LiquidFeet, I believe that's a good summary.
But I think your #4, "Skis need camber and parabolic shape," would benefit from discussion. A lot of intermediate skiers have a misconception about why skis carve, or why they turn at all other than insofar as a straight, stiff two by four can turn by skidding. A shaped ski doesn't turn along the sidecut when placed flat in the snow. To make our skis engage in a carve, we have to bend them while they are tipped on edge. The radius of the carved turn is defined by the amount of the bend in the skis.
So...it comes down to, how do we get our skis bent in the amount needed for a turn of the desired radius? Some factors that go into this:
o The amount of sidecut in the skis. A deep sidecut strongly promotes bending of the skis, because when such skis are placed on edge and force is applied to their centers they need to decamber a lot before the edges under the boots contact the snow. Still, skiers have been carving for a long time. Thirty or forty years ago, skis were much straighter--nevertheless, they had a little sidecut to work with. (See the comments by Francois Pugh.)
o The degree of stiffness of the skis. Too stiff a ski will not bend enough. Too soft a ski will be noodly.
o The amount of camber in the skis. Camber creates a resistance to bending. Skis with a reverse camber end to end, or only in tips or tails, lack that resistance in that part of the skis. This doesn't mean that they're incapable of having the edges engage strongly and carve, but it all goes into the equation. Big early rise plus soft ski is going to mean noodly. (See the comments by epic, Philpug, and Francois Pugh--the last noting that with tip rocker, the ski must be tipped far enough to engage the tips.)
o The skier's mass. (Light skiers should consider putting rocks in their pockets.)
o The speed at which the skier is moving. Greater speed translates to greater centripetal force which translates to bending the skis more strongly.
o The angle to which the skier tips the skis.
Every ski has a "natural turning radius" that gets advertised and stamped onto the graphics. But the radius that the ski actually carves depends on a lot of factors. I would say that each combination of ski and skier presents a range of possible turning radiuses. It's not unlimited, but it's a range that the skier can work with.
What else can we do to adjust the radius of a carved turn? Direct greater downward force to the tips of the skis to differentially create a greater bend in the tips?
But I think your #4, "Skis need camber and parabolic shape," would benefit from discussion. A lot of intermediate skiers have a misconception about why skis carve, or why they turn at all other than insofar as a straight, stiff two by four can turn by skidding. A shaped ski doesn't turn along the sidecut when placed flat in the snow. To make our skis engage in a carve, we have to bend them while they are tipped on edge. The radius of the carved turn is defined by the amount of the bend in the skis.
So...it comes down to, how do we get our skis bent in the amount needed for a turn of the desired radius? Some factors that go into this:
o The amount of sidecut in the skis. A deep sidecut strongly promotes bending of the skis, because when such skis are placed on edge and force is applied to their centers they need to decamber a lot before the edges under the boots contact the snow. Still, skiers have been carving for a long time. Thirty or forty years ago, skis were much straighter--nevertheless, they had a little sidecut to work with. (See the comments by Francois Pugh.)
o The degree of stiffness of the skis. Too stiff a ski will not bend enough. Too soft a ski will be noodly.
o The amount of camber in the skis. Camber creates a resistance to bending. Skis with a reverse camber end to end, or only in tips or tails, lack that resistance in that part of the skis. This doesn't mean that they're incapable of having the edges engage strongly and carve, but it all goes into the equation. Big early rise plus soft ski is going to mean noodly. (See the comments by epic, Philpug, and Francois Pugh--the last noting that with tip rocker, the ski must be tipped far enough to engage the tips.)
o The skier's mass. (Light skiers should consider putting rocks in their pockets.)
o The speed at which the skier is moving. Greater speed translates to greater centripetal force which translates to bending the skis more strongly.
o The angle to which the skier tips the skis.
Every ski has a "natural turning radius" that gets advertised and stamped onto the graphics. But the radius that the ski actually carves depends on a lot of factors. I would say that each combination of ski and skier presents a range of possible turning radiuses. It's not unlimited, but it's a range that the skier can work with.
What else can we do to adjust the radius of a carved turn? Direct greater downward force to the tips of the skis to differentially create a greater bend in the tips?
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