The Instruction Blog

Last month I used the ABC’s to teach children how to shape their turns for speed control. This month I’ll try to help intermediates get out of the rut and make better turns. To suit the higher ability level, I’ve moved the analogy from grade school ABC’s to high school Geometry.

When I work with intermediates, I try to get them to think of their boots as being square instead rounded. In past we’d tell students move your shins directly forward into the front of the boot. Now, with modern technique we want to move those shins diagonally into the corner of our imaginary square boot tops.

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I recently taught a Play-and-Ski lesson for two 5-year old kids. After watching them ski I asked one little girl how she learned to slow down. I got the answer I anticipated: “I just make a bigger pizza.”

From the very early stages skiers learn that a bigger wedge increases resistance to the snow. Many young kids take this knowledge and apply it to all their turns or anytime they need to slow or stop. Occasionally an inexperienced instructor or parent reinforces this big pizza idea and it firmly takes hold. The bigger wedge moves their center of mass farther back putting them farther into the back seat making all the skiing skills harder to apply.

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Skiing on hard surfaces is at times unavoidable. Unlike skiing on soft snow, on hardpack you’re often putting 80 or 90% of your weight on your outside ski. That doesn’t mean that you can’t get more performance from the inside ski. In fact the more you use your inside ski, the easier it will be to carve on any surface.

Start with a wide stance placing your feet under your hips. If you’re too narrow you can’t use that inside ski to your advantage. If you naturally ski in a narrow stance make a run with an imaginary beach ball between your legs. Practice some railroad track turns in this way and use your little toe to “slice” the snow.

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