drills to improve edge releases

[Marcus Carvey]

In my annual check-up ski lesson, my instructor pointed out that I'm not always releasing my old downhill edge effectively at the end of my turns. We worked out some strategies for getting a better release, the one that really seems to work for me is visualizing rolling my downhill foot down the hill by pulling the arch of my foot away from the snow. And then of course following this with pointing the inside knee/pinky edge into the turn.

So that's all well and good, but I'm having a hard time getting this movement to be automatic. Especially if I get a bit nervous due to steepness or snow conditions, I hang on to that old edge for too long and screw up my transition.

Does anyone have any suggested drills or other things I can do to cement this movement pattern?

 

[Andy Mink]

In my annual check-up ski lesson, my instructor pointed out that I'm not always releasing my old downhill edge effectively at the end of my turns. We worked out some strategies for getting a better release, the one that really seems to work for me is visualizing rolling my downhill foot down the hill by pulling the arch of my foot away from the snow. And then of course following this with pointing the inside knee/pinky edge into the turn.

So that's all well and good, but I'm having a hard time getting this movement to be automatic. Especially if I get a bit nervous due to steepness or snow conditions, I hang on to that old edge for too long and screw up my transition.

Does anyone have any suggested drills or other things I can do to cement this movement pattern?

Find a run you're comfortable doing it on and do it. Over and over and over. And make sure you're doing it correctly; no cheating! Then move up to the next steeper run. I feel your pain. I was not hooking the new outside ski up soon enough in the new turn. Once you feel it, you get it, but it isn't automatic for quite a while. I'm still working on that too.

 

[James]

Yeah steepness is an issue. Gentle terrain, practice skiing into neutral. In neutral the slightest change will have you in the new turn. Neutral is the point like where you're doing pivot slips.
Body position is key. You can't release if your body is still uphill. This is one reason steep causes issues -we don't wan't to commit going downhill. You can lift your arch to your knee but if you're uphill it doesn't matter.

Even doing uphill arcs where you end with flat skis and over them helps. If you have enough room, go up, flatten, wait and slowly start a new turn diwn. It takes very little. Most people get impatient.

Almost anything slidey is good.

 

[Bad Bob]

Sideslip to an edge set then release. Repeat, over and over and over again.

 

[Marcus Carvey]

Body position is key. You can't release if your body is still uphill. This is one reason steep causes issues -we don't wan't to commit going downhill. You can lift your arch to your knee but if you're uphill it doesn't matter.

This is a good point, however I'm pretty sure my instructor (L3, best skier I've ever seen in person) would have pointed that out if it were my issue. She was satisfied with what I was doing when I was consciously focusing on it, my problem now is fixing my muscle memory.

Also, and not to start an argument, but I'm not sure I even agree with what you're saying. The me of 10 years ago learned by trial and error that if i launched my upper body downhill before a turn, I could more or less survive in moguls and steeps. Present day me finds that when I release that downhill edge (by rolling my arch up or whatever), my center of mass naturally comes forward over the ski, as I no longer have a base of support to supply the force to keep my CoM uphill from my skis. When I do this correctly, it feels like a really great way to ski. I believe this is what people are talking about when they talk about starting from the feet. That said, I may have the physical causality backwards here, but to me it very much feels like the release causes the correct CoM shift, not the other way around.

Your practice suggestions are on point and appreciated.

 

[Coach13]

Body position is key. You can't release if your body is still uphill. This is one reason steep causes issues -we don't wan't to commit going downhill. You can lift your arch to your knee but if you're uphill it doesn't matter.

Spot on and you have to get to neutral before edge change even if it’s just for a brief second. I learned this as an extension from slide slipping. Go from standing across the hill facing skier’s left with the skis edged to flattening the skis, standing up, allowing the ski tips to find the fall line and then edging the skis into a single right turn. Repeat in the opposte direction. It helps me practice both edging and release. After I do these I work on linking turns. When I move a little steeper I do the same yet I try to be more conscious of line and turn shape to control speed. May sound silly but I do these pretty much each time I’m on the mountain if just for a bit.

Btw-I know I’m no instructor so I will apologize up front it this isn’t clearly or appropriately stated from an instruction standpoint.

 

[James]

'm not sure I even agree with what you're saying. The me of 10 years ago learned by trial and error that if i launched my upper body downhill before a turn, I could more or less survive in moguls and steeps.

You don't have to agree, just go experiment. The fact remains one can't release if still uphill. Most people's issues with sideslipping are related to that. They try to do it while leaning uphill.

We don't just get this and are good forever on all slopes. There's always a pitch where you'll have to be conscious of it. Or a condition, such as round line in moguls.

Your previous "launching your body downhill" probably enabled you to ski stuff others wouldn't. It also required a good amount of guts. It served you well in many respects. Just because you did something to the extreme doesn't invalidate the appropriate level of it. Sounds like you've already ingrained moving into the new turn, which is good. Play around with the feet thing on flat cat tracks. Just stand there and tip one foot to little toe side- lift the arch. See what happens if you allow yourself to tilt towards the tipped foot.

Flat spins on snow are good for your release moves. I assume you're very good at sideslipping? If not, get good at it.

Do the skiing into neutral awareness. Notice where your neutral spot is. Is it just before you start the new turn? Too late. Ideally it should be in the middle. You can do it anywhere, even in gentle terrain skiing slow with kids. Makes it interesting.

Go from standing across the hill facing skier’s left with the skis edged to flattening the skis, standing up, allowing the ski tips to find the fall line and then edging the skis into a single right turn.

Your standing up likely supplies a rotary force that turns the tips downhill. You can do it without standing up - just turn the tips downhill. Now with that it's likely we do a subtle body rotating move also. It doesn't take much.

Go try this experiment on a groomed surface good for sideslipping. Sideslip with your weight way forward and way back. But do it while not twisted-facing downhill. So you're playing with just fore/aft. Common thinking is forward brings the tips down, back the tails. Or even vice versa. See what happens.

 

[Chris V.]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vaw24Se_6B9jc03RhfcsMWG6B&cshid=1548266167748

You don't have to buy into the whole system. Either way, this is really good practice. And HARD on a very gentle slope.

 

[Coach13]

Your standing up likely supplies a rotary force that turns the tips downhill. You can do it without standing up - just turn the tips downhill. Now with that it's likely we do a subtle body rotating move also. It doesn't take much.

Go try this experiment on a groomed surface good for sideslipping. Sideslip with your weight way forward and way back. But do it while not twisted-facing downhill. So you're playing with just fore/aft. Common thinking is forward brings the tips down, back the tails. Or even vice versa. See what happens.

I don’t feel the rotary but you could be right. What I think I am doubg is going from an agulated position with my hip close to the hill is move my hip forward and away from the hill which in turn flattens my skis and starts the tips into the fall line.

I’ll definitely try the drill you suggest.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Find a spot with gentle gradient where you can traverse safely, let’s say on the arch edge of your left foot, and play with decreasing edging (raising your left arch) and increasing edging (raising the little toe side of your left foot) while maintaining weight dominance on that foot.

 

[Marcus Carvey]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Been looking at some other resources, any thoughts on garlands as a good exercise for this purpose?

 

[Steve]

Garlands are the perfect exercise for this, as they allow you to release without having to fully commit to a turn and gradually you take it to steeper terrain. Great thing to do.

 

[James]

I don’t feel the rotary but you could be right. What I think I am doubg is going from an agulated position with my hip close to the hill is move my hip forward and away from the hill which in turn flattens my skis and starts the tips into the fall line.

I’ll definitely try the drill you suggest.

The rotary is very subtle. Don't forget your skis are at different levels as one is uphill.
We've had discussions on epic about this. I used to not believe it. Then we had someone video himself sideslipping and tips going downhill. Unbeknownst to him he was supplying rotary. You could see it. Someone posted Bode teaching it and you could see the rotary.
Falling leaf is another where misconceptions abound. Fore makes the tips go down, aft the tails. Try the pure sideslipping experiment.

I'm not sure how useful the info is other than getting a better sense of what happens.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AC1pt7pHXCY&ved=2ahUKEwjo87G5vITgAhVIRKwKHbi9Dm8QwqsBMAB6BAgJEAU&usg=AOvVaw24Se_6B9jc03RhfcsMWG6B&cshid=1548266167748

You don't have to buy into the whole system. Either way, this is really good practice. And HARD on a very gentle slope.

Glad you posted that. For practicing release, sure.
How do the tips go downhill there? Answer: A blocking pole plant behind the feet supplies the rotary force. I'm not sure why they get offended when you point out that maneuver is the very visual definition of a blocking pole plant, but they do.
Coach13 take note.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

without the excessively ugly pole touch, try sideslipping and pulling the downhill foot back.

 

[Coach13]

The rotary is very subtle. Don't forget your skis are at different levels as one is uphill.
We've had discussions on epic about this. I used to not believe it. Then we had someone video himself sideslipping and tips going downhill. Unbeknownst to him he was supplying rotary. You could see it. Someone posted Bode teaching it and you could see the rotary.
Falling leaf is another where misconceptions abound. Fore makes the tips go down, aft the tails. Try the pure sideslipping experiment.

I'm not sure how useful the info is other than getting a better sense of what happens.



Glad you posted that. For practicing release, sure.
How do the tips go downhill there? Answer: A blocking pole plant behind the feet supplies the rotary force. I'm not sure why they get offended when you point out that maneuver is the very visual definition of a blocking pole plant, but they do.
Coach13 take note.

What’s the point of lifting that inside foot in the video? Just exaggerating the relaxing lightening of the inside ski?

 

[razie]

Garlands are good and a great drill is the power release.

Tuck turns also are good, rollerblades turns - drills where you roll onto edge and off the edge.

When skiing and drilling, make sure you don't stop when the skis are flat on snow - start flattening and un-tipping the ski off the old edges right through skis flat and continue tipping on the new edges.

 

[Mendieta]

Garlands are good and a great drill is the power release.

Tuck turns also are good, rollerblades turns - drills where you roll onto edge and off the edge.

The "power release" looks beautiful, but quite hard for a mortal like myself

Would you add RR tracks to the list?

I do like the general recommendation of Side Slips, for the very same reasons explained by @James above. At least, I work on that quite a bit to correct the same things he pointed out. I love that I can work on my weaker side more than the other one, since it's a one sided drill. Same with Garlands, if you find the right slopes.

 

[Bruce]

How do the tips go downhill there? Answer: A blocking pole plant behind the feet supplies the rotary force. I'm not sure why they get offended when you point out that maneuver is the very visual definition of a blocking pole plant, but they do.
Coach13 take note.

I can assure you there is no "blocking pole plant" in the two-footed release that creates the angular motion of the tips going down hill. As evidence, what would happen to a free ski with the brakes retracted simply released at an angle to the hill? They would point straight downhill in short order. All you have to do is create a flat ski, and physics does the rest.

The hard part of the two-footed release is actually getting flat and not digging one big-toe edge or the other. In the drill, the pole is out there to keep you from falling over since you aren't actually in motion. The flattening naturally takes all your weight off the pole ... otherwise you'd have a hard time flattening while not upright, wouldn't you?

Well, I suppose the "rest of the hard part" is the ballet of tipping, counter-balance, and counter-action. When done right (and I'm the last one to demonstrate this sucker on command) the whole thing works like magic. And what's it for? You get the whole timing and coordination of body actions and balance to occur without the complications of having to actually ski.

 

[razie]

Yeah, RR tracks is the same as rollerblades & make sure you flex the legs as much as possible. Anything where you roll on and off the edges is good - side slips etc.

All but power releases and side slips are easy to do on a green run.

 

[razie]

@Bruce they are great drills, but I find TFR and OFR very hard to do without coaching and qualified feedback. It is much too easy to do them wrong, defeating their original purpose... And self-coaching those is quite hard if one does not have the entire background there...