Best 5 ski hacks to get you flowing down the slopes
These simple ski hacks are designed to take you into a more autonomous phase of your skiing rather than spluttering your way from one skid to another. Skiers who are poppers or twisters not only lack style, their inappropriate movements make their technique rushed and ineffective.
Any lesson with a BASS instructor can elaborate on any of the techniques below to give you a better understanding of how they can be effective for you. A great way to get your ski legs back after a year off.
1. Look to where you want to end your turn, not to where you want to start it.
Focusing on the spot where you want to turn will put your body in the wrong position and block the transition into the next curve. This can put you off balance and force you into a bigger movement than necessary. Looking at where you are going rather than where you are, can set you up for each turn and help you move your centre of mass to the inside of each arc.
2. Don’t wait until the end of one turn before starting the next.
By gradually releasing the pressure after 2/3’s of the turn is completed you can achieve a neutral position over your skis by the end of the arc. Now you can continue the smooth movement to reach the inside of the next turn without unnecessary effort.
3. Pull, don’t push.
Pressing on the upper ski to initiate your turn will send your centre of mass upward and make the movement ‘Poppy’. Draw up the lower ski to release pressure from resistance and this will not only pull you back over your skis at the point of crossover, but will set you off to the inside of the next arc. A smooth gradual transition.
4. Patience, crescent moons, not squashed tomatoes.
Keep your turns to 3 equal parts. 1: Build. 2: Power on 3: Release. Try to keep a rounded arc without rushing or holding onto any part of the arc. Continual, gradual movements keep things smooth and give the ski time to work and you the balance needed.
5. Oranges and lemons. (Cut into halves)
Control your speed and the line you take by varying the shape of your turns. Managing speed on steeper slopes use rounder arcs (Oranges). Maintaining speed on shallower slopes with more open arcs (Lemons).