Now that the resorts are open or are opening in the next couple of weeks, it’s finally time to remind your feet how to turn, stop and stay balanced. As a wise old patrolman once told me, “if you’re not turning right, you better be turning left”.
Assuming you have already had your skis tuned, adjusted and checked for safety… now you’re ready to hit the slopes. Right?!?
First of all pace yourself. Start by NOT cranking down your boots too tight. Let your feet ease into the idea of tight plastic, uncomfortable boots. Make them snug, just not tight yet. Next, be sure you’ve had protein and water for energy… oh, and use the bathroom. Never pass on an opportunity to dehydrate, if you know what I mean.
Now that we’re ready to go and up on the hill, here are a few exercises to bring it all back for you. Remember balance is paramount for good skiing. So the first thing we’re going to do is a side-slip.
– Stand perpendicular to the fall-line across the hill. Release your edges and slip sideways down the fall-line. If you start to traverse, adjust your fore/aft balance. This in itself is a good warm-up. It’s called the “falling leaf”.
– Now switch sides with a turn, and side-slip on the other side.
Good balance will allow you to slide straight down the fall-line without a traverse. To ramp up the difficulty level, try this on one foot. Play with the uphill foot and the downhill foot.
The next task is a “Safety-stop” or “Hockey-stop”.
This is accomplished by skiing parallel down the fall-line and rotating both feet simultaneously to either the right or the left. As you rotate or turn your feet, add some edging to both skis bringing you to an abrupt stop. At the end of the turn you should be countered and prepared to initiate your next turn. Flexion/extension is a very important part of this task. Also focus on keeping both skis on the snow with absolute simultaneous edge change.
This too can be done more advanced by trying it one-footed. The down hill ski will be easier than the uphill with just one foot, but try it with both.
These two maneuvers can help you practice getting your balance back. Now connect them. Either the slide-slip or the safety-stop. Take it into a parallel turn now and be patient. Taking your time to do these turns will force you to focus on the movements at lower speeds. The low-speed aspect stop you from masking the movements with inertia.
Think about the different planes of motion. Lateral (side-to-side), fore/aft (front & back), vertical (flexion/extension) and the rotary under foot (foot guiding/steering).
Now go ski it!!
These quick “balance checks” are always at the top of my list every season.. and the first run of the day.