Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Ski Towards the Corner to Improve Directional Movement

Here is a crazy cool little trick to help yourself gain more control over your directional movement in your skiing. But first, what do I mean by directional movement?

Directional Movement

The key to the sliding glass door of modern skiing is consistent and correct directional movement. You always want to move each part of your body towards the direction you want to go. This is extremely important.You always want to move each part of your body towards the direction you want to go. And in case you didn't catch it the first time (or the second): You always want to move each part of your body towards the direction you want to go. This equals efficiency.

What most people don't typically think about the is direction of a turn. When you turn right, you are not making a 90 degree turn measured by the protractor you still have from tenth grade geometry class. It would be an ugly turn, an uglier wipeout, and a sad, sad life story that you still have your protractor from tenth grade geometry class. You should think of moving your body on a diagonal - that is - both forward and right.

Let's take for instance, the feet. When you want to turn right, you are obviously going to move both your feet towards that direction. Similarly, you also want to move your inside knee forward and to the right, the tips of your skis forward and to the right, your leading toes forward and to the right, and you plant your pole forward and to the right. This is what establishes your turn.

If you want to make a shorter turn radius, you should move more forward and less to the right. If you are making a long radius turn, you will want to direct your movements more to the right and less forward.

So, we know what directional movements are - movements of specific body parts that are directed to your new turn orientation and shape.

Now, let's get to that cool trick... I gained this pearl of wisdom from Eric Anderson, PSIA Level III Instructor and Ski School Director at Wisp Resort in McHenry, Maryland.

The Trick

Stand in a flat area in the snow so that you are in a balanced stance with parallel skis. Take your poles and draw a box, or rectangle, in the snow that surrounds you and your skis. See the diagram for an illustration.
The green lines represent the box you would draw around your skis in the snow with your poles.
Imagine the turn you want to make is directed towards the front left or right corner of your box. The trick is to go through a progression of body movements that will reinforce making efficient movements towards this corner. So, look at your corner and...

  • Roll your inside ankle and pressure your inside foot diagonally towards the corner.

  • Moving the weight of your feet towards the direction of movement as opposed to moving directly to the side increases turn efficiency and makes your turns look much more stylish.
  • Touch your pole at the corner

  • If necessary, direct your inside knee and possibly hip towards the corner

In summary, making sure that you move directionally instead of sideways makes your turns more efficient, makes you look like a much more radical and skillful skier, and in case that isn't enough, it also allows you to both finish and initiate your turns more successfully and evenly in both directions. So next time you take a turn, move towards the corner of your box, and leave the protractor at home.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Skating - It's More Important in Skiing Than You Think

Typically, the last thing you want to do after arriving at one of those fancy Zermatt chalets and first getting on your skis is skating. However, this is something that is severely underrated by all levels of skiers. Some of you may not even know what skating is (if so, go request a lesson on skating right away and tip your instructor lots of cash, preferably me). To this end, it is important to take a closer look at what exactly happens during our skating on skis.

Skating's Importance

So, what is skating? Basically, skating is exactly what is says, except on skis as opposed to ice skates. You push off of one ski, balance yourself on the other ski, and keep the cycle going. It is a great maneuver to propel yourself forward when you need to get somewhere on the snow that simply facing downhill and skiing will not allow.

A skier that is skating from
Why is skating so important? Well, what's not important about it? Not only does it allow you to efficiently and less-energetically get yourself back to your skiing partner who fell (or further away from your skiing partner), it incorporates all of the basic skiing movements that you need to ski successfully anywhere else on the mountain. It is said that you can tell how good a skier is just by looking at him or her skate, because it is a test of how well you blend and execute your basic movements.

In summary, Martin Heckelman writes in The New Guide to Skiing that "While skating, the legs are taught how to 'flex' and 'extend' ... the body is trained to shift weight from ski to ski and one learns how to change direction easily while moving. Skating also helps to improve a skier's body awareness and balance."

How to Skate on Skis

To push off of your ski, bend the knee of the ski you are pushing off of. Feel the power and potential energy in your bent knee, then extend and push that knee towards the new direction.

The most important principle in skating is to make sure you are pushing off of the inside EDGE of your ski rather than pushing off of a flat ski. Always, always, always make sure you are pushing from the ski's edge. This maximizes energy efficiency, and thus will not tire you out as quickly. After all, skating does require energy, so make it easier for yourself by using the edges. To do this, make sure you roll the ankle of your ski in contact with the snow inwards towards your big toe side of your ski.

After pushing off of the big toe, inside edge of your ski, glide your body out toward the direction you wish to propel towards. This should be in the same direction as the new ski in contact with the snow. You want to make sure that you do not look like a wobbling Tower of Pizza - that is, do not move your body side to side much. Focus on gliding all your momentum towards the direction you wish to go in. If you were driving a car and wanted to go straight, you would steer straight and not sideways, right? It's no different in skiing.

Also, when landing on your new ski, there is a quick feedback test to see if you are balanced. You should be landing on the entire ski evenly. If you notice the new contact ski hits the snow with the tip first, you are too far forward in your stance. If you see your tail hit the snow first (more common), you are too far back in your stance. See the Balance post to adjust this.

Skating is a skill that comes only with practice, so, go practice! As you get better at it, you will notice that you feel less tired after making the same dash to the chairlift. It is a great feeling to get there and realize you are not out of breath like you normally are, all due to technique improvements.

As you get better, you can also practice skating while gliding down a gentle slope (on a green circle trail) or on even more advanced terrain if you feel even more advanced. This will require practice, some athleticism, and more precise control and timing while pushing off of your edges. It will, however, allow you to pick up some speed. And if you don't like speed, go home. Or just practice a little more.