Well, shucks fellow skiers, the conditions were trending nicely until the temps reached the 50’s. Argh! Oh well, it’s not over until the lifts stop. Plus, these El Niño cycles have historically given us some great moisture during the last month of the season. Let’s just hope that it comes through and perhaps even surprises us!
This session I wanted to share just two simple drills that helped me get in position to pressure the downhill at the top of the turn and get the right early forward movement. When I combine the sensations of these two drills I get a very powerful sensation that drives me down the hill at the beginning of the turn and it propels me through the turn.
The first drill is super simple and one that mentioned in this column before. It’s all about preventing leaning in at the top of the turn. This “leaning to the inside” look at the top of the turn is one of the best ways to make it impossible to get your weight on the downhill ski and carve majestically. Let’s make it possible and carve!let’s think about opposites. If the outside shoulder gets jogger than the inside shoulder, you are leaning in. Here is a way to get the positive opposite. At the top of the turn, drag your outside pole around the turn. You can exaggerate it a bit by really placing a bunch of pressure on the snow. If done correctly, it will feel like your outside shoulder is now lower than the inside. Take notice of your ability to place pressure on your downhill ski.
The next drill is a bit awkward and challenging, but it really gives you the right kind of forward movement at the top of the turn. This one is new to me and I was pleasantly surprised with what it gave me. This drill is to be done going very slow for starters and then you can ramp it up a skosh. It’s really designed to take place in a 30-50% kind of turn energy. The feels that you get will do wonders when you give it the onion.
While taking overly round and slow turns, it starts at the end of the turn when you still have pressure on the downhill ski. Next, create a snowplow look with the uphill ski. The only trick here is to place the uphill ski in the snowplow style but with the ski pulled back a skosh. This pulled back look will place the tip of the uphill ski inside the tip of the downhill ski. When done correctly it will naturally create the perfect amount of forward movement that you need. You will feel the early pressure on the tongue of the boot.
When you combine both these drills you will have the ideal posture at the top of the turn. You will be able to place all the weight you need on the downhill ski and you will be forward enough to drive the boot. These two qualities will give you the best setup to let the skis do all the work!