Skiing Backwards

[KatyPerrey]

But....a lot of things surprise me these days: how little time is spent learning the flat ski/edge engagement and release types of drills (i.e., pivot slips, falling leaf, on-snow 180-360 etc). Somehow seems like shaped skis eliminated a whole learning segment of skiing. Too bad, because all that was great fun, really taught us our edges and a lot of fore-aft balance skills. I'm remembering just how much of this used to be incorporated in DH's teaching. Changing times/methods....

And hop turns and short swing and kick turns.

Some of us are still teaching these (IMO) VERY important skills!!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Ahhhhh....the good old day (sigh).

NOT!

Aw, come on. Wasn't THAT bad! I learned to ski backwards probably in my second year of skiing, all the "whirlybird" stuff etc, almost had the front crossover to "royal" (it wasn't spelled royal, I forgot how it was spelled). But kick turns? Never got those, until I wound up on a cliff at Brighton years later and had to visualize and DO, haha.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Some of us are still teaching these (IMO) VERY important skills!!

Phew. Thought I was a relic here. Good to know. What amazes me is how few "modern" skiers have ever learned them....(i.e., those who learned to ski, possibly without updated or continuing instruction, since shaped skis -- prior to this, these skills were SURVIVAL!)

 

[Jilly]

How about Speiss too?

 

[Robyn]

Some of us are still teaching these (IMO) VERY important skills!!

Phew. Thought I was a relic here. Good to know. What amazes me is how few "modern" skiers have ever learned them....(i.e., those who learned to ski, possibly without updated or continuing instruction, since shaped skis -- prior to this, these skills were SURVIVAL!)

We still use them regularly in coaching for our team.

 

[ski4fun]

Can anyone explain the "falling leaf" have heard the term before but not sure what it is?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Falling Leaf Sideslip

"Falling leaf" is an exercise which combines fore and aft balance, tipping (edging) movements and twisting movements. The objective is to slide forward and backwards within the corridor in a crisscross fashion. Stay in the proper stance. Putting more pressure on the downhill ski, keep your hips open towards the fall line. The uphill shoulder, knee, and foot must lead. Without rocking or moving the body, press forward on the tips of the skis while slipping forward. More pressure on the balls of the feet moves skis forward. Gently turning feet and skis uphill will add to the exercise. Skis come to the stop because they are edged and turned slightly uphill. Allow the pressure to move towards the hill while maintaining the same amount of edging. The skis will begin to slip diagonally backwards. Begin to turn the feet gently so that the tips of the skis will drift downhill faster than the tails. As the skis begin to slow down again, press onto the balls of the feet to get skis to move forward so you can repeat the exercise.

source: https://www.youcanski.com/en/instruction/advanced.htm

post script: looked for a video of this, couldn't find one, but it really translates better in the watching than describing.

 

[SkiBam]

Yes, I love falling leaf. Also just plain side-slipping, which a lot of people seem to have a lot of trouble with (and many have never learned). I always include it in my lessons, and while most of my students (not young) draw the line at going backwards and doing 360s, these are things I often play around with when skiing with friends.

 

[tcarey]

Maybe? Also, short skis might make it easier.

But between all the instructor Divas and all the Mommy Divas, I'm sure that there are some good hints and maybe even a video out there. Is skiing backwards required to pass PSIA Level 1? I somehow bet it is.

I don't ever recall having to ski backwards in any exam that I took.Level 1 is a relativley easy exam to pass.(speaking for the East coast) Understanding the skiing concepts and doing low level demos should be good for a pass.

T

 

[altagirl]

I don't think the length of the skis makes any difference in skiing switch. Twintips do make it easier, but I managed just fine skiing backwards as a kid long before skis had turned up tails.

Just start slow. Go find the flattest groomer you can and start by snowplowing backwards. Just remember to look over your shoulder and pay attention to where you're going. Other than that, it's just like snowplowing forwards... just in reverse!

The falling leaf drill will help too. And I don't know what you'd call it, but I ski short distances backwards all the time - say you're pulling up to a group and then you "back in" to a spot so you're out of the way of the main trail but still facing the people you're talking to... that sort of thing. Or you basically use that falling leaf technique to slip back and forth through scraped off sections in the trees and rocks to get to a drop-in that you like.

Once you get comfortable with snowplowing backwards and have a nice, controlled backwards sideslip, carving turns backwards isn't THAT hard to figure out either. Though unless you're showing off or trying to learn some new school tricks, I'm not sure what the point of that is...

 

[vickie]

Another Falling Leaf Description

I found this description last night ...

https://www.ehow.com/how_2036662_falling-leaf-technique-skiing.html

This was easier for me to visualize than the previous description - which makes me wonder if they translate into the same movements.

The good news is that when I was sideslipping, I only went forward ... which seems to indicate that my weight was forward! Small victories.

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

You want to hear something completely absurd? Telluride now has an official policy that ski instructors are not allowed to ski backwards, look backwards (except for a glance) or help up any students who have fallen (unless they are under 6 years old) period. Violating these rules makes you subject to termination. (And, I know they'll terminate someone to make them an example.) Needless to say, all of my instructor friends are rather nonplussed about this.

 

[Bumblebee]

What the heck TSB? How on earth is that going to encourage nervy adults who are learning - and I put myself firmly in that category! I learned as an adult and tend to go straight to "shock" when I fall - and often I needed a hand back up. My instructor in my first week spent the first 2 days going backwards too!

As for the whirlybirds, I can only manage about 270 to the right and my left only 180 - and left is clunky. Any advice or just try, try, try again?

 

[KatyPerrey]

You want to hear something completely absurd? Telluride now has an official policy that ski instructors are not allowed to ski backwards, look backwards (except for a glance) or help up any students who have fallen (unless they are under 6 years old) period. Violating these rules makes you subject to termination. (And, I know they'll terminate someone to make them an example.) Needless to say, all of my instructor friends are rather nonplussed about this.

This is not uncommon at many ski schools! Copper discourages their instructors from skiing backwards when in uniform but we can if needed! As I said earlier "it's a great way to blow your knee out"!

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

Katy,

I realize it's a great way to blow out your knee, however, it's also a great way to teach, so it really just kind of sucks T-Ride would make it "illegal." I love living here, but the management of the mountain just makes my skin crawl some days.

 

[Jenny]

What's the reasoning for not helping the fallen? Because we have to learn how to do it ourselves?

 

[MaineSkiLady]

What's the reasoning for not helping the fallen?

Interested in knowing this, too. Wow. I couldn't even begin to count the "fallen bodies"/yard sales DH has helped, even when not in a lesson.

As to skiing backwards, or not, does Telluride have freestyle instruction? If instructors aren't permitted to ski backwards, I guess not??

 

[Mary Tee]

Please...someone please tell me "liability issues" are not the reason for not helping the fallen.

 

[volklgirl]

My guess is the number of employee back injuries from picking people up over and over all day.

I always teach the belly-flop get-up method first thing and everyone can do this. Still....no way I'd teach somehwere I couldn't ski backwards or help my fallen students up .

 

[SkiBam]

Yup, hurting my back is what would stop me from helping someone up. I do, however, try to teach my students (mostly middle-aged women) how to get up when they fall. Of course, it's much easier on steeper terrain and virtually impossible on the flat - without removing skis. If someone is truly stuck, I'll help them get their ski(s) off and talk them through getting up and getting the skis back on.

Heck, I'm not even going to pick up little kids any more (read grandkiddies) - when I first started instructing five or so years ago, I taught very little ones (nursery school age) and almost did my back in. And as for not skiing backwards, I don't know how you can teach very little ones without it (but only on the magic carpet areas).

An instructor friend always used to like to get kids to ski on one ski (i.e. remove one ski) - says they're not allowed to do this anymore.