A feeling is worth a thousand words…
Crédit photo: Pierre Goyette
Let’s begin by ruling on the fact that our ultimate objective as a skier is perfect mastery of our skis in all situations in which we can find ourselves on the mountain.
To achieve this goal we can, among other things, develop some technical aspects. These are based principally on three (3) fundamental points:
- Remaining centred and mobile;
- Turning with the lower body;
- Being balanced on the edges of our skis.
Above and beyond these theoretical concepts and these words, there are the FEELINGS. These, when they arise from well executed movements, are measures of success.
You remember a good “FEELING” for a long time.
With this in mind, I suggest you try an experiment related to the senses.
- Place your skis at right angles to the fall line, in a stopping position.
- Position yourself comfortably so that you are balanced 100 per cent on the centre of the downhill ski (the ski on the same side as the base of the mountain).
- Ask a partner to hold the tips of your two (2) skis.
- Try to turn, simultaneously, your two (2) legs so as to direct your two (2) ski tips (which are being held in place) towards the base of the mountain. The sustained and relative effort should allow you to feel a twisting in the muscles of your two (2) legs. This action must come from your legs and not from rotating your pelvis. Your upper body should remain calm and relaxed.
- Obviously, you won’t be able to turn your skis because your partner is holding the tips in place.
- Once you have experienced the feeling of turning your legs through the effort of your thigh muscles, let your skis slide across the trail, and reduce the edge angle of your skis while turning your legs and feet towards the bottom of the trail in the same way as was suggested in the exercise described above.
If you understand the exercise and execute it properly, you are probably discovering the feeling of directing the front of your skis instead of that of turning by pushing the back of your skis, which causes braking in the turn. Even if that hint is not a full recipe for linking your turns, it’s a key ingredient in increasing your efficiency on your skis.
Bon ski!
Pierre Godbout, A.M.S.C. / C.S.I.A. niv. IV
www.pierregodbout.info
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