Inside leg

[Rod9301]

How were you doing the stems? Slide or step outside foot?
Stems are pretty useful in trees and bumps.
Your sentence needs footnotes. Three dictionary words in a four word sentence!

if you stem in bumps, you end up picking up too much speed,

 

[Erik Timmerman]

if you stem in bumps, you end up picking up too much speed,

O rly? Why is that?

 

[Bendu]

Why would a stem not slow you down? There are reasons not to stem, but if done properly I can be a tactical choice that can in some case lead to a better line choice and even less speed than typical offensive round turn.

 

[Fuller]

In our Wednesday men's group today we were working on developing a more active inside ski. We did a few turns on easy groomed terrain - tipping the ski with the ankle and following with the inside knee. The movement felt a bit exaggerated for that particular trail but then we moved off piste to some fresh snow and we were instructed to keep that deliberate inside move going. I won't say it was an "aha moment" but it sure made a positive difference in my ability to transition a turn in 3D snow.

Thinking about it with a beer in my hand a few hours later I've come to the conclusion that what I used to perceive as an appropriate inside ski movement is not enough to change my direction in softer trees and moguls. Today I felt my knees really waving left and right but all was quiet up top and I was turning on a dime. I'm excited to get back out there to see how many other situations are affected. It's also interesting to me that a concept and movement that I thought I had mastered came back to me presented in a different way and seemed like a whole new idea.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Spiral learning! I am always amazed when I experience a "sudden realization," a "light-bulb-moment," when it involves something I already know. But this time it's a breakthrough. Happens all the time.

I wonder if the third time around is the clincher?

 

[Steve]

Sometimes I put a new awareness I've had in my log and excel auto-fills it because I had put it there before. I search for it and years ago I had the same breakthrough.

Circular learning. Spiral learning. Definitely.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Does spiral learning mean your revelations come at higher levels?

 

[LiquidFeet]

Dunno about higher. Deeper maybe. Or ... effective, finally.

 

[Mike King]

I'm surprised no one here has shared this yet.

 

[Mike King]

if you stem in bumps, you end up picking up too much speed,

Really? How about if you power plough?

 

[James]

^That’s some pretty technical wedging.
Bumpers really emphasize getting the the outside foot. Moseley has talked about it as jumping.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

I've seen lots of kids ski bumps with that wedge technique.

 

[Fuller]

A short update on my my newfound realization that inside leg tipping is the Swiss Army Knife of skiing: I've been skiing today with my brother and sister in law, both very good skiers and he is a L3 instructor. They are staying with us in Whitefish for a week and my job on the first day is to ski them around the mountain. Of course they could ski the whole mountain if needed - whereas I know the terrain but I'm not always comfortable in the steeper deeper parts. So I ended up "showing" them some glades and trees that I knew of but had rarely skied by myself.

So I was out of my comfort zone for sure but it went surprisingly well. The trees were a bit "chutey" and I typically can't get from edge to edge quick enough but with a deliberate inside ankle and knee I made it down with some decent flow and only stopped when I intended to. To my mind the volume of references to inside ski tipping is huge but somehow I had missed doing the right thing in the right situation. Having my instructor tell me to "carry that movement into the trees" worked pretty well because I already knew how to do it, I just didn't know when to do it.

 

[Loki1]

if you stem in bumps, you end up picking up too much speed,

I would say that the vast majority of all people's, including instructors, first turn in bumps is a stem christie. Just saying.

 

[Loki1]

The inside half is very important. However it is a complimentary movement rather than a primary movement. While having a lazy or derelictuinside half has its consequences, so does having an overactive inside half. Leading or moving first with the inside causes problems as well. We must sequence our movements based on outcomes not technique or dogma.

 

[Mike King]

The inside half is very important. However it is a complimentary movement rather than a primary movement. While having a lazy or derelictuinside half has its consequences, so does having an overactive inside half. Leading or moving first with the inside causes problems as well. We must sequence our movements based on outcomes not technique or dogma.

What problem do you believe arise from an overactive inside half?

 

[LiquidFeet]

I would say that the vast majority of all people's, including instructors, first turn in bumps is a stem christie. Just saying.

Agree.
I've led groups of novice adult skiers down surprise bumps intentionally teaching them the stem christie (turn a corner and whoah, my group is now going to be skiing bumps when I expected this to be groomed). Plant the pole like so; pick up that new outside ski ski and put it down like so; stand on it and around you go to a stop. You get extra credit if you can end the turn facing your upper body more downhill than across the hill. Cruise to a crawl or stop with each bump. That's the easiest and safest way I know of to get them down the bumps when they've never done them before.

 

[LiquidFeet]

What problem do you believe arise from an overactive inside half?

I second that question.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

The inside half is very important. However it is a complimentary simultaneous movement rather than a primary movement. While having a lazy or derelictuinside half has its consequences, so does having an overactive inside half. Leading or moving first with the inside causes problems as well. We must sequence our movements based on outcomes not technique or dogma.

Fixed it for you

 

[JESinstr]

The inside half is very important. However it is a complimentary simultaneous movement rather than a primary movement. While having a lazy or derelictuinside half has its consequences, so does having an overactive inside half. Leading or moving first with the inside causes problems as well. We must sequence our movements based on outcomes not technique or dogma.

What problem do you believe arise from an overactive inside half?

IMO This is philosophical and conditional.
On one hand, an overactive inside in terms of tipping and/or toppling into the new turn is a shortcut that is dependent on force generation potential and the skill level and confidence of the skier. Nothing wrong with that.

But to advocate such a movement pattern as the fundamental way to initiate a turn has its shortfalls.
Any movement to the inside without the needed technique and velocity to create centripetal force is inviting a potential face plant. I challenge anyone to tell me that moving inside, be it ankle, knee or upper body, while under the influence of gravity, will result in pressure being directed toward the outside ski.

These are the issues that get raised when we fail to contemplate that skiing involves various forces with different origins and varying intensities.