Fluffy Kitty
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have this tendency to stack during my left turns and isolate during my right turns. So, carved GS turn going left, and short-radius going right. Turning left, my torso follows the turn like in a nice teapot excercise. Turning right, my torso stays facing downhill. This is normal for me at the beginning of every season, probably because of various ailments (migraine, joints, whatever), and I manage to fix it by the end of the season. On groomers, this is not a huge problem, but in crud, it gets me into some dicey situations, so it's hard to just let it go. I also tend to drift to the left side of the trail, of course, which means my right turns, ironically, end up with more "must turn now" situations.
Every season, I find a different fix. Last season's revelation was that I should just stay in the right turn longer. This season, I noticed that, during left turns, the inside (left) arm is considerably higher than during the right turns, where the inside (right) arm stays closer to the body, front-ish. So, during left turns, the left arm starts out forward and low, then comes the pole touch, and the arm goes out, not straight out, but by the end of the turn, around the fall line, it is pointing uphill-ish, with my hand about even with the shoulder in height and elbow just a little forward of the shoulder, and the hand a bit more forward. My torso is facing in the same direction as the skis' movement. The right shoulder is tilted down. Right arm is more forward, getting ready to point toward the next pole touch.
So, what the heck, I decided to do the same with right turns. The mnemonic is to have my right arm point out after the pole touch, going uphill-ish by the end of the turn. It works fabulously. The carve is more secure, with more solid edging. I am more stable against lumps and bumps and skids, and therefore more psychologically secure. My torso more naturally follows the movement of the skis, and the left arm is more ready for the next pole plant. Now that I am skiing at about the same speed both ways, I can also go at a steady speed, rather than slow down with left turns and speed up with right turns like before. Having a more secure feeling with the right turn has also improved my short-radius turns.
Now, this does mean a lot of movement for the arms during medium-radius turns. I'm thinking this might not be good in the long run. My torso may also be pointing a bit too far uphill; it might not have been that my right turn was too tentative, but that I was hunkering down too far during my left turn (I think @Skisailor commented on a different thread that this might be the case.) and I am now replicating this problem in my right turn. I do pressure my outside ski more than I should, and I'm afraid this "drill" makes this more so.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Every season, I find a different fix. Last season's revelation was that I should just stay in the right turn longer. This season, I noticed that, during left turns, the inside (left) arm is considerably higher than during the right turns, where the inside (right) arm stays closer to the body, front-ish. So, during left turns, the left arm starts out forward and low, then comes the pole touch, and the arm goes out, not straight out, but by the end of the turn, around the fall line, it is pointing uphill-ish, with my hand about even with the shoulder in height and elbow just a little forward of the shoulder, and the hand a bit more forward. My torso is facing in the same direction as the skis' movement. The right shoulder is tilted down. Right arm is more forward, getting ready to point toward the next pole touch.
So, what the heck, I decided to do the same with right turns. The mnemonic is to have my right arm point out after the pole touch, going uphill-ish by the end of the turn. It works fabulously. The carve is more secure, with more solid edging. I am more stable against lumps and bumps and skids, and therefore more psychologically secure. My torso more naturally follows the movement of the skis, and the left arm is more ready for the next pole plant. Now that I am skiing at about the same speed both ways, I can also go at a steady speed, rather than slow down with left turns and speed up with right turns like before. Having a more secure feeling with the right turn has also improved my short-radius turns.
Now, this does mean a lot of movement for the arms during medium-radius turns. I'm thinking this might not be good in the long run. My torso may also be pointing a bit too far uphill; it might not have been that my right turn was too tentative, but that I was hunkering down too far during my left turn (I think @Skisailor commented on a different thread that this might be the case.) and I am now replicating this problem in my right turn. I do pressure my outside ski more than I should, and I'm afraid this "drill" makes this more so.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
