Kick Turn, "A lost art"

[TPJ]

I teach kick turning all the time in my lessons. I consider it an essential skill for people who want to ski backcountry or even off-piste at a big mountain resort. I don't think you need to be flexible to do it if it is done correctly and with commitment.

 

[pchewn]

I teach kick turning all the time in my lessons. I consider it an essential skill for people who want to ski backcountry or even off-piste at a big mountain resort. I don't think you need to be flexible to do it if it is done correctly and with commitment.

I can still do them, and I have not been flexible for over 20 years!

 

[SSSdave]

Not being able to perform a kick turn confidently if one goes into steep places with obstacles is dangerous especially in deeper fresh snow because sometimes backing out is not a option when pointing your skis in the other direction is the only solution in order to escape. In other words one may back out 8 feet and still be faced with having to point the skis in the opposite direction. If one has not recently practiced such turns on a slope with a good pitch, there is much that can go wrong as the dynamic action lifting the downhill ski up to twist one's body around is awkward. By repeating such early each season, it allows one's muscle motor control to get back in touch with the brain's muscle memory. It was not clear in the OP, but in steeps, one really does not have an option to keep that downhill ski pointing upward as once that ski is lifted off the snow the rest of the swinging arounnd motion had best be done in one motion without stopping. Since I don't trust myself to do them correctly when I may need to, I've probably practiced 3 or 4 this season over my 6 days to date all out in steep woods.

 

[J2R]

Is this something which can be usefully learnt/practised off the snow, on a grass lawn, say? Or does it require a steepish slope?

 

[James]

Is this something which can be usefully learnt/practised off the snow, on a grass lawn, say? Or does it require a steepish slope?

Doesn’t require steep at all. Snow would be nice though.

 

[J2R]

I'm just thinking of anything worthwhile to be working on before hitting the snow.

 

[no edge]

I can still do them, and I have not been flexible for over 20 years!

Haven't done one this season until the other day. It did not go well. Kick Turn was fine but crossover kick turn... not well. Somehow my binding released - didn't fall but it's not what I expected. Glad I wasn't in the woods near some nasty section. Better try it again.

 

[Tricia]

@Stephen demonstrating his mad kick turn skills.

 

[Rod9301]

Not being able to perform a kick turn confidently if one goes into steep places with obstacles is dangerous especially in deeper fresh snow because sometimes backing out is not a option when pointing your skis in the other direction is the only solution in order to escape. In other words one may back out 8 feet and still be faced with having to point the skis in the opposite direction. If one has not recently practiced such turns on a slope with a good pitch, there is much that can go wrong as the dynamic action lifting the downhill ski up to twist one's body around is awkward. By repeating such early each season, it allows one's muscle motor control to get back in touch with the brain's muscle memory. It was not clear in the OP, but in steeps, one really does not have an option to keep that downhill ski pointing upward as once that ski is lifted off the snow the rest of the swinging arounnd motion had best be done in one motion without stopping. Since I don't trust myself to do them correctly when I may need to, I've probably practiced 3 or 4 this season over my 6 days to date all out in steep woods.

And push your ski poles in the snow, grips first, so you can balance on them and not fall.

 

[Choucas]

Being able to do a kick turn in steeper, exposed, off piste terrain is very important. I was with a group a few years back skiing a steep face when one member of the group traversed out too far and was going to end up below some terrain that was a potential slide area. I called up to him that he should head back in the other direction. This caused him to freeze. It was too steep and exposed for him to comfortably turn into the fall line, make a turn, and head out of the danger area. He tried to back up, but that just made things worse. I suggested and demonstrated a kick turn as the best way out of trouble. He said that he'd never done that and wasn't about to figure it out then and there. A bit of cajoling and some sideslipping to a point where he could make a turn out of danger resolved the problem. He was a competent piste skier, but didn't have those little skills of maneuvering that are very useful in navigating strange snow and terrain conditions. I've often resorted to traverse and kick turns to get down particularly nasty slopes of rotten snow or thick breakable crust. A skill from days of yore (along with sidestepping and herringboning) that is worth having.
Same goes for uphill kick turns while touring. You can't practice them enough.

 

[charlier]

Great thread. Kick turns are super important for anyone that tours in the backcountry. While skinning up a steep and firm slope, kick turns are an important skill. The skin track/traverse might be on a steep slope with a long runout and a fall would have serious consequences. Getting a comfortable and fluid kick turn using the uphill and downhill ski is an important part of an introductory to backcountry skiing.

 

[oldschoolskier]

Over the years I’ve posted that that the difference between learning on shaped skis vs that of straight skis the sequence of skills (and quantity) you need to learn to be consider an advanced intermediate.

On straights you needed to learn these things just to ski the more difficult run more or less proficiently. Most generally got stuck here because the next level skill, because the next level just complex moves to achieve the effect.

On shaped you can “look” like an advanced skier in short order with a limited skill set and access almost all terrian. The problem occurs again and again fir these skiers is that when accessing yhe more difficult terrain they run into situations that require the rest of the skill sets, this being one of them.

Modern shaped skis make skiing easy which opens mountain access for the skier encouraging more skiing, a good thing for business. The down side is that skiers do not ski as well as they think and are likely to put themselves (or others) at risk.

To be truly “Advanced” you really need the entire skill set, not just enough to make you look advanced.

This is just a very good example of straight ski early taught (required) skill vs shaped ski almost never taught skill.

 

[Amy7g1q]

I broke my leg like that last year! it was very difficult to get help

 

[dbostedo]

I broke my leg like that last year! it was very difficult to get help

Welcome to PugSki!

Sorry to hear about your accident. You broke your leg doing a kick turn? Or something else?

 

[luliski]

I need to re-learn the kick turn. I learned them as a kid, but I haven't done one in years. Last season I was in a situation where a kick turn would have been useful, but it was not the place my first kick turn in 40+ years.

 

[Jack skis]

I was pretty good at doing kick turns as it was part of the program when I started skiing Later on when I met and skied with G. she could swing her uphill ski around first and then her downhill ski would follow. Impressed me though I could never figure it out and wouldn't even try. When I first saw her do it I thought it had something to do with her being a young woman and flexible. Years later, nearly 50 years later, she could still do it. We called it a backwards kick turn.

 

[LiquidFeet]

@Jack skis, here's Toni Sailor doing continuous uphill kick turns in 1960. It should start at 6:58.

 

[Rod9301]

I was pretty good at doing kick turns as it was part of the program when I started skiing Later on when I met and skied with G. she could swing her uphill ski around first and then her downhill ski would follow. Impressed me though I could never figure it out and wouldn't even try. When I first saw her do it I thought it had something to do with her being a young woman and flexible. Years later, nearly 50 years later, she could still do it. We called it a backwards kick turn.

Sure you can swing your uphill ski when the slope is very mellow, but then you don't need a kick turn there.
When you need one, starting with the downhill ski is the only way you can do it.

 

[Jack skis]

Sure you can swing your uphill ski when the slope is very mellow, but then you don't need a kick turn there.
When you need one, starting with the downhill ski is the only way you can do it.

Hunh! Maybe she learned to do it from Toni. She skied with him once, though I'm not sure he knew it. You can take this as seriously as you want to.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Last kick turn I saw resulted in a drive to the ER and a couple of stitches. Moving uphill this past April watched as my buddy reached a spot in the shade that we planned to stop at for a breather. Combination of ice, skins and bad timing resulted in the downhill face plant when he went to swing around. His flawless record of pulling off this move went down in flames. Fall drove his glasses into his face cutting the eyelid. Lack of butterfly bandages had us driving to town for treatment.