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[Photos: ifyouski.com] |
Starting with a long radius turn...(left)...tighten the radius by pushing your outside knee forward and towards the inside of the turn (right).
Part of the key to the relaxed charge of the expert skier lies in reading and responding to the slope. The next time you watch an expert skier in action, look for the tell-tale signs: expert skiers tighten their turns as the slope steepens, lengthen them as it flattens out, adjusting their position on the slope constantly and subtly to give themselves the most flowing line.
It is this ability to use the slope, as much as the quality of the turns themselves, that sets aside the truly expert from the simply advanced skier. Achieving this symphony of resistance and flow requires experience. But it also requires the ability to control your speed without reverting to skidding your turns.
Shortening The Radius Of Your Turns
One way to control your speed is to shorten the radius of your turns. You have already seen how the more your ski is edged and put into reverse camber, the tighter the radius of turn it will produce. Your skis are also designed to help you alter the radius of your turn in another way: the fronts of your skis are softer than the backs, the tip wider than the tail. The result? The further forward you apply your weight during a turn, the shorter will be its radius. Pushing your knee forwards and into the turn applies your weight to the softer front of the ski, producing a shorter radius carved turn.
Modifying Your Path
You can also control your speed by modifying the path taken by your skis. The easiest way is to hold on to your turns for longer, bringing you further out of the fall line on each turn. Alternatively, introducing more angulation, you can project your skis further from the axis of each turn so that they have further to travel.
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