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Skiing in a body cast & getting skis up on edge

NYSnowflake

Angel Diva
Today I skied with a friend who is a level 2 instructor. She told me I finally figured out the upper/lower separation thing and I am keeping my shoulders down the hill very well. However, she noticed that my legs are very “twisty” and she thinks I am skiing mostly flat and rotating my legs to turn more than getting my skis up on edge. I have also gotten feedback that my stance tends to be too wide and I am stiff/tense in the arms/upper body. My husband jokes that I ski like I am in a body cast. (This is an improvement from skiing like a Zamboni, which he said last year). On the positive side, I am skiing with good control in a variety of east coast conditions on all blues, and handling black groomers with good control, and rarely falling. So, I am happy with being a fairly competent intermediate skier in my second season of skiing. However, I want to progress. Today while I was carelfully making (slowish) smooth round parallel turns coming down a diamond groomer on Mount Snow’s North Face, an old guy yelled “There you go! Rip it up!” (#sarcasm) at me. LOL. I can laugh along with these jokes... but I really would like to look less, um, stiff and strange on the hill. Any suggestions for strategies to reach the next level?
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thank you for this suggestion. How do you think it will help? I do know how to pivot slip and enjoy it. Isn’t pivot slipping practicing more flat skiing with “twisty legs”? What am I missing?

Yes Your upper body stays still, and legs go slow thru the fall line and then the skid is faster. try it on a steeper area. Falling leaf is another way to feel your feet and how your skis react. Fun too. the more you can learn to trust your skis and know what they'll do when you 'make' them go where you want them to go the more proficient you will become.

I think we are human slinky's with a bit of gyroscope, always changing our stance to ride the mt. Try to relax, sing, I have tunes I ski with not loud- in case I have to be able to hear someone too close behind me. tunes help me ski really rhythmically.

On a gentle green try doing rail road tracks. or cowboy turns (looks really weird) Try getting tall, getting small, yes wiggle your butt, get comfortable in all different places on your skis. For 2yrs it Sounds like you're doing fine!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I can't contradict anything @nopoleskier recommends - she is an amazing teacher. But when I want to loosen up, I ski on greens. I am less afraid to gather speed (the trail will flatten soon enough!), less careful, I try different turn shapes, and I'm out of the way of the real experts. (Nobody with amazing skills is watching me.)

I don't disagree with her advice on doing certain drills on steeps. But free-skiing, I am much less tense on easier trails, and my body feels more fluid.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
When instructors are working with little kids, one of the "drills" they do is jumping while just going straight on an easy green. Note that they don't have poles, so one less thing to think about. Obviously can't jump if stiff. Only getting a little bit off the ground. A couple years ago, as part of an advanced group lesson at Taos (multi-day Ski Week) when snow conditions meant we could only ski on groomers, jumping was a suggestion made by the instructor for re-centering.

On the positive side, I am skiing with good control in a variety of east coast conditions on all blues, and handling black groomers with good control, and rarely falling.
You are going great for the second season! Do you tend to repeat trails or move all over the mountain? For working on technique, sticking to the same trail or line is better. Skiing the same line slowly and then increasing the speed, while working on form, means you can focus on little stuff you may miss while skiing a more challenging trail. Later on, the reverse process is to practice skiing a steeper section at a relatively slow speed, with round and completed turns to keep from speeding up.

I'm not an instructor. I've been taking lessons in the last decade from a number of different very experienced instructors at different locations, both at my home mountain (Massanutten) and at destination resorts out west (Alta, Taos, etc.). Most of the instructors were PSIA Level 3, and all had15+ years of experience teaching. I started lessons as an adult who was probably an advanced intermediate, somewhat adventurous but not aggressive. It took 4-5 seasons, but because I was practicing and getting in enough mileage, I became a solid advanced skier . . . after age 55.
 

ilovepugs

Angel Diva
Stealing from PS- Practice Pivot slips this will help:


The still from the pivot slip video with the caption re offensive turns vs defensive turns is such a good insight!

Last week I had my first good ski run since I felt myself starting to plateau... and it’s precisely because I went all in on going down the fall line vs defensively turning in fear.

One other thing... @NYSnowflake I know you get super analytical about this stuff and have an abundance of friends to give you tips, but maybe try getting coached less and just putting miles on?! I know I get in my own way the most when I actively devote brain space to working on incorporating all the stuff that I’ve learned from lessons and reading while skiing. My breakthrough happened when I said “damnit, these men aren’t very good skiers, surely I can do better than them” and just went for it and charged! Lol
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Maybe try some thousand step turns on almost flat terrain. The idea is to leave a clean edge set mark rather than a skid as you step through your turns.


A more basic version is to side step uphill in both directions with no skidding down. Side slipping is also a great edge engagement amd release drill.

Finally starting at a 45 degree angle on a gentle slope on a flat ski and gently engaging both edges across the hill into a carve can help you experience the edging versus rotation movement differences. Pick a safe, not crowded spot for these.

 

NYSnowflake

Angel Diva
When instructors are working with little kids, one of the "drills" they do is jumping while just going straight on an easy green. Note that they don't have poles, so one less thing to think about. Obviously can't jump if stiff. Only getting a little bit off the ground. A couple years ago, as part of an advanced group lesson at Taos (multi-day Ski Week) when snow conditions meant we could only ski on groomers, jumping was a suggestion made by the instructor for re-centering.


You are going great for the second season! Do you tend to repeat trails or move all over the mountain? For working on technique, sticking to the same trail or line is better. Skiing the same line slowly and then increasing the speed, while working on form, means you can focus on little stuff you may miss while skiing a more challenging trail. Later on, the reverse process is to practice skiing a steeper section at a relatively slow speed, with round and completed turns to keep from speeding up.
I totally agree and I also like to ski the same trails over and over and work on tweaking my form. First run is a recon mission. After that I try skiing with better form each time. Friday at Hunter I lapped Rip’s Return, Way Out, and Overlook. Today at Okemo I lapped Vortex & Quantum Leap, and Blind Faith. I have been working diligently on making more pure carved/edged turns (not smearing!), pole planting, and staying forward while standing upright (not hunching!). My husband just passed PSIA level one and was a great help with coaching me on movement analysis and development of my fundamentals this weekend. He was also super helpful by agreeing to ski halfway down a scary diamond and stand on the edge of the trail so I could ski down to him and stop if I was really scared or keep going if I felt good. Just knowing he was there made the trails less scary!
 

NYSnowflake

Angel Diva
Maybe try some thousand step turns on almost flat terrain. The idea is to leave a clean edge set mark rather than a skid as you step through your turns.

A more basic version is to side step uphill in both directions with no skidding down. Side slipping is also a great edge engagement amd release drill.

Finally starting at a 45 degree angle on a gentle slope on a flat ski and gently engaging both edges across the hill into a carve can help you experience the edging versus rotation movement differences. Pick a safe, not crowded spot for these.

I just got back from skiing Okemo today. My husband had me on an empty diamond run (blind faith) and we practiced the final exercise you described. Basically ski downhill then try to make a clean carve into a J turn. I skidded too much at first but eventually got a clean carve when I “pinched my hip” more in the turn. Then I worked on linking turns while using this strategy. My husband said I was definitely making round turns and not skidding/smearing after that. It’s crazy how slooooooow I ended up skiing the diamonds when I made round turns.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So glad you had nice skiing, we had high winds and my home bump was closed. Your day sure Sounds great!! Blind Faith has a nice pitch! Way to go, you are improving quickly! Good coaching!

I just saw this This video for more inspiration. I like how she talks about feeling your feet and there are other great tips, this is about moguls and tips for better skiing.. and these are beautiful bump runs!

Here's to colder temps for us on the East Coast and some Snow!

 

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