How to get from learning how to put a ski on to skiing parallel in one day…
Skating/Adductors
Skiing is just disguised skating. The main difference is the skis are wide and have two edges. When diverging the skis outwards at the tips into a skating stance the skis want to flatten on the snow and the stiff shaft of the ski boots will pull the knees outward. The adductor muscles need to be engaged to hold the skis on their inside edges. This is a pattern of muscle use – the adductors of both legs contracting – that should be maintained when skiing parallel. This is partly dependent on the skier’s morphology. If the femurs are naturally directed inwards less adductor use might be appropriate but if slightly bow legged there may be a need to consciously work the adductors.
Only when snowplough braking should the adductors be released to widen the spreading of the tails of the skis from the hip joints.
The other difference between skis and skates: – it’s just that skis bend and scribe arcs on the ground and are generally used on slopes not flat lakes. Skating actions are fundamental for a skier’s development because they involve independent leg action where only one leg at a time is really used. Although skiers can stand on two feet the body is oriented specifically on one hip joint at a time (when turning) and has to function as if standing on one leg. Skating exercises such as skating step turns are helpful in developing basic skills. Skating turns use diverging skis (opposite from snowplough) and incremental stepping of the centre of mass inward toward the turn centre. This is ideally the first sort of turning that any complete beginner should experience – on flat terrain
Braking Snowplough
The key feature of a braking snowplough is that the adductor muscles (inside of upper leg) are totally relaxed – enabling a wider wedge directly from the hip joints. The wider the tails of the skis are apart the more edging there is just due to the angles of the legs with respect to the body.
The feet are “inverted” and pressuring their outside edges which slightly flattens both skis on the snow.
Braking and stopping are enabled by widening the rear of the plough – ski tips held almost together. Keeping pressure on the fronts of the skis is essential – standing on the balls of the feet and with pressure on the tongues of the boots through the shin bones – keeping the body perpendicular to the slope when sliding directly down the fall line (path a ball would freely take).
While it’s important to be able to stop in a straight line via this braking plough – even on steep terrain – some people will not be flexible enough or will carry too much body weight to brake – so it’s important to move on to turning as soon as possible.
Snowplough (Centre of Mass)
First turns are made by simply tightening the adductors in one leg only – to turn left it’s in the right leg. (With narrower ploughs then the adductors of both legs should be engaged -and if there is some speed then control becomes dependent on the turn shape and increased dynamics.)
Weight is always maintained on whatever ski is furthest down the mountain so that it can act as an effective brake. Changes of pressure on any ski are due to geometrical effects between the skis and the slope angle – not “transfer of weight”.
Starting a turn when traversing the slope in a plough requires only a slight movement of the Centre of Mass toward the downhill ski. This ski then slowly feeds the skier into a controlled turn. When facing directly down the fall line, the body being held constantly toward the inside ski of the turn, ensures the outside ski can takeover the completion of the turn. The pressure changes on the skis are automatic – just move the Centre of Mass toward the centre of the intended turn and keep it there from start to finish.
(There’s a tendency for habitual snowploughers to always push out the tail of the uphill ski to get it pointing downhill at the front. Better to push the tail of the downhill ski toward the upcoming turn centre, thus pulling the Centre of Mass that direction. This also reinforces the braking/pivoting action of that downhill ski.)
Feet Forward Technique
“Feet Forward Technique”… gives security through the start of a turn on steep terrain by tightening the turn radius.
Pushing the outside (uphill initially) foot forward during the turn. The foot never gets in front of the other foot – it just tightens the turn instead.
The exercise is practised with skis off and standing in ski boots. For this static exercise we use ski pole support with the body faced downhill with the uphill foot pointing across the hill and the downhill foot pointing downhill and the heel jammed into the snow. The uphill boot is pulled over onto its inside edge and pushed forwards in a natural arc.
Here is some video of exactly the same action in ice hockey training. In skiing the direction of travel would be straight downhill instead of straight ahead on the flat ice.
Dynamics 1 – Being Out of Balance – to Be in Control
When you are making a turn on skis you can feel a force trying to throw you out of the turn – it’s called centrifugal force. You are then told that to make this turn happen you are balancing against this force.
The only snag here is that it’s all an illusion – none of it is real.
Centrifugal force has a few other names – “inertial force”, “pseudo force”, “fictitious force”.
When you, the skier, observe your own turn you are experiencing what’s called a “rotational frame of reference” and it is also confusingly called a “non inertial frame of reference“.
Yes we can calculate centrifugal force – but it’s not real – it’s just mathematics! (The magnitude of the centrifugal force F on an object of mass m at the distance r from the axis of a rotating frame of reference with angular velocity ω is: 
Real forces can be seen from the outside of the system as if you were a drone observing from high above. There’s no force pulling you outwards just a force from the ski deflecting you inwards away from a straight line. This is called an “inertial frame of reference” and it has only real forces – no fictitious “inertial forces”. This real force is called “centripetal force” (inwards – toward the centre) and it is accompanied with an acceleration. The acceleration is a change in velocity (vector) but it’s only a change of direction not speed. Acceleration is the physics of disequilibrium – being out of balance – the official term in mechanics being “dynamics”.
Dynamics 2 (Skis Parallel)
- Skis must be travelling forward – like a bicycle
- This is mainly about using the outside leg (start of new turn) to push the centre of mass into the centre of the new turn – for the whole duration of the turn
- There is no “balance” when skiing – dynamics is the physics of disequilibrium
- You are looking for stability from organised accelerations (ski technology!)
- Notice in the photos below the outside leg is essentially straight in a skating action (flexion for absorption and other purposes is primarily at the hip joint)
- The centre of mass goes down toward the snow – and to complete the turn it comes back up – like a motorbike in a turn
- There is no “Centrifugal Force” acting on the skier – only a deflection inward away from a straight line. This deflection is used to lift the skier up at the end of the turn – which involves “finishing” the turn – I.E. turning almost back up the hill.
- Remain square to the skis (follow the skis around the turn with your body) until you are really comfortable with movement of the centre of mass and clearly aware of moving it.
Model photos showing unambiguous dynamics…
