Help me identify this type of turn

[Josh Matta]

Ironically(well not really if you understand the physics, and movements of skiing) teaching her to wedge would fix all of the problems...... She probably only wedge for a half dozen turn, and maybe wedge christy for a couple runs, but the finished skiing would be a nice offensive open parallel turns. The swiss way of doing the wedge can leads to rotary push off skiing.

 

[Mendieta]

3) I like mendieta's point--what's the overall goal here? My wife wants to learn a more parallel turn and how to carve for several reasons. First, to keep up with our 9 year old daughter, who is quickly advancing through the Swiss ski school program and is amazing. Second, to learn something knew, and "make piste skiing interesting again." Third, just to have more turns and skills in her library, and to feel more capable and confident whatever the terrain or conditions. And fourth, to improve her off piste skills. We have slowly learned that it is much more effective and efficient in many conditions backcountry skiing to keep your weight more equal between skis, and to ski with a more gentle parallel turn style.

You guys are dead on, Bruno. Keep in mind that carved turns on hard snow will have mostly an outside ski weight, and on softer snow like you said, more equal weighted, and yes, smoother is always better. I won't give a lot of technical thought since I am working on all these things, and everything suggested above makes sense to me. Just a suggestion for drilling: J-Turns. This is IMHO the best way to feel your edges for the first time. Edi: this is how I felt my edges for the first time, and it was incredibly game-changing in my own personal experience.

It encourages two things she's looking for: parallel edges and patience. It also encourages having your legs (ankles in this case) drive the turn, not the upper-body. Since you start downhill and roll the edges, it is gradual. Since you end uphill, you internalize the notion that line choice can lead to speed control. Wide, empty groomer, for this.

 

[Missile Bandits]

I would work on getting a little more forward. less upper body movement, looking around more. and countering. As for the ski "lifting", leave it on the snow. turn the foot. turn both feet together. And no stopping in a wedge. practice hockey stops and turning to stop or slow down. Get rid of the wedge.
With all that said. getting a little more forward will help the most. This will get the ski turning earlier.

 

[Josh Matta]

I would work on getting a little more forward. less upper body movement, looking around more. and countering. As for the ski "lifting", leave it on the snow. turn the foot. turn both feet together. And no stopping in a wedge. practice hockey stops and turning to stop or slow down. Get rid of the wedge.
With all that said. getting a little more forward will help the most. This will get the ski turning earlier.

With out learning how to turn the outside leg inwards IE a wedge, you will never get forward or have upper a lower body separation. You actually dont want the ski to turn earlier you want to turn progressively, if anything a rotary push off is the quickest way to start a turn, so not sure how being more forward could start a turn even earlier.

 

[Fuller]

@Bruno Schull I give your wife an atta girl for getting past the ACL injury and sliding down the hill again. Not everyone can do that.

I'll leave the ski instruction to the pros here but the best advice I can give you is to both take lessons - separately!

 

[Skisailor]

I'm with @Steve. I give your wife kudos for developing an elegant solution to the problem she creates by turning her upper body in the direction of the turn before the legs start turning. @LiquidFeet 's video stills confirm this.

In essence, with her upper body movement pattern, she is locking up the edge of the inside ski so that it will not release smoothly. Her solution? Pick it up.

I think focusing on upper lower body separation - drills to help her keep her upper body facing quietly downhill for those short turns (rather than wagging her shoulders around) - and learning to initiate turns with her legs, would make the whole problem disappear.

 

[Steve]

Exactly. As @Bob Barnes would say: the lifting is not a problem to fix. It is a solution to a problem. A needed one. Focus on the problem that makes the lifting necessary.

 

[LiquidFeet]

And then there's the reason to go to all the trouble to "fix" turns that are currently working on that terrain. It takes determined effort, unrelenting, over time, to replace old deeply embedded habits. Your wife has been skiing a long time with that turn. There needs to be a pay-off that she wants at the end.

What does she want? Is it to look better? ... to ski more terrain that's closed to her now, ... to ski conditions that she currently avoids? To ski with more confidence on familiar terrain and conditions? Or to know that she's doing something more in keeping with other skiers at her level instead of something non-normative? Is she driven to self-improvement to keep herself interested in skiing? Or is it something else driving her to change?

Or... is she not all that interested in changing how she skis?

 

[Mendieta]

And then there's the reason to go to all the trouble to "fix" turns that are currently working on that terrain. It takes determined effort, unrelenting, over time, to replace old deeply embedded habits. Your wife has been skiing a long time with that turn. There needs to be a pay-off that she wants at the end.

What does she want? Is it to look better? ... to ski more terrain that's closed to her now, ... to ski conditions that she currently avoids? To ski with more confidence on familiar terrain and conditions? Or to know that she's doing something more in keeping with other skiers at her level instead of something non-normative? Is she driven to self-improvement to keep herself interested in skiing? Or is it something else driving her to change?

Or... is she not all that interested in changing how she skis?

Actually, bruno actually answered pretty much the same questions in page one

@Bruno Schull
When it comes down to your description above, it seems like your wife wants to access more terrain in more conditions. So, personally, I would first clear my mind as to what exactly I am looking for, as an outcome. Safer fast skier in groomers? Better speed control in ice? Offpiste in crappy conditions? Crud? Trees? All of the above? Then take at least a one hour lesson with a good instructor, and get an assessment of where she is, on what skis she can improve in her good skiing, in order to improve in that direction.

3) I like mendieta's point--what's the overall goal here? My wife wants to learn a more parallel turn and how to carve for several reasons. First, to keep up with our 9 year old daughter, who is quickly advancing through the Swiss ski school program and is amazing. Second, to learn something knew, and "make piste skiing interesting again." Third, just to have more turns and skills in her library, and to feel more capable and confident whatever the terrain or conditions. And fourth, to improve her off piste skills. We have slowly learned that it is much more effective and efficient in many conditions backcountry skiing to keep your weight more equal between skis, and to ski with a more gentle parallel turn style.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Whoops. I should have gone back to page one and re-read before posting. Sorry about that.