MA Request

[Ivan]

I know I've posted this video in another thread, but I think it would make sense to create a separate one to get feedback on my skiing. The camera angle is not perfect, and neither is my skiing, but still.

As far as I can tell, there is a couple of things I'd like to work on: 1) Leg strength. Leg strength! Slalom skis are very demanding, and I need to get back in good shape to ski them properly. 2) Once I get there, I'd like to work on getting higher edge angles. 3) Also once I get there, I'd like to ski more steep runs. I am on my new slalom skis here, and right now I don't feel comfortable on them on black runs. Don't feel like I can carve there effectively, possibly because of the lack of strength, but maybe also because of technique.

I'd appreciate any feedback on my transition, fore/aft balance, separation, etc.

 

[LiquidFeet]

....there is a couple of things I'd like to work on: 1) Leg strength. Leg strength! Slalom skis are very demanding, and I need to get back in good shape to ski them properly.
2) Once I get there, I'd like to work on getting higher edge angles.
3) Also once I get there, I'd like to ski more steep runs. I am on my new slalom skis here, and right now I don't feel comfortable on them on black runs. Don't feel like I can carve there effectively, possibly because of the lack of strength, but maybe also because of technique.

@Ivan, it sounds like your goal is to ski steeper runs with slalom-radius carved turns such as those in the video, on these slalom skis, but you feel either your strength or your technique is keeping you from doing it. Have I got that right?

Let's say you've been on steeper runs attempting to do these same carved turns, just like we see in this video. What failed?
--Were you unable feel secure and safe at the speed your turns produced on steeper terrain?
--Did you shorten the radius to slow yourself down, but lose the carve in doing so?
--Did you tire after only a few leg presses causing you to abort?
--Might you have been in the back seat, thus excessively straining your quads? A side view video on this terraiwould reveal your fore-aft balance better than this front view.
--Or was it something else about the steeper run that left you uncomfortable?
--Is your desire to increase the edge angle related to carving on steeper terrain?

 

[Ivan]

@Ivan, it sounds like your goal is to ski steeper runs with slalom-radius carved turns such as those in the video, on these slalom skis, but you feel either your strength or your technique is keeping you from doing it. Have I got that right?

Let's say you've been on steeper runs attempting to do these same carved turns, just like we see in this video. What failed?
--Were you unable feel secure and safe at the speed your turns produced?
--Did you shorten the radius to slow yourself down, but lose the carve in doing so?
--Did you tire after only a few leg presses causing you to abort?
--Might you have been in the back seat, thus excessively straining your quads? A side view video would reveal your fore-aft balance better than this front view.
--Or was it something else about the steeper run that left you uncomfortable?
--Is your desire to increase the edge angle related to carving on steeper terrain?

@LiquidFeet, thanks! Lots of good question here. Let me try to answer at least some of them.

First, as far as my goals go, I'd say my overall goal is carving, either long-radius when I'm on GS skis or short-radius when I'm on SL skis. Now, GS is a whole separate story, so I won't touch it now. As far as SL goes, I felt comfortable carving on groomed black runs earlier in the season on my old SL skis; I do not feel comfortable carving on them now on my new SL skis. Is the problem with the skis, the slope conditions (earlier in the season the run was more "flat," so to speak, while now it has rollers), or myself, I cannot quite figure out.

What I do feel, though, is that when I try to carve on steeper runs, I gain speed too fast, and then it creates too much g-force at the apex that pushes me away from the turn (not sure if my explanation is clear). I think I would like to increase the edge angles to create a rounder line and control my speed better without skidding. With my current angles, the resulting line would be too straight. Not that it is a problem in itself, because I feel pretty confident at high speed, but I would like to be able to control my speed better. Hope this makes sense.

P.S. Ideally, I'd love to film myself on a steeper run, both on GS and SL skis. But don't see this happening any time soon.

 

[Ivan]

@LiquidFeet, I don't know if these videos will help at all (I know about the forum rule that POV videos are pointless for MA), but here is my skiing on a black run on my GS and old SL skis earlier in the season.

 

[LiquidFeet]

@Ivan
I noticed two things in those POV videos. If you want to clean up your technique you could attack both of these. I'm not sure they are going to give you speed control with arc-to-arc carved turns on steeper groomers, though.

1. Your skis go into a wedge just before you start your new turn. This happens with both skis. Your old outside ski's tail may be washing out a bit, causing the wedge. This happens when a skier is too far forward over that outside ski's tip at the conclusion of the turn (I don't think so but not sure). Or as you start the new turn, you are rotating the tail of the new outside ski outward. The POV doesn't clarify to my eyes which of these is happening. Others may have better eyes. Stop the wedging. Enter the turn with both skis parallel.
--You already flex the new inside leg to start your turns. Keep doing that. Add tipping the foot inside the boot to its little toe edge. This is a tiny range of motion, but it delivers big benefits.
--Pull the new inside ski (downhill ski) back as you flex and tip. This is the three-some for starting a flexion turn, which is what you appear to be working on.
--Since you are already flexing that new inside leg to start the turn, does this flexion result in you feeling the weight transfer to the little toe edge of the new outside ski? It should.
--Add the pull-back to your current flexion, add the inside-the-boot foot-tipping, and focus on feeling the transfer to the LTE. Do another POV with the camera looking down at the skis. See if the wedge entries go away.
--If it doesn't, and if you think you may be weighting the tip of the old outside ski through the entire turn, then sliding that outside ski a tiny bit forward at the end of the turn should weight the tail and keep it from washing out.

2. In the top video your skis go "around the corner" then go straight for a bit. They should not go straight for a bit. That could be the result of the camera's point of view, or it could be real. Assuming it's real, there's a straight-forward solution.
--Keep tipping the inside ski through the whole turn by tipping the inside foot/boot and lower leg more-more-more. This will get and keep that inside ski high up on its LTE, and it should also help bring both skis back up under you instead of leaving them out front and below you on the hill as the turn concludes. Continued foot tipping, and lower leg tipping, should keep that inside ski from flattening at the end of the old turn prematurely, and help the turn to continue on its C-shape longer. When you flex the new outside leg and tip its foot and pull it back, that should transfer weight to the LTE nicely.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Stop the wedging. Enter the turn with both skis parallel.

Can you please elaborate on this? I have this mini-wedging problem when entering the turn (not all the time but quite regularly) and it is just killing me. I see it, I realize it is a problem and I just cant seem to be able to fix it.
It is just at the entry of the turn after that it is parallel but I hate it when it happens.
I blame it on my much weaker left leg which I have to constantly keep an eye on as it happens most often on left turns (leg not flexing quick enough) but maybe I am wrong.

Help please!

 

[slowrider]

If you can not control your speed on steeper slopes, your in the back seat.

 

[Jilly]

@LiquidFeet - there is something in the timing/movements when flattening/transitioning to new downhill skis. I can't really tell either.

 

[Chris V.]

Totally concur with Liquid Feet. The POV is actually useful. It shows you consistently moving the new outside ski before the new inside ski. This isn't a true release. Then this is followed by immediately developing an excessive tip lead--excessive for the initiation phase of the turn.

In order to have a good quality of release, you need a solid platform at the end of the old turn to release from. It appears that you may be giving up on the end of the turn early because that platform isn't strong enough to allow carving to continue across the hill. Video of you slowing things down and making an effort to complete your turns more, as they say, would likely be revealing. There are multiple building blocks needed to be successful with that. It would be a long diacussion to go into them all, but recent threads here certainly highlight them from time to time.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Can you please elaborate on this? I have this mini-wedging problem when entering the turn (not all the time but quite regularly) and it is just killing me. I see it, I realize it is a problem and I just cant seem to be able to fix it.
It is just at the entry of the turn after that it is parallel but I hate it when it happens.
I blame it on my much weaker left leg which I have to constantly keep an eye on as it happens most often on left turns (leg not flexing quick enough) but maybe I am wrong.

Help please!

Tell me what you are looking for more specifically. I've put a lot in words up there in that long post. I'm not sure I have more to offer.

However, there are probably people reading here who see things differently than me. They might have thoughts that match what you are looking for.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Tell me what you are looking for more specifically. I've put a lot in words up there in that long post. I'm not sure I have more to offer.

Nevermind. I practiced the whole morning today, strictly following your instructions above. It worked.

 

[Ivan]

Here is one more POV video (actually, two short runs), from the same day as the video in the top post. This is from before I got feedback here, but I am curious if you would be able to see the same issues as in other POV videos. In any case, thanks for your suggestions; it seems like it would be a good idea to spend more time of flatter runs and work on my technique, instead of just going full throttle down the blacks.

 

[gwasson]

it seems like it would be a good idea to spend more time of flatter runs and work on my technique, instead of just going full throttle down the blacks.

^^^

Yes, exactly this.

 

[markojp]

Which leg muscles are sore or lacking?

 

[Mike B]

Try some uphill arcs.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Here is one more POV video (actually, two short runs), from the same day as the video in the top post. This is from before I got feedback here, but I am curious if you would be able to see the same issues as in other POV videos. In any case, thanks for your suggestions; it seems like it would be a good idea to spend more time of flatter runs and work on my technique, instead of just going full throttle down the blacks.

Yes, same thing. This is the wedge turn entry that I'm seeing. It happens in both directions.

 

[Skitechniek]

@Ivan
Ski's naturally converge and diverge, apart from that, the pictures shown in this topic are after the fall line, which isn't exactly turn entry.
In the second half of a carved turn your ski's should always look like they're in a wedge, the more wedged they look, the better.

^This is Loic Meillard. His wedge after the fall line is even bigger than yours. Merely means he is bending the outside ski more than you are doing. That wedge indicates a pressure difference between the inside and outside ski and is only a good thing. The bigger the pressure difference between inside and outside, the more you're going to look wedged from a POV perspective. So in reality from the POV shown, in the part of the turn shown, you want to look as wedged as possible. If you look at your gs turns for example, your ski's are not looking as wedged. Just means the ski's are not bending a lot.

If you look at ligety in GS, he's wedged too. Way more than you are on your GS ski's, cause he is bending the ski more.

Bottom line is, if you want to control your speed, you need bigger edge angles and more pressure on the outside ski.
As of why you aren't managing to control your speed on the steeps is hard to tell without seeing video. But one thing is for sure, if you try to ski the steeps the same way as you ski's the flats in your first post, then you're bound to go a gazillion miles an hour indeed. You're releasing the ski way too early for speed control on a steeper slope.

EDIT:
This is why skiers look wedged:

You look wedged, because we can only see above the green line on the POV view.
Left black line is the outside ski and the right black line is the inside ski.

 

[Chris V.]

Skitechniek, with respect, the wedged appearance in the clips of WC skiers shows up in a different part of the turn cycle.

Bottom line is, if you want to control your speed, you need bigger edge angles and more pressure on the outside ski.
...But one thing is for sure, if you try to ski the steeps the same way as you ski's the flats in your first post, then you're bound to go a gazillion miles an hour indeed. You're releasing the ski way too early for speed control on a steeper slope.

Quoted for truth.

 

[geepers]

Loic Meillard. Shadow shows he's deeply flexed - in the middle of transition. Lines extended from the skis would converge about where the right ski shadow and right pole shadow meet the groove. Not just happening in one turn but that's one with good vis on the tips.


Given OP and need for more comfortable on black runs this is worth watching.

Bottom line is, if you want to control your speed, you need bigger edge angles and more pressure on the outside ski.
As of why you aren't managing to control your speed on the steeps is hard to tell without seeing video. But one thing is for sure, if you try to ski the steeps the same way as you ski's the flats in your first post, then you're bound to go a gazillion miles an hour indeed. You're releasing the ski way too early for speed control on a steeper slope.

Yep.

Watch Lorenz (or any good short turner) and note the lateral extension and when the pressure comes on for deflection across the hill.

it seems like it would be a good idea to spend more time of flatter runs and work on my technique, instead of just going full throttle down the blacks.

Recommend BigPictureSkiing.com "Pivot Slips, Torque and Early Edge Grip". It's a short on snow lesson (about 20 mins) to lively carved short turns. Don't be put off by the term "pivot slips" as the eventual turns have nothing to do with redirecting the skis and everything to do with completing the previous turns with early edge engagement into the new.

 

[Tim Hodgson]

Ivan you are doing great. You are making one pure carved turn after the other. You are standing in the middle of the binding and letting the ski make the arc.

That is great, but it is not the only goal.

A combination of tip carve, tail slide to edge set, to carve to repeat is what is displayed by everyone in their short turn videos above.

You are making what I call rollerblade turns. Rollerblades don't really slide to an edge set very well, so you ride them along their entire turn just like you are riding your skis' edges throughout the entire turn.

If you get low, you can have allot of fun doing what you are doing by letting the skis come under you and letting them carve laterally out to the other side. And then letting your body topple forward and inside but having your laterally extended skis catch you at the bottom of the turn as they come back under you and cross to the opposite side. To do this you need to be low with hips and knees flexed and you need to have more tip pressure and more tip edge and you must bend the tip of the ski.

But you are on your way buddy!