Carving Tuition - Has to be seen!!!

Dave Mac wrote:You hear many people extolling "carving" as though it was the only acceptable form of skiing. This is a technique, suitable for certain conditions

You are right there Dave. Leave railway tracks or get a snowboard if the groom is bad :twisted:

Trencher

Just got back from a week in Mayrhofen which was family based so due to the variance in the ability of the 3 families that went I tended to try and improve the quality of my skiing as opposed to putting vast amounts of mileage under my belt.
Having looked at the DVD numerous times and even took it with me I found it fantastic tool to explain certain things to four 13-16 years old who were all on their 3rd/4th skiing trips. I found the hints and the drills Klaus Mair mentioned in relation to weight distribution, leaning forward and basic body position were very usefull. I was delighted to see how all their skiing dramatically improved without them having any lessons. If I thought that my input thanks to the tips in Klaus Mair's DVD had any baring in this I will be very proud.
Did it improve my skiing, very hard for me to say, as it was not always appropriate for me to ski off on my own and do the more challenging stuff. That being said it has made me more aware of my own faults and although I still found myself doing them I straight away had this 'nagging person' :twisted: on my shoulder saying 'lean forward' 'Use your outside ski' and 'Face the danger'.

I am off with some friends to Schladming at he end of January and they know my strengths and weaknesses so that will be my Litmus test.

In short ladies and gents I would thoroughly recommend the DVD which comes with 3 reminder cards which you can stick in your ski jacket pocket so you can have a quick browse over a pint over lunch to make it look as if you know more than you really do!! )

I am impressed by the YouTube clip but can I just ask, do they really use the term 'lean forward'?

I've always been amazed by the number of people who use this phrase in relation to skiing.

I assume it came originally from instructors who didn't speak english as a first language and they thought that it conveyed what they meant.

Think of leaning forward... not in a skiing sense just in an every day sense.... is that really what you are trying to do on your skis?

I have always thought that when beginners are told to lean forward it results in them trying to get their head as far forward as possible, resulting in bending at the waist and a sitting posture, which is hard to change once you get to an intermediate level.

When you watch the clip, the guys head is above his feet, there is no leaning (in a forward direction) going on, the knees and ankles are bent, resulting in pressure on the front of the boots with the centre of gravity staying above the feet. (in the forward/backward plane)

Angulation is often explained as if its a 'fixed' artificial position.
If you think about your skis - they are designed to turn [thats why they cost so much :D ] Put weight/pressure on the ski, put it on its edge and it will turn. Your job is to balance on the ski while it turns.

Your body knows how to balance - if you let it.

So the ski is turning, if you are relaxed in the waist and upper body (where most of your mass is) then your upper body wants to fly off at a tangent to the arc of the turn and the result is angulation, or rather angulation is what happens while you balance against the forces that act on you body during the turn.

Now I know that I'm over simplifying [before I get my head bitten off ) ]
but I find life is easier when kept simple.

Just my tuppence worth and I don't mind being shot down in flames :D

There is a chapter on body balance which explains it in detail, but briefly your centre of gravity should be over your toes as opposed to your heels. Initiate your turns by coming up and forward, the steeper the run the more prominant the up and down movement. By leaning forward at the start of the turn it allows the front of the skis which is widest to bite in and initate the carve/turn. I have expalined it poorly but thats what I like about the DVD it really makes the point to thick mature thickos like me clear in the various chapters and in particular the body postitions. Can someone qualified give a better explanation at what im trying to say!! :cry:

Scarlet Fez wrote:There is a chapter on body balance which explains it in detail, but briefly your centre of gravity should be over your toes as opposed to your heels. Initiate your turns by coming up and forward, the steeper the run the more prominant the up and down movement. By leaning forward at the start of the turn it allows the front of the skis which is widest to bite in and initate the carve/turn. I have expalined it poorly but thats what I like about the DVD it really makes the point to thick mature thickos like me clear in the various chapters and in particular the body postitions. Can someone qualified give a better explanation at what im trying to say!! :cry:

A good way to visualize shifting weight and pressure for carving is to think of each ski as having an infinity symbol over it. You shift your weight in the direction of the arrows shown. weight moves rearward along the edge during the turn and diagonally foreward across the ski during transition. The feeling should be of feeding the skis foreward in the turn and then almost lifting the skis up and back as you transition.



Trencher

HI - I am not even at the level of the first "poster" (done 3 weeks on snow) and definitely can relate to "braking" all the way down the mountain on my last trip a few weeks ago!! Sorry good guys :)

So please please please - I would recommend spending the €75 for a two hour lesson one-on-one
I have the Klaus Mair DVD and it is great to remind you of what you are doing wrong but is no replacement for a one-on-one lesson me thinks.

Another one that i've found on YouTube has been quite useful.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aofTCdhlyyY&feature=PlayList&p=A66297294A8C9D15&index=0

By LasseLyck. There are 11 chapters useful for beginners to intermediate level

Glyn

Neiltoo wrote:I am impressed by the YouTube clip but can I just ask, do they really use the term 'lean forward'?

Im always told "balls of the feet" instead of leaning forward.