Clip 1: Ali doing the famous “Muhammad Ali Shuffle” in each turn transition. Not carving – no visible angulation. Plenty of inclination though… (We only had one brief go at carving). Look at the end of the clip – is the bum pointing into the turn or out of the turn? This is why “legs apart ” and pushing from the uphill edge are required to replace this habit.
Clip 2: Alfie – very nice carving except where the radius was tightened near the bottom where a few pivots were added. Excellent first attempt though. Alfie was able to do pure pivots earlier on and now he can also do pure carving (skis locked on edges) – separating the mechanics of each function – carve or pivot – then allows us to combine them intelligently when required.
Clip 3: David – very good on the gentle terrain but turning into a pivot when it gets a bit steeper -which is normal at first.
Clip 4: Jay – Not carving – plenty of angulation but too impatient so the skis are not tracking along their edges. Nice pivoted turns though.
Clip 5: Alfie – showing power already from a strong outside leg extension and good flexion at the hip. Hold the hands a bit higher, wider and more forward (helps keep your weight forward). Good progress with the use of adductors.
Clip 6: Ali – “Yes I can do it!” Legs apart and extending the uphill leg from the uphill ski edge – pushing the body across the skis instead of popping up.
Clip 7: Alfie – “No she can’t do it!” Working the turns well with good overall dynamics and a natural feel for the process. Later on when skiing down Alfie was able to stay on my tail even when I was making very sharp and dynamic turns on the piste for a long stretch and off piste in very rough conditions.
Clip 8: Jay – Very tidy but needs to be more aggressive with the dynamics. The key is in generating turning power. Technically it’s fine just needs a bit more exaggeration of everything. It helps to sleep well and avoid too much alcohol!
Clip 9: David – using active dynamics, extending from the uphill edge, uphill ski and NOT twisting the feet into the turns. Looks strong. Try to close the turns off more at the end by softening the hip (not the leg). This of the “dropping down” into the turn as happening thanks to the relaxed hip joint. (Alfie has fully understood this)
Combining Dynamics and Pivot
- Dynamics depends of forward motion of the skis and lateral falling/pushing of the centre of mass
- Pivot depends on lateral motion of the skis – but always with the centre of mass being driven inward (toward the turn centre) modulated by the support of a pole plant
- The two can be combined – when there is both forward and lateral motion – making overall control of trajectory and speed totally under control of the skier
- In all cases there must be active adductor muscle use – and the feet must be “everted” i.e. turned outward inside the ski boots – diverging sightly (skating stance)
- The essential element to take from combining pivot and dynamics is to execute the turn transition from the uphill edge of the uphill ski – noting that the ski enters the new turn more easily than when on its inside edge and this also prevents stemming (and body rotation)
- Additionally with the transition between the two turns being made from the uphill edge it’s easy to switch into a very tight pivot when desired
Look at the skis in the two images below. The top image is with skis carving – the bottom image skis pivoting
Introduction to Carving
- while standing still reach one leg out to the side with the ski on edge and then pull it inwards scraping the ground
- now do the same while sliding forward and maintaining some pressure on the extended ski (on gentle and wide terrain)
- the ski will carve an arc with no skidding
- as speed increases the other leg – acting as a stabiliser – can be gradually drawn closer to the extended leg by actively using the adductor muscles
- the main principal exploited here is the direct tension of “pulling” – relating to the analogy of spinning a ball on a string above your head – the only force on the ball is the string pulling inward. Here our centre of mass becomes the anchor pulling the “string”. However – with a bit more speed the “centripetal” force towards the centre comes entirely from the carving ski pushing you inwards.
- the upper body is held over the inside ski – with the belly button centred over the ski and facing the ski tip. Looking down you should see the inside ski midway between your arms.
Moguls/Bumps (Compression Turns)
Here’s a useful video showing proper compression turns at an advanced level. (Warning! – The drills used to “teach” in the clip are mainly inappropriate and fail to show the pivoting nature of bump skiing. However the advanced dynamics used by the demonstrators are correct.)
Competition bumps skiers have their feet close together and many people swear by a “two footed” platform off-piste. This works because both skis pivot always on their uphill edge. The feet are always kept downhill of the body and so are the knees. Using the adductor muscles of both legs pulls the skis together and strengthens the stance. It’s important however to always orient the body on only one hip – preferably the outside one. The hip is the biggest joint in the body and it is very close to the centre of mass. Any confusion around this area leads to confusion everywhere. Motion starts from the centre of mass – so use your outside hip in the turn – pulling it backwards during the turn – to get your reflexes working and your core muscles protecting your back the most efficiently possible.
For bumps the two ski pivot prevents the feet from diverging off in different directions – and it gives two edges for controlling speed in what is after-all a braking form of turning. The overall stance is similar to off-piste but is part of a “compression turn” which has it’s own page here for reference (or soon will have). Avoid resorting to pushing out the heels – it’s always a pulling inwards that’s required.