Adding Power And Precision

If you want to master fast, effortless cruising, you have to get used to putting all your weight on your outside ski. [Photo: ifyouski.com]

Once you feel that you have mastered a carved initiation to your turns, it is time to add power to the middle of your turns.

Applying Pressure To One Ski

In order to maintain your carve throughout the turn, you must be skiing with all your weight on the outside ski throughout the turn. You may have heard this advice before; now you need to be 100% strict with yourself. Every turn must be performed with your weight on one ski.

The reason for this is that unless you ski at exceptionally high speeds, you only have enough force at your disposal to bend one ski into reverse camber. Distributing your weight over both skis dissipates this force, leaving your skis too straight and forcing you to retreat into a skid. Although new softer, shaped skis are more forgiving than the old straight boards, the principle remains - pressure on one ski enables you to use it properly in a carved turn.

You don't need to lift your inside ski high off the snow; most expert skiers actually allow it to brush across the surface. This way they concentrate the maximum force on their outside ski without performing any excess movements. It also provides an added bonus: a brief, welcome moment of relaxation for the unweighted inside leg. This prevents you from getting tired and contributes significantly to the fluidity of your skiing.

Matching The Radii Of Ski And Turn

You are familiar with the fact that your ski is narrower at the middle than at the tip or tail, particularly a modern shaped ski. Imagine placing your ski on a flat surface; now tilt it slightly onto its edge and push down over the bindings. It bends until its waist touches the surface; the ski describes a gentle arc. Tilt the ski more aggressively on its side and the arc described becomes more pronounced. So the more you set your skis on edge, the sharper the radius of turn your skis want to produce.

But this is only part of the story. Even more important in determining the radius described by your outside ski is the amount of force you use to put it into reverse camber. On a yielding surface, such as snow, for any given angle of edge set, the harder you push down, the more your ski bends and the tighter the radius of turn it will produce.

So now you have two adjustments to help you match your ski radius to that of your turn: more or less edge, and more or less pressure. If you can coordinate their action, you skis will carve and you will tap into an incredible surge of power in the middle of your turn. The key to this is the amount of hip angulation that you use.

As you finish each turn look ahead and anticipate the next.	Initiate the turn using early weight transfer.
Project your body forwards and down the fall line.	Allow your skis to cross under your body to the outside of the turn, angulating from the hips.
Maintain your hip angulation throughout the turn.	[All Photos: ifyouski.com]

Tips

• Choose a groomed, easy slope that you feel comfortable skiing at fairly high speed.
• Feel your skis moving out from under you as your hips move to the inside of the turn.
• It should feel as though your outside ski is on rails, and all you are doing is balancing against it. Settle on the desired speed and radius of turn first, then experiment with different amounts of angulation until you get this feeling.
• If it doesn't click, you may not be using enough speed. Make sure that the slope you have chosen is clear, then pump up the volume.