Suddenly I'm stemming. HELP!

[Violet]

Hello wise divas. I had a rough ski day on Sunday and was hoping y'all could help me identify what went wrong and if it's a technique or equipment issue - or a bit of both. This is somewhat similar to Tammy's issue discussed in "Drills for improving weak side when carving" but I didn't want to hijack that thread when my problem could be a bit different.

Problem: Suddenly I'm stemming on right turns. Left turns are smooth as usual. To emphasize, this is a new problem for me. I went to a steep section to try some side slipping. When facing right (right leg is uphill), I had a bit of trouble digging my edges in, especially with the right leg. When facing left, no problem whatsoever. I switched skis (putting left ski on right leg, vice versa) and the problem with side slipping was less noticeable, but I was still stemming on right turns. By the end of the day, my right knee hurt slightly with every stupid stem-christy turn, but I could not stop doing it! (The pain went away within an hour of leaving the hill and hasn't come back.)

Conditions: Unusually wet and soft snow, the kind that's better for snowballs than skiing. Temp was 32F.

Equipment: Same skis and boots as before. When I last went skiing 4 weeks ago, no stemming. Because of the unusually warm and wet conditions, I applied some high fluro paste wax. I've used this kind before, but this time it seemed a bit less soft. Maybe it's getting old/bad? I've had 3 total ski days since the last tune, and the first two days went fine.

Possible Causes: Technique - maybe I've suddenly gotten weak/lazy on the right side? Wax - if the wax was bad, would that explain my one-sided stemming problem? Wouldn't both sides be affected? Tuning - the side slipping test perhaps points to a tuning issue, but switching skis did not fully resolve the issue.

Advice for moving forward?

 

[volklgirl]

Has anything changed in the last 4 weeks??? Injury? New tune? Change in socks? Different poles? Boots buckled oddly?

If nothing has changed, check all four ski edges. You may have several burrs that are getting hung up, or, if your edges are dull at all, a stem can occur as your body tries to find purchase on slippery edges.

Often, though, stemming is a sign of a boot alignment problem, so check to see if your boot soles are worn unevenly or if the bolts on the sides of the boots that act as the cuff pivot points are loose. If this is the case, any cuff adjustments that may have been done when you got your boots may have changed.

Let us know what you find!

 

[Ellen]

Since you switched skis from foot to foot and the same problem persisted on the right ski, I think you can rule out wax or tuning and focus on technique. Unfortunately, I don't know what the technique issues would be that would cause this issue - I'll leave that to the instructors and wiser divas here.

 

[SkiNana]

Were you tired? - cold? - spooked by the steeper terrain? Was there something there that scared you? A steep drop off on one side that was niggling at you even though you weren't planning on skiing over it? (Are you afraid of heights and there it was, on that side?) Stemming is regression and regression can happen when something is wrong: like you are tired, scared or hurt. (or the equipment issues those wiser than I are suggesting.)

 

[badger]

I agree with SkiNana. Any time you notice a sudden change in your skiing that is a negative habit--whether or not you have ever even done the move before--is an indication of a confidence issue.

And......sometimes we simply start doing stuff for no known reason. Have you ever told yourself " I will never say "like" or "all" in my speech---like the kids do--, and then discover yourself doing exactly that? New habits can come from seeing or hearing things that then find themselves buried in our subconscious only later to reappear!

 

[Violet]

Thanks for your replies. Equipment was fine, I was fine. Nothing different there.

The one unusual thing was the conditions. The snow was very wet and heavy. Slushy and mushy in the sunny spots. (In better snow years, I avoid these conditions. This year, it's been too dry and warm to be choosy.) Perhaps I'm just not used to skiing the slush, and my weaker side was struggling with the turns. I guess I should read up on skiing "spring" conditions.

I'm all set to go to Breck this weekend. Conditions should be better. I'll be prepared with a fresh tune and hot wax. We'll see if anything improves!

 

[geargrrl]

Thanks for your replies. Equipment was fine, I was fine. Nothing different there.

The one unusual thing was the conditions. The snow was very wet and heavy. Slushy and mushy in the sunny spots. (In better snow years, I avoid these conditions. This year, it's been too dry and warm to be choosy.) Perhaps I'm just not used to skiing the slush, and my weaker side was struggling with the turns. I guess I should read up on skiing "spring" conditions.

I'm all set to go to Breck this weekend. Conditions should be better. I'll be prepared with a fresh tune and hot wax. We'll see if anything improves!

I would put my vote on unfamiliar conditions. Your next ski day, you might just work on super awareness off where the edges of your feet/ski are. I still have occasional problems with not weighting my inside ski and I don't' even know it's happening. I have to make a conscious effort to pay attention to it.

 

[volklgirl]

Aahh..

Conditions. That's the change! Weird or challenging snow conditions will cause some version of regression in all of us normal skiers! If your equipment is properly fitted, tuned, and appropriate, you'll work through it the more you encounter those conditions. Fear not!

On bumpy, deep steeps I tend to develop both a down-stem and an stem on the right. My left foot isn't always trustworthy so my right foot does weird things to compensate for this and prep for that turn in advance. I've tried to work on it but I don't see those conditions often enough to really work it through.

 

[contesstant]

What are some good drills/exercises to do to help break a stemming habit? I haven't skied enough since I originally learned (and was taught to stem) and so haven't really figured out how to stop it. I think it is REALLY holding me back.

Just spent a week in Mammoth where I got my boots dialed in, bought new Black Pearls on a whim and my skiing improved drastically; but when I got my confidence shaken a little or hit something steeper than I was comfortable, I found myself stemming every turn. Yikes!

 

[madonskis]

I was in Zell am See, Austria last week and the conditions were icy and compacted on a lot of the runs. Even some of the blues seemed steeper and trickier than I remembered. (I learnt to ski there, in ski school 5 years running) my technique as a result, went to pot! I found I was sitting back, lifting one ski on the left turn, all things I thought I'd conquered. conditions play a huge part and no one should berate themselves for having bad days. I'm thinking of having a private lesson in March when I next go skiing just to knock out any bad habits that may have formed! It could be soft and slushy then so I'll let you know how I get on!

 

[geargrrl]

Going back to railroad tracks drills reall helps me. The thing I did yesterday for the first time was try the recomenndation to sing in slight difficult conditions. That was great!!

 

[Ursula]

Hi Violet, this is my first reply in ths diva forum, but I am sure not my last.
Out of my experience, most of the involuntary stemming in adverse conditions comes from either looking into the second half of the turn, or pulling the inside arm back, or dipping the inside shoulder into the new turn, or a combination of all these actions.
When the conditions are tricky (snow, steeps, bumps, etc.), whenever we want to make a "real quick turn", our mind says that we want to be in the other direction without getting into the fall line first. That's when we tend to drop the inside shoulder, or we pull the inside arm back. When the shoulder drops into the turn, the pelvic area has to counter-balance and goes OUT of the turn, which as a result puts the inside ski (at that time still on the downhill side)on the big toe edge. On the big toe edge, this ski does not release into the new turn! The outside ski can easily start the turn, but the inside is stuck! There is the stem!
And if we don't pick up that inside ski soon enough, we will cross the skis. That is when people say: I fell because I caught an edge.
That said, my suggestion for you would be to have somebody watch you for the signs: After a pole touch, do you pull the inside arm back? Do you, at the initiation of a turn, drop the inside shoulder? Do you, instead of looking and facing downhill at the beginning of your turn, look into the direction you would love to be "right now"?
Either one of these signs, would be the cause of your stemming.
Hope this helps,
Ursula

 

[volklgirl]

Welcome, Ursula!!

 

[geargrrl]

Wow Ursula that is a great analysis. It fits my issues with stemming in certain situations (rt turns in sketchy terrain). What would the correction/drill/thought-movement process to help correct this? Im talking about dropping the inside shoulder. I know exactly where my left (outside) hand is but the inside one?

Thanks and welcome
Geargrrl

 

[climbingbetty]

I think I might be doing this too, but I'm not sure. Could someone fill me in really quick on what a stem turn is so I can benefit from some of the great advice y'all are posting? Please and thank you!

 

[SkiNana]

Hi Violet, this is my first reply in ths diva forum, but I am sure not my last.

Hi, Ursula, Welcome! We can always use another source of wisdom!


Think Montana Cold Smoke!

 

[SKIbell]

Yes, thanks and welcome Ursula!! I am having a big problem with stemming in bumps and crud myself. This information is very helpful:D

I am new, too.

 

[SKIbell]

A stem turn is when you lift one of your skis up off the snow during the turn. I do it when I am on something steeper with crud or bumps, because I freak out.

 

[climbingbetty]

Yup. then by that definition- guilty. Did this a lot while trying to ski that crud yesterday. Definitely a confidence component to that one!

 

[SkiNana]

A stem turn is when you lift one of your skis up off the snow during the turn. I do it when I am on something steeper with crud or bumps, because I freak out.

Uh-oh: I thought "stemming" was when you used a bit of a wedge at the beginning of a parallel turn, with or without lifting the ski, as in a "stem Christie" of old.

Somebody clear this up, please!