Grinding Away Ski Tips

[geepers]

I know, oh I know, I am going to get a ration of crap for saying this, but why would anyone force their feet apart? I started skiing in 1965 and was mentored by a guy by the name of Frank Covino, a close friend and fellow ski instructor of Stein Eriksen. It is the most unnatural feeling to me to open my stance. All of my balance seems to disappear.

It's a trade-off between stability and agility.

Do a straight line speed run on the groomers into a tuck and I'm willing to bet that you open your stance for stability despite all the decades of feet together ingraining. In that situation what is needed is extra stability. (If you are skiing feet locked together at 60 mph... well, it's been nice knowing you.)

Now look at McGlashan - in the bumps, stance is narrow as agility (and having the skis experience the same slope conditions) is important. On the groomers in wider turns his stance is wider - look at the stance at transition, not when he's inclined and the skis are vertically separated. In short turns his stance is somewhere in between.

Now compare JB in wider turns vs bumps. Same thing.

Most important thing is not the width of the stance - which should vary for the situation - but that the legs act independently. Resting the inside foot lazily on the outside foot is not the optimal way and will limit performance.

 

[dan ross]

It's a trade-off between stability and agility.

Do a straight line speed run on the groomers into a tuck and I'm willing to bet that you open your stance for stability despite all the decades of feet together ingraining. In that situation what is needed is extra stability. (If you are skiing feet locked together at 60 mph... well, it's been nice knowing you.)

Now look at McGlashan - in the bumps, stance is narrow as agility (and having the skis experience the same slope conditions) is important. On the groomers in wider turns his stance is wider - look at the stance at transition, not when he's inclined and the skis are vertically separated. In short turns his stance is somewhere in between.

Now compare JB in wider turns vs bumps. Same thing.

Most important thing is not the width of the stance - which should vary for the situation - but that the legs act independently. Resting the inside foot lazily on the outside foot is not the optimal way and will limit performance.

I know, oh I know, I am going to get a ration of crap for saying this, but why would anyone force their feet apart? I started skiing in 1965 and was mentored by a guy by the name of Frank Covino, a close friend and fellow ski instructor of Stein Eriksen. It is the most unnatural feeling to me to open my stance. All of my balance seems to disappear.

 

[dan ross]

I understand Rider Rays point and don’t think he’s totally off the mark. At a certain point you lose stability /agility with a wide stance. I too learned in leather boots and while the “Austrian technique “ makes no sense anymore , amateur racing and competitive mogul skiing taught me that I can respond almost instantly and independently when my feet are 5-6” apart. Even ripping GS turns on groomers where my feet may be farther apart, I’m really only on one ski at a time. The 1970’s race training I got as a kid has served me well generally- learning to carve on VR-17’s will do that- and this hard won skill set is not something a lot of us want give up completely every time the equipment/fashion change. That said, I try to remain open minded.

 

[RiderRay]

Yup, geepers, you're right about feet apart in a full tuck. But that's like saying you should drive a Honda Civic on the street the same way as you would drive a Porsche on a race track. Différent circumtances, different techniques. Truthfully, sometimes I go back to turning the old Austrian way just for the hell of it . It was a really graceful style and felt really good to me. That's what skiing is all about to me, having fun. Will I personally make high speed turns on groomers with my feet wide apart and hip almost touching the snow? Nope, but kudos to anyone who wants to, have fun.

 

[geepers]

Yup, geepers, you're right about feet apart in a full tuck. But that's like saying you should drive a Honda Civic on the street the same way as you would drive a Porsche on a race track. Différent circumtances, different techniques. Truthfully, sometimes I go back to turning the old Austrian way just for the hell of it . It was a really graceful style and felt really good to me. That's what skiing is all about to me, having fun. Will I personally make high speed turns on groomers with my feet wide apart and hip almost touching the snow? Nope, but kudos to anyone who wants to, have fun.

Know where you are coming from. I also started skiing in the leather boots and wire bindings days. Still wrestling with the feet together habit and it's only recently that I've managed to do entire lessons/workshops where the instructor hasn't mention it. The bad bit (for me) is that the inside foot gets lazy and ends up resting against the outside one. So I work to ski a stance that suits the situation and try to be mindful that the legs work independently.

 

[RiderRay]