting slammed. I could see taking beginner skiers through exactly the same progression that snowboarder are taught. In other words treating the two skis in parallel as a single board.

Snowboarders (especially that take lessons) soon learn the importance of weight shifts along the board and I think this is a concept beginning skiers are slow to learn traditionally. and affects thier ability to carve later.

But here's the big problem I see with such an approach. Snowboarding has a very steep initial learning curve. It takes several hours of work to even start linking skidded turns down the hill. So many concepts must be aquired at once, edging, weight shifts. angulation and balance. A beginning skier can be linking wedge turns down the hill in an hour, with no concept of weight shift (fore/aft), balance edging or angulation (in fact, the only concept they would have is that you pressure the outside ski to turn). It would be the easy way but harder later, or the hard way easier later.

I make these comments as someone who has no experience of formal ski instruction. I was an instructer trainer of white water kayaking, and have a pretty good eye for breaking skills down and descerning the concepts involved. I love to watch ski and snowboard instructors, but would hate to be bound by the governing body's progressions, models and outlines. When I learned to ski, I wanted it to be an exercise in guided discovery, with my guide being what I saw as good or not so good on the hill.

Intrestingly white water kayaking like skiing went through a fundemental change in equipment several years ago. Kayaks went from nearly 4m long to less than 2m long in a few short years. The techniques required changed drastically. It was hard for many people to adapt to the new skills and style. This was especially true for instructors. Who with ingrained models and out of date techniques really struggled. The govering body in the US was very slow to admit thier precious content no longer met the needs of students.

Two aspects of this have great parallels in skiing. When the techniques taught finally change, the racers turn round and say "that's not new, we've been doing that for years". The other similarity is that the less instuction you had in the old school, the easy it is to adapt your concepts to the new school.

Trencher

Any new approach should be "tested" in real conditions; any theory in ski technique has a little value if it cannot be used in practice. However, even if it works, it does not automatically mean that it will be recognised. As Trencher said, instructors are "bound by the governing bodies progressions, models and outlines".

But the new approach described at www.mamyrin.net does work, it has been tried out by skiers of differing standards with intermediates ?leaping? up to an advanced level in next to no time.

If you are an intermediate skier, try the new method on a slope where you feel comfortable. Do all usual things if you know them (inclination, angulation, standing over the centre of your feet, etc.) but put most of your weight on the inside ski and don't plant the poles. Be patient, try for 30 min... and magic will occur.

Reflecting further, and thinking intermediate level, concentrating on the inside ski does make sense. As I mentioned above, I didn't have to make much of a conscious effort to weight the inside ski because that is good Inline skate technique. Another good reason for skiers to inline skate maybe.

When I carve turns, I initially put about 70% weight on my outside ski. At apex of the turn I"m about 50/50, so the skis share the load as the forces start to peak. In a cross under (retraction) transition, I lighten up the outside ski a little earlier than the inside ski during unweighting. Then as I extend and begin the new turn, there is more pressure on the outside ski again. At least, thats what I think I'm doing.

Trencher

Try skiing with some carving skis.
These skis are really easy to hold the edge, ie. not skidding. You must turn with the natural arc of the ski which is usually about 12m radius on carving skis. The turns are fast as you are riding on the edges so practice on a low gradient (i.e. a wide green run). Watch out for beginners as you tend to use the whole width of the piste.

Another tip is to weight the uphill edge of the uphill ski and always stay centered on the skis with your calfs pushing on the front of your boots.

federico wrote:Does anyone know a good exercise to stop me skidding out of the last part of my turn? I've been told (by people who follow me) that I push out a spray of snow on the exit of each turn and my legs are always tired at the end of the day.

I try to lean back at the end of the turn but that doesn't feel right.

Tx for any advice

Not quite sure why you see pushing out a spray of snow at the exit of each turn as a symptom of a problem, this is what should happen at the end of a pivotted turn. During a turn force will build up against you as you round off the turn and increase your edging, this will result in a spray until the edge grabs the snow.

If your problem is that you have difficulty in getting the edge to grab the snow at the end of the turn (particularly on hard pack and ice), then I would suggest that you need to use your knee and ankle joints a bit more to create 'angulation' instead of just using your hip joint. Doing this will help keep your center of mass over your feet, hence putting more pressure on the edges. Try adopting a wider stance to enable this.

As for tired legs, I've been skiing for over 20 years and always have tired legs at the end of the day!

Over the course of my ski instructor years, this was one of the most common "errors" that we dealt with. All of the above suggestions are great, but what if you don't want to carve? I frequently avoid carving; it's a pain in the butt to try to carve fat skis through the bumps or trees, for example. That, and carving is FAST. Unless you have a seriously sidecut ski (such as a modern slalom race ski) you need a decent amount of real estate to do it, and it can be intimidating - and dangerous, if you're on a busy slope. I think that more likely the SHAPE of your turn is why you spray snow at the end.

Most skiers on groomed runs do not make round "S" shaped turns. Rather, they kind of traverse a bit, find a happy place to change directions, THROW the skis across the fall line, and SLAM on the edges. This results in "Check" or "Z" shaped turns, with a lot of snow spray, and tired legs (because these skiers are also in the back seat, and their quads get exhausted holding them up).

First of all, I suggest a lesson. American "Level 5" or "Level 6" should be good. During the week, even at busy places like Breckenridge, where I used to work, you can usually get pretty good teacher - student ratios in group lessons.

If you want some food for thought, however, here goes. You need to have patience through the initiation of the turn, and allow the skis to seek the fall line. Start by finishing your turn and standing up a bit (cross-over). This leg extension movement should carry your center of mass over your skis. At this point, flatten both skis, and allow them to start going downhill. Then, tip them onto their edges gradually. Concentrate on NOT rushing through the fall line. Steer your skis with your legs, and round your turns out, creating pressure more evenly throughout the turn. If pressure builds up, allow your legs to flex slightly to absorb it. If I'm doing short turns, I often think of getting my skis on a very early edge, and spraying snow UP the hill. Last but not least, once you finish one turn, start the next! Don't get caught in a traverse! If you find this makes you accelerate down the hill, finish your turn more - steer your skis across the hill before starting the next turn.

Let me know if this helps at all. Happy skiing!