Questions about carving

A snowHead

Hullo. So I learned to ski when I was about 5 and had a break for around a decade until I restarted a few years ago. It really is like riding a bike. Lovely. But carving is a thing now, so I'm feeling a bit back to school. Have had a lesson or two but have some stupid questions I'd like to ask Very Happy

1. If on the almost flat runs, I press down my toe of the inside ski/boot, it starts a long curve. Is that carving a bit?

2. Can you be carving on almost flats, in a gentle curve? Does it make you go a bit faster than not carving? (It feels so to me)

3. Carving is not the same as braking right?

4. If I am carving on a more intermediate slope, my body is making a nice C as I lean my upper body down the mountain, my skis are cutting in on the edge nicely, can this make up for the fact that I don't like to stand on the balls of my feet as I'm afraid I will lose balance?

5. On steep slopes, you're gonna be doing a mix of carving and skidding/braking to manage your speed right? No carving police gonna come get me for showing poor form... Laughing

6. In terms of body position, your posture will be more exaggerated/ bent on steeper slopes than on gentle ones, that seems obvious to me but tell me if I'm wrong.

A snowHead

@bobcat,

1. If the ski leaves a thin line in the snow - you are Carving. On a shallow slope, simply angling both knees in towards the slope and being patient, will allow them to carve. If you press, you need to be careful not to break the grip of the edges....which can be seen as a smearing of the line in the snow.

2. As above - if you are using the the sidecut of the ski to turn, leaving 2 pencil lines in the snow - you are carving. It is by far the fastest way to ski and is exhilarating - but it is easy to pick up speed. Control of speed is done through turn type and turn shape.

3. Hockey stops, skidding and old school short swing are not carving....but carving is not the be all and end all of competent skiing.

4. On steeper slopes, it becomes ever more important to put all your weight on the U/Hill before you turn and then balance against it all through the turn. At the start of the turn, you should move forward and across the skis (weighting the balls of your feet), but as the turn progresses, you should allow your feet to ride through, putting the weigh centrally over the arch of your feet. You need some weight through the tails to stop them washing out.

The C-Shape allows weight to be over the outside ski and stops too much inclination, which puts too much weigh onto the Inside ski.

5. On steep slopes you are unlikely to be carving, as you allow enough skidding to control speed.

6. Your body should be in balance and not lowered just because you've bent at the waist, or put yourself in the back seat by bending too much at the knees and not enough at the ankles.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks, I can't tell if I'm leaving a thin carved line trail behind me most of the time so I'm trying to figure out how it feels when I get it right.

Another question I have is that when you are completing a turn, you know that catapulting feeling like you're a pin ball being flung into the next turn, is that the g force thing I've read about and is it related to carving.

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If your edges are set in, you’re carving, and you’ll know about it! The feeling is completely different, it’s like you could put endless power through your edge and it would still grip and drive you through the turn. The feeling that the ski is driving the turn rather than you skidding is what you want.

What skis are you using? In theory, A wider, stiffer ski with less waist will be harder to cant over and get the edge set in. A piste ski (camber, narrow waist & Probably lower radius) will help you get your edges set into the snow and experience carving.

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[/quote]

If you get catapulted into the next turn and feel you are accelerating through the turn, you are either carving or getting pretty close to it. It is the design of the ski that pings you into the next turn.

The G Force is definitely much higher in a Carve, as you fly round the corner like you are on Rail Tracks. Fully carving is difficult to achieve at this speed...and can feel like you are carving. Only the lines in the snow will confirm.[/quote]

This is spot on!

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I prefer to take off the drumstick first, then the breast, remove the wings and then the oysters.

hth

After all it is free

@bobcat, @Old Fartbag is much more of an authority than I (about most things!) and his technical advice is good.

The one thing I would say is you are right to practice on fairly gentle slopes. If you are getting the feel of accelerating that is good - it can be disconcerting but all you need to do is bring the weight a bit forward by bending your knees but not your bottom and you will return to balance. In fact to initiate a carve you can do this to push against the snow with your knees angled in and most of the weight on what at that point is the uphill ski - that seems all wrong until you realise it is the outside ski all round the turn. As explained, if you have a companion they can follow and look at the tracks you make in the snow, if they are a thin pair of "tram tracks" you are doing OK.

You have to be a good skier to carve on steep slopes, but on all slopes you need the lower leg angled so the edge of the ski is all that is contacting the snow while the upper body is rather more upright (which is what I assume you mean by your C). It is pretty easy to spot another skier who carves well if you are uncertain what that involves.

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Learnt this last week (thanks @Sianski!). Its reyt obvious when you get it right - especially on freshly groomed pistes - the vibration and noise of skidding goes away and you get a gliding, sliding, silent feel off the skis instead.

Getting the outer ski to carve is pretty easy, but you need to roll your inside knee into the hill to get that ski edging enough to carve as well (this was the bit I hadn't clicked).

With a bit of practice (I managed a couple by accident) as you pump out of the turn, you can use the spring of the ski to pop you into the next turn. I knew it was theoretically possible, but it was a slight shock the first time I managed it. Felt good though. (works well on bikes in berms too!)

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

The key to carving is to get on the outside edge ASAP, the earlier the better. Just don’t practice it on reds coz you pick up speed very quickly.

A snowHead

@Old Fartbag, ^ Howzat?

A snowHead

Thanks you guys, this is really interesting. I'll be paying attention to bending my knees in and listening, and if that doesn't work I'll put the chicken back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

It's easier to feel the carve on gentle slopes, just lean and the ski will do all the work it's an amazing feeling after years of skid turning, I bought some experience 84 skis in 2020 and they have revolutionized my skiing they are so easy to get two lines in the snow even on steepish reds, hired my wife the ladies version a couple of weeks ago and she loved them so bought her some, she is tearing up the slopes now and even getting keen on doing black runs, although she wasnt to pleased yesterday on a moguled one when she got into them and they were rather large, the looks I was getting told me she wasnt happy but she was quietly pleased at the bottom

Help!!

Questions about carving

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