I'm not an expert on this but I've done so well at the L2 exam, they insisted I come back several times to do them again
, so I have a bit of experience.
This is what I learned and my takeaways, not just on the wedge and stem christies, but on taking the L2 exams as well. I read what I wrote a couple times and want to make sure that everyone understands my comments are made in general and not to any posters in this thread. Some great info has already been stated and I'm not pointing my comments at the OP or any other poster.
Don't confuse the L2 tasks with good skiing. Some of the tasks are to see if you have control of all your parts. Can you do something that is counter intuitive. Can you make your skis do what you want them to when you want them to and not just when they want to. The wedge and stem christies (WC & SC) highlight this. They are both turns, to the untrained observer are the same thing, BUT they are done entirely differently and for different applications.
The SC holds two values. 1) you need to know how to demo this so you can show a distressed skier how to get down terrain above their ability. I forget if I read that in the manual or an examiner told me that. 2) you need to be able to demo what not to do as well as what you should be doing so you can show a skier where they are going wrong. I've had a few coaches go through this process with me - "This is what your should do." followed by "This is what you are doing." ending with "This is what you should do."
Pushing the tail out on a SC, IIRC isn't correct. You have to step it out (lift the ski slightly) or slide it out but in either, the tail shouldn't be pushed out. The rotary should still be under foot and not the tip (pushing out the tail means to pivot point is the tip of the ski).
A WC is to show the ability to release the inside ski edge. I believe an examiner told me that all turns
should start with the release of the inside ski. Aside from the SC, I believe all do. Yes there are exceptions and you can do them differently, and I'm sure on the World Cup they do it by wiggling their butts or something, but the L2 exam is about getting certified to teach intermediate skiers and not Mikaela Shiffrin.
I bring these things up because understanding the intent of the tasks helped me understand the importance of them and more importantly, how to do them correctly. Many of us to include myself refer to the tasks as "Stupid Human Tricks" but I say this as a term of endearment and I spend my weekends doing them while coaching U10s (the best job on the mountain BTW).
These tasks
are important and at anytime you should be able to demo them and not just in an exam. I don't care for wedge turns but I still practice them. The tasks aren't picked because PSIA considers them your "ante" to get in the game. These are the things you need to have in your tool box and if the P in PSIA means anything to you, you'll continue to hone them.
Last season I had posted on epic that I spent a day teaching an adult friend how to ski. I never taught her how to do a WC. All I taught her on turning was to release the ski on the side she wanted to turn. A couple hours later she started doing "spontaneous" WC. It just happens in a natural progression.
If you lighten or release the inside ski, your weight has to go somewhere and the only place left is the outside ski, which of course is where you want it. You don't want to push this ski, but it needs pressure to turn. Its one of the 5 fundamentals:
- Control pressure from ski to ski and direct pressure toward the outside ski
Ken