Three hour sessions do not give a long time to get to know and understand people – especially when there are multiple objectives and considerations. Gia clarified the technical side of things when she just said straight that they all knew very little about technical skiing. Finding out that all three are very active in sports in general then explained why they are all naturally strong skiers. Yes – you certainly can be a strong skier with no real understanding – that’s how I started out myself and it generated a lifelong passion for skiing. From this point I decided to start some serious technical instruction – beginning with an anatomy lesson – me standing on an outdoor table with a ski boot off.
The Foot (The Intelligence of the Feet)
There are 26 bones in each foot (27 for Gia!)
Between the heel and the ankle is the subtalar joint which is used to roll the foot onto its edges. Pressure on the heel allows you to feel this properly.
Both feet must be on the inside edges at all times.
Standing on the heel strengthens the ankle (but does not put you on the back of the ski boot) – it just activates the anterior tibialis (shin muscle) making your base of support stronger.
When on the inside edge of the foot you also activate the adductor muscles (inside of the upper leg) so this leads to “pulling in”.
Pulling In (support for the centre of mass)
Subtalar joint – foot on inside edge.
Adductor muscles engaged.
Centre of mass moving inwards.
Everything pulling inwards for the whole turn – right from the beginning.
This is the structure of support for the movement of the centre of mass.
Angulation (fighting rotation)
After pulling in with all of the above the hip joint (on the outside leg) must be pulled backwards and in.
This permits hip angulation (contrary to the belief that it is caused by facing the shoulders downhill).
All three have far too much rotation towards the end of their turns so this is an important skill to develop.
Carving (skis railing – racing technique)
Carving – railing the skis solidly along their edges – no skidding – gives the opportunity to develop “pulling in” and angulation. We only do this on flattish terrain unless in a racecourse.
Pivoting on Moguls (ski fronts in the air)
Moguls were used to develop the “pulling the skis inwards” (instead of pushing the heels outwards) and then control of rotation when sideslipping the downhill side of the bumps. The bump allows the ski fronts to be suspended in the air and so makes pivoting very easy to feel – if the skis are pulled inwards.
