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vindibona1

Getting on the lift
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The White Pass turn might something the OP can look forward to later in his career.

dm

Of course it's not for beginners. I hope nobody thought I was suggesting that. But those TEACHING skiing can learn a lot from it as well. While it's an "odd duck" in terms of general ski technique, and one doesn't really ski linked Whitepass turns, it can help fully understand how the natural physics of skiing works and help discover the most effective mechanics... and dialing it back (a lot) and blending with "traditional" technique can help add finesse to anyone's skiing.
 

Kneale Brownson

Making fresh tracks forever on the other side
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Don't see why you can't link WP turns. Didn't the Mahres do that in slaloms?
 

vindibona1

Getting on the lift
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Yes, all kinds of ski turns can be linked. Somewhere in here are Charlestons, which are White Passyish Turns.


Thanks for sharing. The guy in the vid was exceptionally agile. I liked it and found it insightful.

I don't know if anyone else caught it, but what I saw that was consistent in all the funky stuff (except Charleston) was the implementation of the inside ski. The activity of the inside ski (I believe) is key to the utilization of the outside ski. I think sometimes we forget how important that inside ski is and how it functions in so many ways. Unfortunately, too many skiers are taught to use the outside ski to turn, and then just drag the inside into parallel, resulting in "linked compensations".
 

Kneale Brownson

Making fresh tracks forever on the other side
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Doesn't need to happen if I follow these dictums:

Release BOTH skis.
Tips go in first.
Ski offensively.
Left ski left, right ski right.
 

vindibona1

Getting on the lift
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Northern Illinoi
Doesn't need to happen if I follow these dictums:

Release BOTH skis.
Tips go in first.
Ski offensively.
Left ski left, right ski right.

EXACTLY!!!! But even moreso, what is almost undetectable except to the trained eye looking for such nuance, one might take notice that in terms of "firing sequence" with much, if not most good parallel skiing, the inside almost always moves first- even if it's just a twitch in a nanosecond. Of course there are exceptions... and gross overexaggerations (i.e. Whitepass turn). Of course it appears and may even feel like the skis both change in unison, and for the most part they do- except that the inside ski (typically) generates the torque first. To steer or edge the outside ski first requires an opposing force- that opposing force being body rotation, or at least abdominal tension, assuming that you have enough momentum to maintain stability. JMO

BTW Kneale... You're 30 year pin is so much prettier than mine :). I've got one of the older ones without the filagree around it. Looks a lot (too much) like my Level III pin.
 

vindibona1

Getting on the lift
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Joined
Jan 22, 2020
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174
Location
Northern Illinoi
Don't see why you can't link WP turns. Didn't the Mahres do that in slaloms?

Actually... you can. WPT's are awkward in the form that the Mahres used, but if you think about it, the difference between a Whitepass turn and a "normal" turn is that the outside ski is pressured much later in the turn. But as the Mahres have demonstrated they can be quite effective in certain situations. Not to digress too much from the original intent of the thread, if you think about it, it has MAJOR implications for when and how pressure is applied to the outside ski in "normal" skiing. To the untrained eye it looks simultaneous, but it's not quite. And while I keep both skis on or close to the ground most of the time, my pressure transfer is both subtle and deliberate. I keep a variation of it in my head when I ski. All I do differently is pressure the outside ski very early in the turn (but sometimes a bit later), rather than late as in a WP race-type turn. Essentially, I use a dumbed down model of the WPT with early pressure transfer and more moderate body position and appropriate flexion/extension.

If you use the Whitepass turn as the extreme model, you don't pressure the outside ski at the beginning of the turn. But in modified form you can allow pressure at any time during the turn. It is the most versatile application of natural forces that I am aware of in skiing. It's just a matter of timing, lateral body position + flexion/extension of the legs. The WPT is an excellent tool to help understand how to direct body position and helps get a grasp on how the inside ski should function. As you all know, an arc is no more that direction change, and when the skis change their direction in the path of a turn, the mass of the body is affected by momentum and centrifugal/centripetal forces. So the combination of timing and directing one's mass in concert with active flexion and extension add a lot more colors to the "turn palette" than many recognize. [I'm not a very good proof reader, so I'm sure I made some blunders or omissions in my descriptions. I think I already made three or four edits on this for clarity. Feel free to call me on them. ]

BTW... For those just getting into skiing and are hooked, I highly recommend getting hold of Warren Witherell's two books- "How the Racers Ski", and "The Athletic Skier". Tons of insight in both books.
 
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Kneale Brownson

Making fresh tracks forever on the other side
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One of my PSIARM examiner friends advocates turning Cs into Ss using WP turn tactics. Really links turns.
 

Kneale Brownson

Making fresh tracks forever on the other side
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Since the cataract surgery, I can read it just fine--with the reader glasses:roflmao:
 

crabjoe

Booting up
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Feb 3, 2020
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Maryland
People keep asking for video, so I figured I'd post my kid. Maybe the OP can use it to say how he's skiing versus my kid.

This was the 2nd time my son has been skiing (Technically it's his 3rd, but I don't count the 1st time because that was 4 years ago when he was 5 and was only for around 2 hours.. Plus I had to hold him up because he's feet kept separating).


 

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