Evaluate my skiing technique

[IvanLi]

Thanks for the answers!
Do you believe the main fault of my technique is lack of upper body separation? Do I have enough transition from aft to fore throughout my turns? Is there anything else that prevents me from transitioning into the advanced zone?

 

[Chris V.]

Ah, the mental game of skiing.

I see you have made progress in maintaining shin angle--keeping forward in your boots.

Technique is best developed making medium radius turns, before adjusting it for short radius turns. Medium radius turns require a good chunk of the width of the hill you're on. In your first video, your turns were shallow because you were using a narrow corridor, in order to avoid other skiers and boarders. In the second, the snow was more broken. Were you thinking that you needed to pivot your skis quickly in those conditions? If so, get that right out of your head! Not true.

Short of a week's vacation in Sun Valley, your assignment is going to be to get up at the crack of dawn and get out on that slope, freshly groomed, when no one else is on it. Then your goal will be to create well rounded, well finished medium radius turns, using the skill elements that I believe you already know about.

Question--when you are going into a new turn, which comes first for you, weight shift or tipping into the new turn (actually starting the turning action)? It appears to me that in your first clip you were tending more toward the former than you were in the second clip. Practice doing a traverse and balancing for a short time, without turning, on the little toe edge of the uphill ski. See what that does for you.

And see if the changes in your movements also promote the upper-lower body separation others have discussed.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Thanks for the answers!
Do you believe the main fault of my technique is lack of upper body separation? Do I have enough transition from aft to fore throughout my turns? Is there anything else that prevents me from transitioning into the advanced zone?

I believe your most important task is to release the edges before you transfer pressure to the new outside ski. Having better counter from turning your feet more than your torso at the end of a previous turn will augment the proper release of edges.

All of this prevents "admission" to the "advanced" zone.

 

[Mike King]

I believe your most important task is to release the edges before you transfer pressure to the new outside ski. Having better counter from turning your feet more than your torso at the end of a previous turn will augment the proper release of edges.

All of this prevents "admission" to the "advanced" zone.

@Kneale Brownson, the issue of weight transfer before or after edge change is certainly one that has stimulated a lot of discussion and controversy amongst the instructor pool in Aspen. The current mantra from the training department is that weight exchange happens before edge change. Personally, I believe that weight change depends on intent, but in any case, the process of weight exchange starts before edge change. If one is making dynamic short or medium radius turns, then I find that the vast majority of the weight needs to be directed toward the new outside ski before the edge changes -- we want that ski to have pressure when the edge angle has been established so that the ski will bend. If one is making slow basic parallel turns, then the amount of weight that has been transferred to the new outside ski may be less.

What should not be happening, in my opinion, is that you step uphill to go downhill. Weight transfer is a process, not an event.

In any case, I personally believe that an expert skier should be able to perform early and late weight transfers. The name of the game is versatility in expert skiing.

Mike

 

[Kneale Brownson]

How about simultaneous? That's the take I get from the examiners on the Breck training staff I've had a chance to ski with recently. They're talking reestablish stable contact with the new outside ski while lightening and tipping the new inside ski.

 

[Mike King]

How about simultaneous? That's the take I get from the examiners on the Breck training staff I've had a chance to ski with recently. They're talking reestablish stable contact with the new outside ski while lightening and tipping the new inside ski.

Sure. But the members of the PSIA-RM Alpine Committee, led by Ballou, would say it's earlier.

Mike

 

[IvanLi]

I checked the thread for a day after posting my question and as I didn't see any replies forgot about it. Now I can see that I have missed some great advice, sorry for that.
As to what comes first. I am trying to shift the weight and then tip the ski.
So today is the last day for me this season (at least outdoors) as the ski hills are closing their operations. I have gone to the biggest hill we have in our area which is quite far away from my home, took me some 3,5 hours to go there and back. At least I got an opportunity to ski some "big mountain steeps" lol.
The clip below is from a fairly steep but short slope, which is off-piste. The snow has been very wet and slushy, and I tried to make as many turns I could, trying to separate my upper body (chest pointing down the hill). As always any comments are welcome.