Wow, Truth! Since this is your dance, may I suggest you continue? Can you expound a bit on how to do that? I find that finishing the turn, allowing the skis to fully cross under (and even finish with tips slightly uphill when needed) is the easiest means to scrub speed and control turn shape. Do you agree or have other suggestions? I am bummed I didnt get to ski with you at the boat.
Sorry for the thread drift.
Yeah, too bad we missed each other at the boat, but we can ski together at Taos. A few of us will be there during the week staring 2/27. If you need a place to hang out, maybe I can be of help.
During the Aspen gathering last week, Lady Salina pull up to me after a high speed groomer run and told me that she was following my line down and noticed I skied that line with what she termed “low energy turns”. My reply to her was “I’m old and with the constant availability of gravity, why should I waste my own energy in the turns”.
Most skiers use the bottom of the turn to control their speed. Often by skidding and often loading the tail of the ski with lots of lateral force. Heavy skidding at that part of the turn produces quite a bit of shock to the various part of the leg, especially the knees & quad. Sound like I am pushing for the pure carve camp, that is definitely not the case. I’m not partial to neither pure carve and/or pure skid. To me they are just two more shades of gray. A blend of the two that’s apropos for the situation and snow condition would be idea. Some skiers call it a brush-carve. Generally, I believe more glide and less skid is less tiring & less stressful to the various body parts.
A Taos instructor had a great analogy what it should feel like at the bottom of the turn. She wanted us to think of ourselves as an airplane at takeoff. The higher the glide, the more lift we’ll generate and the lighter we will feel - softer skiing.
I agree with you on the turning the tips up hill is an effective way to shape the turn and control speed. It’s one of my favorite movements that utilizes the pull of gravity to control speed. However, for most skiers, that move will find them stalled out at the end of their turn. Most will find it difficult to reinitialize their next turn. The fix is what Lady Salina was teaching at the Aspen Gathering – “Turn with you inside ski and ski on your outside ski”. That works both on the groomer and in the bumps.
The skis generally come out of the turn finish with quite bit of rebound energy. Harnessing this rebound energy with a retraction of the legs will allow this energy to propel us thru the transition across the hill into the top of next turn. Properly timing the retraction with the rebound is critical to conservation of energy and momentum for a smoother transition. The skis should be barely skimming on the snow if not entirely off the snow for a smooth transition to occur. At this point, additional speed control measures can be taken by moving the skis laterally up the hill in anticipation of the start of the new turn.
Moving the skis up the gravity well at the top of the turn will slow thing down quite a bit. The counter action to the skis moving uphill is the COM must start move down the fall line and inside the new turn - Bob Barns’ “X” move.
Moving the COM and upper torso down the fall line and inside the new turn while the skis are being sent out in the opposite direction sets up the X move by allowing large meaty part of our upper torso to take the tighter but slower inside line while the skis swings around in a much faster arcing path to catch the body at the bottom of the turn.
Most skiers generally think that they have to be aggressive and “forward” at the top of the turn. For most skiers “forward” means shin to the tongue. Loading the tongue at this point usually slows the glide speed of the skis and shortens the top of the turn. Making the turn less round. The rounder the turn, the less energy is required to control the skis. I don’t mind having open ankles at the top of the turn, so long my body is committed downhill. The open ankles allow me to push the skis forward along their intended path of travel for a higher swing speed.
As the skis progress to the apex of the turn, The COM should still be ahead of the skis. With the legs running behind the COM, this will allow the ankles to close and provide a very precise control of the skis. Controlling the travel speed of the skis at this point will determine the exact turn radius. A higher swing speed will tighten the turn and slowing the skis will result in a larger, more relaxed turn.
The feeling I like to see at the top and middle of the turn is the ski edges are engaged in the snow by a slight lateral pulling motion by my feet rather than a pushing / grinding motion from my quads. The swing (travel) speed of the skis should be pretty high, relatively speaking.
I think most of what I’ve been spewing have been addressed by Bob Barns in his many posts. This just my experience and interpretation of some of those ideas. Most of them are probably wrong.
. I find that anything wider than ~80mm under foot causes me knee pain on groomed terrain. I only bring out my Head Rock N Rolls in powder or spring conditions. They are soft enough that I can tolerate limited groomers, but otherwise give me a softer sub 70mm under foot.
. The skiing was super sweet last weekend, even if it was a bit chilly. I haven't been to the mountain since the rain yesterday and last night, but I understand it is not pretty. I am not sure what needs to be sacrificed to Ullr 
? If it means I have to buy new skis, boots, take a trip out west, whatever ,
, I am willing to take one for the team and do it 
. If this season goes any further like this, it will be the ultimate season of suck 
