Question: Toes - Have you paid attention to them?

[liquidfeet]

....
With shaped skis we don't need as much pressure on the tips as we did with the straight skis.

^^This.

 

[Jilly]

Yes, LF and I taught old school and new!!

 

[jthree]

The disadvantage of the first camp is that the tails can wash out if they don't have enough weight or pressure on them. One way to avoid this is to move the outside ski forward at the end of the turn.

Can I ask what you mean by tail washout?

I ask because I recently became aware that at times, I let the tails of my skis cross when I am skiing. When I first realized I was doing this, I assumed it was because my natural standing posture is with my toes turned out. So I've made a conscious effort to keep my toes front facing and when I do that, problem solved. I haven't really paid attention to whether my weight is on my toes. But maybe that's part of it?

 

[Jilly]

Washing out is you can't hold an edge. The tails will try to come around sooner and not follow the tips. And this is not on purpose. My Rossi Hero MT's were doing this to me. I realized that the skis were too soft.

If you're crossing your tails, then the tips must be diverging. So remember to keep your feet parallel.

 

[jthree]

Washing out is you can't hold an edge. The tails will try to come around sooner and not follow the tips. And this is not on purpose. My Rossi Hero MT's were doing this to me. I realized that the skis were too soft.

If you're crossing your tails, then the tips must be diverging. So remember to keep your feet parallel.

Thanks, good explanation. Yes, it seems like I need to keep my feet parallel. Just a bad habit I developed I guess.

 

[SarahXC]

@jthree — could be a bad habit or since you mention your natural standing habit is “toes turned out” that the internal rotation you need in your hips to keep skis parallel is a struggle with your range of motion, perhaps especially when tired. This was my personal experience. Perhaps some internal rotation work off the snow this summer? I also have been told that giving a bit of weight and pinky toe edge on the uphill ski can help it track more parallel.

 

[liquidfeet]

Washing out is you can't hold an edge. The tails will try to come around sooner and not follow the tips. And this is not on purpose. My Rossi Hero MT's were doing this to me. I realized that the skis were too soft.

If you're crossing your tails, then the tips must be diverging. So remember to keep your feet parallel.

If your tips are diverging, the inside ski may be turning more and earlier than the outside ski. If it's doing this, the usual cause is too much weight on the inside ski as the turn starts, usually caused by leaning the whole body into the new turn to edge the skis.

Tails crossing may be because the skier rotates the new inside ski faster than the new outside ski.

@lisaski, do you actively rotate your skis to point in the direction of the new turn as it starts, or do you do something else to start your turns? Do you lean your body to edge your skis, or do something else to get the skis edged?

 

[tinymoose]

If your tips are diverging, the inside ski may be turning more and earlier than the outside ski. If it's doing this, the usual cause is too much weight on the inside ski as the turn starts, usually caused by leaning the whole body into the new turn to edge the skis.

Tails crossing may be because the skier rotates the new inside ski faster than the new outside ski.

@lisaski, do you actively rotate your skis to point in the direction of the new turn as it starts, or do you do something else to start your turns? Do you lean your body to edge your skis, or do something else to get the skis edged?

Interesting. I've noticed my inside ski tends to do this at times even though, at least later in the turn, I keep my weight almost entirely on my outside ski (I can lift my inside ski most of the time if I think about it). So it sounds like the issue is too much weight on the inside early in the turn, even though I eventually move most of my weight to the outside? So it's sorta locking the inside ski into a weird path early? Usually it's not an issue if this happens and I just leave it be, or if it is an issue I just lightly lift and replace it so it aligns with the other ski. It also doesn't happen on every turn.

 

[SarahXC]

your tips are diverging, the inside ski may be turning more and earlier than the outside ski. If it's doing this, the usual cause is too much weight on the inside ski as the turn starts, usually caused by leaning the whole body into the new turn to edge the skis.

This is very interesting. Almost directly contrary to what I was told and I think I put more faith in @liquidfeet’s knowledge and capability than the instructor that told me that.... hmmm....

 

[Jilly]

My friend Lizzy grew up with dance lessons, so she naturally stands with her toes pointing out. And it shows in her skiing. She has had to learn to keep the skis parallel.

So, if it's not your natural stance, then its the weight issue described above.

 

[jthree]

@jthree — could be a bad habit or since you mention your natural standing habit is “toes turned out” that the internal rotation you need in your hips to keep skis parallel is a struggle with your range of motion, perhaps especially when tired. This was my personal experience. Perhaps some internal rotation work off the snow this summer? I also have been told that giving a bit of weight and pinky toe edge on the uphill ski can help it track more parallel.

If your tips are diverging, the inside ski may be turning more and earlier than the outside ski. If it's doing this, the usual cause is too much weight on the inside ski as the turn starts, usually caused by leaning the whole body into the new turn to edge the skis.

Tails crossing may be because the skier rotates the new inside ski faster than the new outside ski.

My friend Lizzy grew up with dance lessons, so she naturally stands with her toes pointing out. And it shows in her skiing. She has had to learn to keep the skis parallel.

So, if it's not your natural stance, then its the weight issue described above.

Thanks for the tips and sorry to derail @lisaski's thread! Pretty sure mine is a stance issue, getting better now that I'm aware of it! @SarahXC, what kind of internal rotation work? I'm intrigued.

 

[lisaski]

^^This.

Well, this is one where I'm actually with LF. Weight really should be centred through your arch. But most skiers are on the heel and no where near the arch or the toes. So telling them to get forward by putting the weight on the balls of the foot works to get it centered.

I see a lot of skiers that are very straight from the waist up. That means that they are not using the tongue as the lever per LF. Shoulders back, puts them in the back seat.

With shaped skis we don't need as much pressure on the tips as we did with the straight skis.

Wow, how this thread has evolved! Getting back to the original post, my toes were scrunchednup because I had too much slack in my boot around the toes. So I was doing that to keep my foot from wobbling around in the boot.

I find this conversation very interesting and thought provoking. Yesterday, the snow was very firm - refrozen hard pack. So, I stayed on the groomers and played around with weight distribution. I found that when I had weight totally off my heels, I had the most control. I used to be one who believed what I was initially taught that being centered over one's skis is best. However, as I mentioned, spending a day skiing with an extreme skiing champion taught me to pretend there are tacks under my heels and that changed my skiing. This may not work for everyone, but it works for me. I no longer ride my ski's tails and wash out on turns. Also, being forward on the skis allows me to ski tighter lines.

That said, I believe generalizations are not always applicable. Below is an article by Dan Egan (Warren Miller Films ski legend) that talks about tip pressure and reverse camber skis.

https://www.explorebigsky.com/ski-t...pressure-in-the-world-of-new-ski-design/13833