 Poster: A snowHead
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Megamum, Do you write notes on what you want to work on and then read them just before you push off on the first run down?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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cad99uk, I've never tried that approach, I just have a vague notion of the movement that I'm trying to replicate. However, it might be worth trying.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Megamum, That's what we do. Read the notes and then visualise your run, doing those drills/actions in your head. Then set off and carry them out. Otherwise it's easy to get to the bottom having 'forgotten'.
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Megamum, Usually, I say nose over the tips, but I toned it down for you!! Feel like you're falling forward (you won't) and your heels will pop out of the back of the boots (they won't). Try it for a few runs; you'll be amazed at the difference. As Pedantica said, ankle flex is crucial, especially for your up-down movements. Practice it a few times at the top of the slope. Really exaggerate it to get the feeling.
Oh, and PLz get a better cameraman; your current one is too lazy. He needs to get off the balcony and up-close n personal so we can see better.
Get a move on coz FC will be L1 by Friday!!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've just had another good look at my video - I def. make a better turn to the right than I do to the left. I rotate the shoulders when I turn to my left far more than I do when I turn to the right and that makes it look as if I am not facing down the hill on that side. I know that everyone has a stronger side, but I wonder what the best way of stopping the one sidedness is? Does anyone know of an exercise or an action that I could make say on just the left handed turns that would help to cure the rotation in that direction, i.e. strap one arm down  or something similar! Mind you with some of this an awareness that I have been doing something has helped to effect a cure, so maybe the spotting of it is a start. I might try going down with the poles held out horizontally in front of me, it might keep the shoulders still altogether.
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I rotate the shoulders when I turn to my left
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Does anyone know of an exercise or an action that I could make say on just the left handed turns that would help to cure the rotation in that direction, i.e. strap one arm down or something similar!
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Be careful what you wish for  In my experience, twisty shoulders are a symptom of something else that the skier is, or more likely, isn't doing at the start of the turn. Exercises that "keep the shoulders still" will hide the problem up to point but once the skier is under pressure (steeper terrain / variable snow / skiing faster) the twisty shoulder thing will more than likely come back.
Spend some time with a good instructor to find out the cause of the twisty shoulders, figure out a drill that addresses that cause and the twisty shoulders will become a thing of the past.
I'd like to be able to give you a drill to help you on your way, but for that I would want to see you ski in real life, find out what you're thinking about and feeling at various parts of the turn and then figure out a way to approach the problem...
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| Megamum wrote: |
| I might try going down with the poles held out horizontally in front of me, it might keep the shoulders still altogether. |
That's the one. Hold the poles at the ends and make sure you take your hands out of the wrist loops first so you won't get all tangled up if you fall.
IMV, the exercise brings an instant improvement to many folks' skiing. Just a shame they don't persist with it as it all goes to pot again when they put their poles back to normal.
For added concentration, point your thumbs up in the air as well and focus on a target in the distance. Then, as your skis point left, align the target with your right thumb. As you turn right, slide the target smoothly along your poles until it's aligned with your left thumb.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It's sometimes worth trying just skiing without the poles for a day - they can cause a lot of unnecessary arm flailing. There's a reason why instructors start beginners without them. I skied without poles for a couple of hours at the end of the season because we went up with three adults and two very small children - so adults needed arms free for helping the kids (one had a harness thing) and, of course, for filming all the action.
I was just focussing on what was happening with the kids, and around us, and not on my own skiing at all and I suspect I skied better than usual because of that - needing to be in control all the time, and at low speed.
I think this is a particularly useful exercise for people who are very reluctant to be parted from their poles. I'm not suggesting they're not useful - essential maybe - for certain kinds of advanced skiing but if somebody can't even contemplate a couple of blue runs without them, something is seriously wrong!
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| franzClammer wrote: |
What it means is that we are not allowing time for our balance to be established properly on the new outside ski at the very start of the turn...
Allow more time to get balanced on the new ski and the slight stem will disappear |
Spot on IMHO.
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as well as gaining early edge control all the way through the turn........
Allow the ski to do it's work before rotating it. I hope this makes sense. |
I would advocate pivotting / steering / rotating both skis (whichever term you're familiar with) before setting the edge.
And specifically for you Megamum continuing to turn both skis across the fall line to turn completion.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And specifically for you Megamum continuing to turn both skis across the fall line to turn completion.
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 but if I do this ^^^ won't that lead to me to over completing the turn and potentially increasing the traverse which is what I am trying to avoid? I thought I was trying to blend one turn into the next and to loose the traverse?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Turning isn't traversing, over completing the turn will lead you to make a series of C shaped turns
C
Ɔ
C
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C
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Turns with a traverse would look like
(__
__)
(__
__)
(__
__)
or even
(________________
________________)
(________________
________________)
(________________
________________)
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pam w, Me and Poles As everyone knows I have a love/hate relationship with them!! I still struggle to use them properly, but I am aware that they function a bit like a child's security blanket. If I am asked or choose not to use them 'conventionally', hold them out front as I suggest above, I still go through a conscious thought train, 'can I do this, or course you can do this, you just have to move your feet differently', but altis, is right, it immediately makes me ski differently if I don't hold them conventionally and I haven't the foggiest idea why.
Last edited by So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much  on Mon 28-04-14 13:33; edited 1 time in total
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You know it makes sense.
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Megamum, twisty shoulders could be down to the fact your not getting your weight onto the new outside ski, hence you have no platform to make the turn from.
You could try doing short turns with both poles held upside down and vertically pointing towards the roof, creating a "picture frame", then at the top focus on a single point at the bottom, in a straight line from where you are stood.
Then look thru the poles to that point and ski down, making sure that point stays in the centre of your picture frame at all times. Then do it slower, then slower again  Chuck in some plough parallels at slow speeds and you'll soon find out if your weight is on the correct ski at the right time!!
To do this you will have to keep your upper body still.
Has any of your instructors discussed moving your legs from the ball joint of your hip and keeping the upper body still?? Did they give you any drills that you liked working on that point?
altis, trying to visualise what your saying, surely moving the target from thumb to thumb will encourage upper body movement, not discourage it?
Last edited by You know it makes sense. on Mon 28-04-14 13:21; edited 1 time in total
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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lynseyf, Ah, so I need to aim at fully completed C's all linked together, rather than the shape described by these ~~~~~~~~~~ if they were all joined up
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Poster: A snowHead
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The experts must surely admit that getting the weight quickly on to the new outside ski whilst at the same time completing the turn is quite tricky. The transition is, for me, possibly the single most difficult aspect of skiing to get right.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Has any of your instructors discussed moving your legs from the ball joint of your hip and keeping the upper body still?? Did they give you any drills that you liked working on that point?
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The one that springs to mind is a successful session spent on slow speed snowploughs with me facing down the hill. It kind of felt as though my hips were wiggling around a figure of 8 shape. Luckily awareness has dawned on what I am trying to achieve, I have to keep the upper body in one place and move the legs side to side under me, I have also felt what it will take to do it, I just need loads of practice and use all the above drills to train the upper body to keep still whilst the legs do the moving. I want to achieve it, because then it might look like I am skiing well.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Pedantica, that's it!!! That is what the problem is - you do have good insight!  I have very little problem getting the weight over the outside ski if I allow myself the time in a traverse to do so - i.e. enough time to manage tap, pause, stand, I can probably make a fairly good C shaped turn at the end of a traverse, but to do them constantly means being quick with the weight transfer. I need to make the pauses shorter.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Megamum, yes, that's it. Sometimes I feel like my upper body is floating down the mountain and my legs are dangling about below.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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lampbus, 'dangling about' is a technical term new to me.
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kitenski, yep, probably better to say 'keep the target in the window'.
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| Pedantica wrote: |
| The experts must surely admit that getting the weight quickly on to the new outside ski whilst at the same time completing the turn is quite tricky. The transition is, for me, possibly the single most difficult aspect of skiing to get right. |
ABSOLUTELY!! Hence why BASI courses spend lots of time doing very slow plough parallel turns, all your faults get shown up in about 1 or 2 turns!!
Megamum, if you don't finish the turn as described then each turn will get a little bit faster, you'll start to lose control and it all goes downhill (sic) from there
| Megamum wrote: |
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Has any of your instructors discussed moving your legs from the ball joint of your hip and keeping the upper body still?? Did they give you any drills that you liked working on that point?
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The one that springs to mind is a successful session spent on slow speed snowploughs with me facing down the hill. It kind of felt as though my hips were wiggling around a figure of 8 shape. Luckily awareness has dawned on what I am trying to achieve, I have to keep the upper body in one place and move the legs side to side under me, I have also felt what it will take to do it, I just need loads of practice and use all the above drills to train the upper body to keep still whilst the legs do the moving. I want to achieve it, because then it might look like I am skiing well. |
BINGO! Do that on the bottom half indoor next time you go, or get onto the nursey slope if you can. Get someone to video it and post it up
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Megamum, I still think that just leaving the poles behind for a couple of hours, rather than thinking about complicated things to do with your thumbs would be a good move. The more worried you are about going without them, the more important that is!
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getting the weight quickly on to the new outside ski whilst at the same time completing the turn is quite tricky.
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one thing which helped me was "inner leg extension", done with Rick Schnellman in Les Deux Alpes (though frequently forgotten at stressful moments since!).
http://www.yourskicoach.com/YourSkiCoach/Inside_Leg_Extension.html
with this technique you rapidly get your weight onto the uphill (shortly to become the new outside ) ski. Works really well (when you remember......)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Megamum wrote: |
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And specifically for you Megamum continuing to turn both skis across the fall line to turn completion.
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but if I do this ^^^ won't that lead to me to over completing the turn and potentially increasing the traverse which is what I am trying to avoid? I thought I was trying to blend one turn into the next and to loose the traverse? |
The extreme example of what you call 'over completing the turn' is a 360 on snow.
This involves minimal traversing.
Somewhere between where you are now Megamum and a 360 on snow lies the amount of turn completion you need to execute the rounded short radius turns you'd like to perform consistently.
How much is the great imponderable.
It depends on a number of factors including but not limited to :
your speed on snow
the turn radius you're looking to perform
the pitch of the slope
the condition of the snow surface
your skis
The added benefit of completing the turn is that you will take less speed into the next turn giving you more time to transition balance to the new downhill / outside ski.
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| Pedantica wrote: |
| The experts must surely admit that getting the weight quickly on to the new outside ski whilst at the same time completing the turn is quite tricky. The transition is, for me, possibly the single most difficult aspect of skiing to get right. |
Just like riding a bicycle. Pedal smoothly, standing up in a med-high gear.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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that's the feeling you get from the inner leg extension, when it goes right.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Precisely...needs timing, so don't rush it (hence high gear).
When on skis, straight run on a shallow slope then start with small, smooth 'turns' of the 'pedals' (in a down vector, not sideways). Then work your way up.
Feels effortless.
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Pedalling is one of the first things I was ever told by an English instructor - it was my take away from my very first snow-dome session with dear Spyderman. I shall have to remember to remember it. Hands forward, complete the turns and pedal, aiming for a good positive weight change onto the uphill ski at just the right moment. However, the good news is that I haven't been sent away on work this week (which was what I was expecting), I might therefore get another snow-dome session next Saturday Now two sessions in two weeks sounds like the sort of timing that I should make an improvement with.
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to execute the rounded short radius turns you'd like to perform consistently.
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Mike Pow, this ^^^ is what I want to do at the moment - a snow-dome is space limited, but if I try the short turns there I get many more of them in a run to practice than I would if I was looking at longer turns so I think I will do more of them next week. I think I've got to the stage where I comprehend what I need to be doing to turn like this, I just need to practice, practice, practice, drill, drill, drill, until it starts to happen without thinking about it. I think it is in me to do it, maybe I should set a goal - management training says goals are good. OK, how about it's something I want to achieve by the end of the summer. From those that know, does that sound achievable if I, say, got in a couple of hours per month at a snow-dome?
I think being able to do the short turns well will prove useful on steeper slopes as a way to control my descent speed so doing them well sounds useful to master.
NB. that last video was on the centre hired Head Rev 70 (I think) skis - rather surprisingly, they ski quite nicely inside and better than my Wave Magics - I don't think they would be stiff enough on the big mountain to crack through the crud and heavy spring snow we had this year, but in the dome they are fine.
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w,
That made my brain hurt. Badly.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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ALQ, our very own little tiger doing the demo-ing to Rick's rather lugubrious voice-over.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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ALQ, That's SH's own Little Tiger, so where am I in that progression at the moment?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Pedantica, snap!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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So I got to CFe again yesterday (MU lost, but don't tell the lads).
Minimum_1 took the hand held video camera onto the snow and tried videoing me as she skied down after me, so the footage, though closer, is not exactly smooth in places as she was dodging other slope users (Including some rather fine telemarkers!!). However, I spent the entire session thinking - 'forwards'. In many cases making a conscious effort ALQ, to hold my hands up and forward and did I find it difficult to remember to do so. I'd start the run with good intentions and hands held up and after a couple of turns would find I'd dropped one or both!! However, I've put together about 2.5 minutes of footage, could someone take a look and see if I'm less in the back seat as a result please? I took MM1 too (whilst standing at the bottom) and she is in the blue in the middle for one run.
I spent the first hour doing drills - I did some v. slow snowplough turns with my poles in a point under my arms some tap, stand and some one legged skiing - there is some in the video preceded by an exceptionally nasty turn where I tried to get balanced to lift a leg and failed,
https://vimeo.com/93779578
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 5-05-14 14:17; edited 1 time in total
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Megamum, weren't you tempted by the bumps? 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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FAQ
