Thought I'd link to this excellent article in VTSki+Ride about how to get yourself out of the backseat. Some great tips here.
I didn't read the concept of "tall" as being vertical. More that bending at the waist is not a good idea, as opposed to working at "flexing at the hip." That's based on comments during lessons I've had with very experienced instructors from more than one ski school in recent years.Keep your torso tall. Bending at the waist to move your weight forward has the opposite effect, moving it back. As your chest drops, your butt sticks out more behind you. It’s also a lot tougher to roll your skis on edge and be agile if you bend a lot at the waist. Tighten your buttocks and keep your core engaged and strong through each turn, to cure the habit. You’ll know your torso is in the correct position if your chest points forward rather than at your ski tips. Aarggh. I couldn't disagree more! We don't want to crouch of course, but one of the most common problems creating backseat skiing is a torso that is too vertical!!! Flexing at the hip to bring your shoulders forward is essential. The spine angle should approximately match the lower leg angle. Any instructor who is recommending constant shin contact with the boot cuff (forward slanting shins) AND a more vertical torso at the same time is creating a perennial backseat skier. Flexing in the hip socket does NOT make your butt stick out (!!) because it does not affect the position of your hips relative to your feet (knee bend, on the other hand, does). A possible cue here is "shoulders over toes" but see my overall comments below.
I'm wondering if the last (keeping core strong) may be the key to being able to maintain this stance out on the snow especially when the terrain gets beyond my normal comfort level.
@Skisailor I’d never heard of loosening the top buckle to get more ankle ROM. Are we talking about just the top buckle, what about the power strap? I thought you wanted all of this to be snug. Is this just for drills to get more feel for flexing the ankle more, or how you would recommend buckling in general? I’ve been working to try and flex my ankle more while not bending the knee so much which I think has the tendency of pushing my butt back especially with my leg anatomy, so interested in any tips here!
I had a lesson this past weekend where the instructor talked a lot about flexing the ankle, and then when I asked about flexing my knees as well he said that his ankle is the only joint he actually flexes whereas the knees he lets sink into position and leaves loose to absorb terrain. There was a bit more to it than that, but it really clicked with me combined with what else we were doing in choppy snow and bumps. Made a big difference in going through stuff with more ease than I usually feel, when I could get it right. Something I’ll be working on in my stance going forward for sure. I was pretty amazed at what a difference skiing with less tension in my body made, I tense up a lot more than I realized.
It depends on a lot of things. How well you flex your boot; Your shin length; the temperature; the terrain you’re going to ski; etc. But as one strategy, I do recommend, at times, loosening the top buckle and the power strap as a means for gaining more range of motion in your ankle.
In a 4 buckle boot I keep that 2nd buckle down VERY tight as that is what locks your ankle and heel down. I keep the top buckle and power strap looser. But I tighten the top buckle and power strap more in heavy powder or crud and in warm weather, for example.
When I ski crud I keep my ankles loose and ready to absorb all the little shocks. My shins, in other words, move foreword and backward a bit within the cuff. This keeps those shocks from moving up my body and throwing me around as much.
With ankle vs. knee - I think about the ankle. The knee will then flex correspondingly. If I think knee first, I get too much knee bend relative to ankle bend and it puts me back.
In the lesson described above, I was told the only points of tension I should concentrate on in the body are ankles and core, while everything else should be relaxed and able to absorb. ....
....My shins are on (ankle closed) and off (ankle open) the cuff while skiing. Lots of ankle ROM . . .
....it is the bottom of your foot that allows you to diagnose your fore-aft stance for yourself. That is the primary tool....
But if your shins are constantly against your boot tongue you are LIMITING the range of motion available to you in your ankles - i.e. when you open and close your ankle. My shins are on (ankle closed) and off (ankle open) the cuff while skiing. Lots of ankle ROM .
My understanding is that you want to have continuous shin-tongue contact. The range of motion comes from the degree of flexion, ie how much pressure the shin is putting on the tongue (based on what the rest of the body is doing), as it increases and decreases. For those who prefer to lose the contact with each turn- is that possibly related to lack of overall flexibility, muscle strength, boots too stiff, slower speeds?Instructors do disagree with what to do with the ankle. Try keeping it tensioned for continuous shin-tongue contact along with your core, and allow the joints above to absorb (my preference and what I teach). Then try keeping it opening and closing, losing tongue-shin contact with each turn, and absorb with all your joints. See which gives you more sense of solidity and control.
My understanding is that you want to have continuous shin-tongue contact. The range of motion comes from the degree of flexion, ie how much pressure the shin is putting on the tongue (based on what the rest of the body is doing), as it increases and decreases. For those who prefer to lose the contact with each turn- is that possibly related to lack of overall flexibility, muscle strength, boots too stiff, slower speeds?
There are many reasons why instructors disagree about these things. Trust that what they like works for them, with their anatomy, their skis, their binding placement, their boots, their conditions, their technique and tactical choices, and the terrain they choose to ski on. There is no One Right Way.
My Taos instructor for the more advanced group this season told the group more than once about keeping the core engaged for chopped up snow. Or situations when there was solid but uneven terrain under new snow, meaning hidden bumps on ungroomed terrain. She also talked to me more than once during that Ski Week about "standing up" more. But it was clear that she didn't mean to the point of being vertical.I think keeping the core engaged is huge, especially notable to me in heavy choppy snow . . .
@Skisailor, I know you think your way is right and my way is wrong.
Or, your way is efficient and my way is inefficient.
Or, your way is effective and my way is ineffective.
You always take time to explain this.
I can live with that. Others reading just need to figure things out on their own.