Today was my first day of the new 23/24 season on skis – and conditions were marginal. Good time to just focus on technique and make something useful out of the day. I must admit that having only been cycling this summer and not running I could feel the legs were not as strong as when both have been used in training.
Let’s go straight to the lesson summary… we’ll ignore pointless critique and analysis
- Widen stance
- Independence of the legs
- traversing – extending the uphill leg (pressure on outside/uphill edge of ski and foot) – and back down on two feet – repeat several times in each traverse
- Now from a traverse use exactly this extension to push the body downhill (Centre Of Mass) – pressure all on the one leg – this makes a strong turn, the ski edges changing from outside to inside automatically
- The aim is to generate a powerful impulse (disequilibrium/acceleration of COM) and the ski regardless of which edge it’s on will support and then maintain this “deflection” process – pushing the COM towards, into and through a full turn.
- There is no centrifugal (outward) force – only the ski deflecting (centripetal) and gravity.
- The extending leg must stay strong and fully committed all the way through the turn – and the other leg (inside leg) must bend – pulling that knee towards the outside of the turn – in line with the belly button.
- The extending leg has the foot pushing forward and the flexing leg has the foot pulling backward so the foot is beneath the body ready to be able to push up for the next turn.
- The outer hip pulls backward but the shoulders don’t follow this. This might just feel like muscle contractions more than big movements.
- When extending the leg come up onto the ball of the foot- feel the foot muscles active.
- Tilt the upper body forward to permit angulation when turns are tight
- Do not “face downhill” through the end of a turn as it disactivates the postural reflex. (This error is seen in the video – we hadn’t looked at that yet)
- To get posture working let the shoulders follow the skis and only pull the outside hip backward to create a stretch between the hip and the lower rib.
- Photo below – Killy 1960s facing downhill – Noel 2022 following the skis with his shoulders. Killy never skis again after his medals – probably destroyed his back.
