I’m quite comfortable skiing down all pistes in most kind of condition but I’m a bit frustrated with my switch progress. I only started trying to ski backwards a couple of trips ago out of boredom and I have been practicing on some bunny slopes. I can see I’m getting better but I’m still nowhere as good as skiing forward. Often I see people doing tricks and landing switch or see people skiing down a gentle blue run backwards at ease and get a bit jealous. Is there anything I can do to improve on my technique or is it more a matter of time/practice.
My thinking is that if I spend 95% of time skiing forward and 5% skiing switch then I can’t expect to make the same progress right?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Beware. My son is a very good skier, and not bad backwards. Last Easter he was skiing down a long, fairly narrow and bendy blue run leading his 11 year old son and 6 year old daughter. The latter, after her first few days of ski lessons was in the "I just want to go straight" stage, so he was skiing backwards in front of her, watching her and getting him to follow his line. I was bringing up the rear, behind the much more cautious 11 year old, and picking up any fallers, staying well back.
I became aware of a kerfuffle and quickly clocked that both kids (in distinctive jackets) were on their feet. Turned out that my son had skied backwards into one of those melt holes that happens round the supports for snow cannons. A bit like a tree well, I suppose. He had really winded himself, his back having slammed into it head on (if you see what I mean) and although it had a big orange mattress thing on it, he was very shaken. He did the rest of the run, even skiing backwards holding the 6 year old's ski tips on a steeper section where she was worried (it was the first time the kids had skied that piste). He didn't let on till later that evening how much he'd hurt himself. He was in a lot of pain, couldn't cough or laugh, or breathe deeply, or lie down and get up - had to sleep in a chair. Wife took him to doc's the following today who confirmed nothing broken but gave him a supportive "corset" which helped a lot, and the usual French plethora of pain killers and other drugs.
So the moral of this story is that if you are skiing backwards, best look where you are going.
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?
I think you have it when you say you spend so little time riding switch how are you going to get good at it.
You need twin tips to do it well anyhow I believe, which only park rats, some free riders have.
I've tried it occasionally and I kinda sucked. And I don't have much patience to work on it.
I've been dabbling with it for years and always struggled, but gradually improving. As you say there's not a lot of time when you're actually doing it (in the scheme of all skiing), so my best improvements have been when I'm not skiing in a high ability group who are skiing quickly. I've found this video to be partly helpful, mainly in trying to better understand stance and observation. Hand on a bum cheek can also be a good way to make sure your upper body is getting rotated well enough to see properly.
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Poster: A snowHead
