Help Needed: What happened to my left turns??!!

[goodcat]

Last week, I was skiing better than I have ever due to some fixes on my boots to correct pronation. However, two days after the fix, I suddenly began having problems turning left. Essentially, I find my right ski hooking too sharp (the back of the ski seems to skid rather than carve) while the left ski is doing what it is supposed to do. Also, I end up with my downhill weight on my heel rather evenly distributed or on the forefoot. Anyone have insight? I probably need to take another lesson...

 

[mustski]

What kind of boot "fixes" did the fitter make? I have had issues with boot fixes that interfered with initiating turns with both skis.

Don't get me wrong - lessons are a good thing, but what is new with the boots?

 

[bounceswoosh]

Is it at all possible that you have your skis on the opposite feet? A bad tune could do that.

 

[snow addict]

Could be anything really, even a one-off thing. Had a weird start of the day on Sunday, clicked into bindings, skied off and realised I couldn't put my weight on my left ski the way it's supposed to be, or my foot would cramp up. Nothing changed from the day before - same boots, same socks, same buckles settings, different skis but I skied on them only two weeks ago and haven't tuned them or done anything to them since then too. It was really odd, and quite horrible feeling my weight on one side behind from where it's was needed and my left ski trying to run away from me. And quite embarrassing too to be all kitted out with ABS and skiing like a beginner on someone else's skis way above ability. Had a short warm up run and had to stop there twice at least, ended it skiing with both boots unbuckled just to even out the feel and range of motion. Went back up, took my boots off and put them back on again a few times, doing again the same thing as always and after a few repetitions everything was fine, but it was a total mystery what actually happened. Was very close to having my powder day ruined - good job I was on the first lift, so had time to sort it. See if it persists. It may go away just as mysteriously, if not I would take a lesson (one of those is always handy) and have instructor look at it, check tune, boot, etc.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Echoing above:

1. “Fixes” on boots to “correct pronation?” The typical way in which this is addressed is with a good custom foot bed. What was done?

2. Swap out skis. (@bounceswoosh , don’t you do this with non-dedicated left><right for more even edge wear?) Does it happen then? Or does it now happen on the opposite side? Dead giveaway.

3. Weight on heel. Did they change your boots’ forward lean and/or cuff alignment? If so, how much? Heel shim? How many mm? Canting shim? (These can really change things.)

Sorry for questions - can't help until there's more info.

 

[MissySki]

This is so weird, I am having the same exact issue on the same side!!! lol Your description sounds just like me.

I didn't have any work done on my alignment recently, but I did take out the built in spoilers from my boots to stand more upright. I'm starting to hypothesize that this may have thrown off the temporary canting I have on my right boot now that I'm in a different position? I feel like now my alignment is too far outside on that side because I'm having a terribly hard time getting onto my inside edge and when I turn in the opposite direction I'm catching the outside edge of my right ski when usually there isn't enough weighting to do that on the outside. I also feel like my right heel is weighted rather than the front of my foot and instead of my turn coming around nicely it's cutting across and my heel is completely washing out. My left side is fine.. Doing railroad tracks my edge angles are not matching at all now either.

So I think I'm going to put the spoilers back in this weekend and see if that fixes things back to where they were. If so, I'll have a talk with my bootfitter on rechecking my alignment with the spoilers out and see where we should go from there. I like being more upright, but not at the expense of messing up everything else..

I second the question of what exactly was done to your boots before this started happening.

 

[AltaEgo]

Can you have a friend video you skiing and take that to your boot fitter? It might help both of you see what is happening.

 

[bounceswoosh]

2. Swap out skis. (@bounceswoosh , don’t you do this with non-dedicated left><right for more even edge wear?)

Most of my skis have graphics that go across both skis, and it would drive me nuts to have the graphics wrong. On skis that don't have specific graphics, I don't pay attention to which is left and right. But as I've said in other threads - I don't maintain my edges. They might get tuned if I bring my skis in for P-Tex work. I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to have better edges, but 99% of the time my dull edges are fine for what I ski, so I don't sweat it.

 

[altagirl]

Most of my skis have graphics that go across both skis, and it would drive me nuts to have the graphics wrong. On skis that don't have specific graphics, I don't pay attention to which is left and right. But as I've said in other threads - I don't maintain my edges. They might get tuned if I bring my skis in for P-Tex work. I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to have better edges, but 99% of the time my dull edges are fine for what I ski, so I don't sweat it.

My graphics tend to be abstract enough that I sometimes can't remember which is which until I ski them (usually at the beginning of the year). But if I have them on the wrong feet it feels like I forgot how to ski.... Argh.

 

[mustski]

I did not even realize that left/right ski matters. My Aura hummingbirds always go on left and right because I can't handle the graphics being asymmetrical. All my other skis, I just step in and don't notice a difference.

Can someone save me from my ignorance?

 

[bounceswoosh]

I did not even realize that left/right ski matters. My Aura hummingbirds always go on left and right because I can't handle the graphics being asymmetrical. All my other skis, I just step in and don't notice a difference.

Can someone save me from my ignorance?

It doesn't matter for most skis. There are a very few exceptions, like https://www.elanskis.com/us/all-mountain-amphibio.html

 

[mustski]

It doesn't matter for most skis. There are a very few exceptions, like https://www.elanskis.com/us/all-mountain-amphibio.html

Thank you. Now those skis have peaked my interest for sure! DH loves his Elans. I've never tried any ... but hmmm ... that technology sounds worth a try.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Thank you. Now those skis have peaked my interest for sure! DH loves his Elans. I've never tried any ... but hmmm ... that technology sounds worth a try.

I have also been eyeing them, which is ridiculous. I have zero need for a carver. But man... all skis are pretty in their own way, aren't they?

 

[mustski]

I have also been eyeing them, which is ridiculous. I have zero need for a carver. But man... all skis are pretty in their own way, aren't they?

Indeed! In fact, I maintain that ski companies are total IDIOTS for not marketing more to women. I purchase for my whole family because I am the gear slut! Otherwise, my men would still be on straight skis!

 

[Xinga]

Don't Knee Bindings also mandate an assigned left and right?

 

[maggie198]

Goodcat, I would tend to think that your turn issues have something to do with you boot fixes, except that it sounds like you skied them for 2 days after the mods without issues. Was there any significant change in the snow conditions?

I had a similar problem near the end of last season. I had been skiing my Hells Belles for about a month, and just loving them. Conditions started getting pretty soft/slushy by April. My last day of spring skiing I could not turn to the right for the life of me! Turns to the left were fine, but turns to the right weren't happening in the soft, snow-cone type conditions. I hypothesized that because of all the rocker, my tips weren't engaging from my left leg as it was becoming the new downhill leg. This leg is slightly shorter, too, and doesn't have quite as much leverage as my right leg. It was kind of comical making my way down the mountain with just left turns!

Fast forward to this season, I was expecting to have turning issues like I did the end of last season (thought it was me, my technique, the skis were no good, I suck, etc. etc). But with the snow conditions we've had so far, I'm able to initiate the right turns without a problem. I think if I encounter the same issue this spring I'll try some skis with less rocker.

 

[mustski]

I had a similar problem near the end of last season. I had been skiing my Hells Belles for about a month, and just loving them. Conditions started getting pretty soft/slushy by April. My last day of spring skiing I could not turn to the right for the life of me! Turns to the left were fine, but turns to the right weren't happening in the soft, snow-cone type conditions. I think if I encounter the same issue this spring I'll try some skis with less rocker.

Actually, my DH has encountered this issue a few times. Once, on a deep powder day, it nearly killed him. Then quite a few times in variable conditions. It turns out that his bindings will still lock in even if he has too much snow/ice stuck to the bottom of the boot (or in the binding) but he will lose the ability to fully control whichever ski is affected. Now that we know that, we stop and clean out the boot and binding.

I hadn't even thought of that until you mentioned your one day issue.

 

[volklgirl]

When things get weird and nothing else has changed.....
- Scrape your boot soles fully and dig any snow out of your bindings before putting them back on.
- Swap skis to see if the weirdness continues:

If it doesn't change, it's you.
If it changes feet, it's likely a burr, broken brake, or other tuning/ski problem.
If it goes away, it's still likely something with the ski, probably a burr.​

 

[MissySki]

This is so weird, I am having the same exact issue on the same side!!! lol Your description sounds just like me.

I didn't have any work done on my alignment recently, but I did take out the built in spoilers from my boots to stand more upright. I'm starting to hypothesize that this may have thrown off the temporary canting I have on my right boot now that I'm in a different position? I feel like now my alignment is too far outside on that side because I'm having a terribly hard time getting onto my inside edge and when I turn in the opposite direction I'm catching the outside edge of my right ski when usually there isn't enough weighting to do that on the outside. I also feel like my right heel is weighted rather than the front of my foot and instead of my turn coming around nicely it's cutting across and my heel is completely washing out. My left side is fine.. Doing railroad tracks my edge angles are not matching at all now either.

So I think I'm going to put the spoilers back in this weekend and see if that fixes things back to where they were. If so, I'll have a talk with my bootfitter on rechecking my alignment with the spoilers out and see where we should go from there. I like being more upright, but not at the expense of messing up everything else..

I second the question of what exactly was done to your boots before this started happening.

I messaged my bootfitter yesterday with what's going on, he didn't think taking my spoilers out should affect my alignment. So I'm going to go to the shop this weekend and we'll recheck my alignment etc. just in case. Then if he can get out of the shop he said we'll do a few runs together so he can see if anything stands out to him that might explain what I'm feeling.

Still find it so interesting that we are having the same exact symptoms. To be continued..

 

[mustski]

I am impressed that your boot fitter will get out on the slope with you to figure out what's going on!