A Ski Instructor Reviews How To Turn On Shaped Skis.
Credit: New York Times
[Editor Note: Our Spring Survey 2016 revealed an interesting statistic. About 30 percent of seniors take one or more lessons during a ski season. For those of us who are still skidding around turns and wondering how other skiers make those clear, sharp, carved ski tracks, PSIA ski instructor Pat McCloskey has some advice. But, it’s one thing to read about and even see a video of carving turns, it’s another to perform on a hill. Our advice: Take a lesson and learn how to really navigate on those new skis.]
Remember when we had to up-unweight to make a pair of skis turn? In the old days, the skis were longer and had minimal side cut so the only way to release the gripping edges at the end of a turn was to literally up-unweight, rotate the tips downhill and finish the turn.
As skis developed more sidecut, the up-unweighting became more subtle and edge engagement was easier facilitating more of a carved turn. The modern ski turn is aided by shorter skis with radical sidecuts that virtually eliminate up-unweighting. The movement is more lateral across the skis where the skiers center of mass seeks the next turn. I call it belly button to the next turn.
Ted Ligety, US Ski Team star GS racer, says that the reason he is faster than the competition is that he starts his turns earlier than most competitors by getting on a high edge early in the turn. He then pressurizes the ski with a good ankle flex, finishes the rounded turn across the fall line and then releases the pressurized skis which actually slingshots him into the next turn.
Credit: NY Times
If we slow that down for the mortal senior skier, the key is to engage the new edges early in the turn by getting that belly button to face towards the next turn. Then as the turn progresses, the ankles flex in the boots to hold the pressurized edges and the skier can finish his or her turn controlling the skis with a carved turn instead of a skid.
There is an element of trust in what the modern ski can do when you engage it early. But if you are patient and trusting, allow the edges to grip and carve; you can use your ankles to micro manage turn shape which controls speed. One of the keys to success here is to make sure you have a ski than can easily flex and a pair of boots that can also flex. A race boot is sometimes not the best choice for a senior skier. Make sure you can flex your ski boots which is critical during the progress of a modern ski turn. You especially need that flex at the end of the turn to pressurize the skis to make a strong, across the fall line, rounded turn. Just like Ted.
Check out his carving in this video clip below. For a more complete explanation of Ligety’s approach to the turn, click here for a tutorial from the New York Times and clips from the 2015 Sochi Olympics.
Sound advice, Pat! Trust and flexibility!