Drills to teach using uphill edge

[climbingbetty]

I noticed this weekend that when I turn, the edge on my downhill foot seems to be doing most of the work while my uphill ski & edge do little to-nothing. It's definitely worse when my uphill leg is my left leg, which is my weaker one.

I'm wondering if there are some drills or things to focus on to get this edge to engage more. It seems to be my biggest problem right now and I suspect that not being able to engage this uphill edge is what causes me to stem and 'force' the turn when the terrain gets steeper.

Just a little background in case it helps- I'm a new skier this year. Been out about half a dozen times this year, skiing ability roughly level 5. I'm 5'6" ish, 143 lbs, skiing a 163 cm K2 Sweet Luv, which a knowledgeable friend pointed might be too long for me and is making it harder for me to initiate turns. Which is why I'm over-divulging information....could my edge problem be a gear issue and not a technique issue?

 

[volklgirl]

It's likely both.

Too-big boots are culprit #1!

As to techique, it's pretty normal to favor that downhill ski edge as it gives a definite sense of security. Learning to use the uphill ski edge takes lots of practice and concentration (after proper boot fitting and alignment!!). Excercises that help with this include garlands, railroad tracks, and cowboy turns. I try to think about "parallel shafts" while I'm skiing to keep that inside ski engaged (both shins parallel and at equal angles).

 

[litterbug]

Volklgirl, I know what garlands are, but cowboy turns? And I thought railroad tracks were the result of skilled skiing; are they a drill?

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Cowboy turns are carved turns with a super wide stance. Railroad track turns are drills. Because the ski is tipped and turned using the sidecut, there's no rotary or steering. Even skilled skiers don't do railroad track turns on super steep terrain, unless they really want to go Mach 100!

CB, I'm sort of curious. . . At what phase of the turn do you notice this? Initiation phase, shaping phase, or completion phase?

 

[volklgirl]

If you normally ski blues or steep greens, you'll want to go to the flattest area you can find to do these for the first time as you will gain speed.

Cowboy turns: Pretend you are riding a very fat pony, keeping your feet wider than hip-width and knees out over the feet. Work on carving clean turns without letting your feet drift together. This makes you move your hips more inside the turn, engaging that inside ski. It also helps to emphasize long leg/short leg motions.

RR Tracks: Make very shallow directional changes by simply rolling both ankles equally. Work on making clean, perfectly carved turns. Continue working on this while making the directional changes bigger, with the goal being full turns, cleanly carved on both skis.

 

[climbingbetty]

CB, I'm sort of curious. . . At what phase of the turn do you notice this? Initiation phase, shaping phase, or completion phase?

Umm, somewhere in the middle?

 

[vanhoskier]

I imagine that you're having trouble in the initiation phase of the turn and its an issue throughout the whole turn. A neat drill that helps you feel both edges on your skis is the hourglass drill. Start on a very gentle slope with your skis parallel and shoulder-width apart. While in a slow glide, put both skis on their outside edges by moving your knees and ankles outward. The skis will move apart as they follow the sidecut of the ski. Then, shift your knees and ankles inward to put the skis on their inside edges and the skis will begin to converge. Continue tipping onto the outside edges, then inside edges, making an hourglass shape in the snow, and concentrate on feeling those edges.

Stemming your turns might be the result of not having your weight far enough forward over your skis. If that's the case, it will be difficult to engage the edge of your uphill ski.

Both of these issues you describe are a great reason to book a lesson with an instructor. Having a professional watch you will result in a more accurate diagnosis. I'd bet by the end of the lesson you'll be well on your way to solving the problem.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Sometimes, somewhat new skiers lean into the hill out of fear of falling or sliding, which weights the old inside/new outside/uphill ski and makes it harder to steer or rotate. Does this happen only on terrain that is challenging? If so, you might want to think about keeping your shoulders level to the slope, as opposed to tipping your whole body into the hill and drop back to terrain that it doesn't happen on for a bit until you lock in the patter of not leaning.

 

[Kimmyt]

BCG, I would add that lots of times even experienced skiers do that.

 

[climbingbetty]

Definitely time for another lesson. I signed up to take one at Whiteface during the Ski Diva East 2012 :D

That being said, I do find this forum super helpful in just being more aware of technique issues. As a new skier, I find just reading about the things other divas struggle with gives me a framework to be more conscious of what is going on when I ski. The flip side to that is that I have plenty of ideas about what might be going on and a way to try to feel them out, but can't really diagnose myself. Hence its time for a lesson with an instructor who can hopefully say, "yes, this is your problem, and here's the best way for you to fix it so you can ski better."

 

[tinymoose]

betty - Just wanted to say how helpful I've found lessons to be. Only taken 3... in well, ever... and all 3 were this year (1 private, 2 days of a group lesson) and they were soooo helpful. I'm taking a group lesson at Whiteface too! While I still have a ways to go with my skiing, it's help me make some tremendous strides this year I wasn't expecting at all (like I can at least stay upright in the moguls now most of the time vs. flailing around on the ground all of the time).

 

[litterbug]

BCG, I would add that lots of times even experienced skiers do that.

It always makes me feel a little better to find that out, and to see how different levels of skiers resolve their problems. My ski-lifting problem comes up on easy slopes; on steeper ones or flats I'm find, but Ursula has given me some ideas about what might be happening. It's nice to feel like we're all in this together, with everyone progressing no matter what kind of skier we are!

 

[liquidfeet]

....I noticed this weekend that when I turn, the edge on my downhill foot seems to be doing most of the work while my uphill ski & edge do little to-nothing. ....
....I suspect that not being able to engage this uphill edge is what causes me to stem and 'force' the turn when the terrain gets steeper.
....I'm a new skier this year.
....I'm 5'6" ish, 143 lbs, skiing a 163 cm K2 Sweet Luv, which a knowledgeable friend pointed might be too long for me and is making it harder for me to initiate turns.
....could my edge problem be a gear issue and not a technique issue?

ClimbingBetty,
If I read you right you are worried about your stem enties on steeper terrain. You describe this type of initiation as "forced." And you are wondering if the problem might be due to technique, or the length of your skis. I'm going to make a suggestion about technique.

If your knees are knock-kneed and your skis are in a wedge at the beginning of a steeper turn and you are all tight and scared and your turn is all knotted up, this is very normal for beginners. It's simply caution. You probably don't have faith that you can handle the acceleration that the steeper terrain will cause. You may be eliminating the part of the turn that has the acceleration in it, the downhill part. You may be rushing the skis from pointing across in one direction to pointing across in the other direction, without allowing them to go down the hill at all. A stem entry is an effective way of doing that, but if you are making a very fast stem entry, your turns will feel gawky.

The solution is to slow your turns down and make them like the turns you make on easier terrain. Think of a turn as having a fast part and a slow part. The fast part is when your skis point down the hill and go straight. The slow part is at the end when they go across the hill. The end can be so slow that you coast to a stop with your skis pointing uphill. This works on steeps as well as on beginner terrain. When you link your turns rhythmically on steeper terrain, you go fast-SLOOOOW-fast-SLOOOOW. That rhythm is intoxicating.

Drill? Here's one. Make medium-short turns on your favorite easy terrain and FEEL the timing of the different parts of your turns. Memorize how much time you spend going straight down before you turn across the trail by counting 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, to see how many Mississippis you can count during the down-hill portion of your turns.

Then try to get yourself to make one identical turn on that slightly steeper terrain, ending with a stop with your skis pointed uphill. Count 1-Mississippi, etc. to force yourself to lengthen the downhill part of the steeper turn to match what you do on the easier trail. You'll accelerate more during the downhill part of the turn, but you'll go slow during the across-the-trail part of the turn and come to a stop, so it will all even out in the end. Link turns and enjoy!