 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Hezza. I have no ideas which could help you but more expert people will - maybe basic technique improvements needed. I'm aware my left leg is less strong, I think that's quite normal and am trying to do more exercise on that leg, to build it up. But it's obviously more difficult in your case, given your background. Don't despair, I'm sure you don't need to resign yourself to a life of blue runs! Looking forward to your trip report. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Go to the gym and use the leg press, a lot! plus cycle lots, that will build the calf muscle and the other muscles that you will use when skiing, however it is likely that you will always get some problems, you just have to learn to cope....
Sorry I guess that's not very helpfull 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Hezza, Generally, chattering of the turning ski happens when you're nearly, but not quite enough on the edge of the ski. It sounds doubtful that your calf muscle has anything to do with it. I suggest that you have a private lesson with someone and explain the problem - it's probably a technical one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
If it's chattering it's because it does not have enough grip to cope with the pressure you are applying. Reduce the pressure and/or increase the edge angle to get more grip. As easiski suggested a private lesson should help you fix the problem. I don't think it is bound to be a problem with a weaker leg, more likely to be technique.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Alignment maybe? And at the end of the day when my legs are shot I too find it hard to keep it all together - in one case I found myself trundling off to the right when I wanted to go left but the legs just couldn't make the effort 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conversely to some of the responses above you may want to try backing off the edge a degree or two. What is happening is that the ski is getting grip but due to various factors (planes of movement, stiffness of ski, your strength) can't deal with the grip so releases then catches again, can't deal with the grip so releases and catches again etc etc). If you go for more grip this may work, but you will have to deal with loads of extra pressure and (potentially) lots more speed caused by effectively harnessing the extra grip.
Back off the edge just a smidgen, steer a bit further & more continuously with your feet and the judder will magically dissappear. Try it, it works.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chattering can sometimes be caused by having too straight a leg that does not bend and absorb the terrain lumps and bumps. As Easiski says get a private lesson, very difficult to sort out here. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Nother vote for a private lesson.... if the ski is chattering, you are asking it to do too much ! Try any (or all of) more edge, softer legs (flex that ankle), or slowing down the rotation of the ski...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
Hezza, Why not get to your nearest artificial slope, and get you ski muscles working sooner ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Hezza, You should never hold your ski in a rigid position under pressure - hah! now we are getting down to it! This idea would suggest that you are bracing your turning leg (and probably more on steeper slopes) in your effort to get more pressure onto the ski. You'll get more pressure if you relax/collapse/flop on your turning leg. Scary thought!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ski, i quite often head over the Milton Keynes (only about 30mins away) but its not steep enough to replicate the problem
easiski, sounds like good advice. I guess it's one of those mental things, where i think i'll have to try harder to compensate for the weakness, which only makes it worse. God dammit, now i have to wait 4 weeks to try it out again  but, do calf muscles help at all with skiing?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Quote: |
You'll get more pressure if you relax/collapse/flop on your turning leg
|
Huh?
Shurely shome mishtake?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Yep veeeight gotta agree with you there... relax/flop/collapse will reduce/manage the pressure as far as I'm concerned...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
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?
|
easiski, Yes flexing the leg does feel exactly like relax/collapse/etc etc, however this does not add pressure to the ski. A controlled flex/relax allows you to control the pressure build up (caused by interaction of the ski/snow ) and continue to influence the ski. Bracing against the ski (ie straight leg), the pressure building in the turn has nowhere to go and 3 possibilities emerge: 1. soft snow: ski will dissappear downwards (submarine); 2. firm snow which ski can maintain grip on: ski will accelerate off into the distance; 3. snow the ski can't maintain grip on: ski will judder or slide out sideways.
Dypcdiver, can't decipher the intent of the smileys.. but "keep the knee flexed" won't absorb any bumps, however 'allowing the leg to straighten and flex' will (if timed appropriately)...
Sorry, I'm being a pedant here, but I think we have to be quite careful what we say as our subconscious tends to take things like this on board...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Just to back this up before people start diving in try the following exercise:
Find a small wall (2 feet max unless you're feeling fit & healthy).
Jump off this and land on your feet (this is essentially what we do on skis - we drop with gravity and land on our feet/skis (in the lower part of the turn))
Now, first (caution) land with straight/stiff/braced legs and see how much pressure you feel through your heels/knees.
Once your back from A & E try this again, but this time allow your legs to flex as you land. How much pressure do you feel this time?
On skis try the same thing jumping up and down whilst on the flat and listen to the noise the skis make (noise in this instance equating to pressure) Landing with stiff legs = loud noise = lots of pressure. Landing and softening (relaxing/collapsing) legs = less noise = less pressure.
Enjoy. Can't wait to finally kick this flu (10 days now) and get in amongst it... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
^ wot he said. Relax/collapse/flop will in most cases result in LESS pressure, not more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Boot fitting well?
If your left calf is smaller than the right, could it be your left boot has some extra room for your foot to move about inside the boot? That would also affect how much control you have on that leg.
My left foot is half a size smaller than my right. Couple with weaker muscle on that leg, I always felt less control on my left than on the right. Having a custom footbed made last season helped quite a lot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
veeeight, offpisteskiing, And it's the effort to get pressure on the ski (in the wrong way) that causes peeps to stiffen their turning leg. Thus, if they relax the leg (or soften, or settle or whatever) they actually end up with more turning pressure on the ski because they actually had NO pressure build-up (in the sense that you mean it) in the first place to manage or control. The action of relaxing their leg allows their ankles to flex, squeezing the front of the boot and hence pressuring the ski and driving it forwards a little bit! If someone has this problem (and clearly a misapprehension about how to apply pressure in the first place) then talking about managing pressure that doesn't build up in the first place is not helpful to the person asking the question IMO.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
offpisteskiing, Did you read my first post and the original post?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Dypcdiver, I doubt it! Wanting to score points????
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dypcdiver, Ah, missed that bit...apologies...!!!
easiski, Sorry got better things to do with my time than score points. (Though enough time to be on here...but I am ill...).
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
offpisteskiing, Hope you feel better soon. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Not sure about the technicalities of this particular discussion, but I have, and continue to find easiski's instruction, exercises, and descriptions of what changes need to be made to my skiing technique to be both useful and easily accessible in the lessons that I've had with her, as have many of my friends, both snowHeads and non snowHeads.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is probably a combination of ski + boot + skier.
Edge better. Get snugger shoes. And build leg muscles.
A few private lessons should help.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Kramer, It seems to be a disagreement about the physics of what should happen, and a simple explanation of what you actually feel (or what the original poster is seeking to feel). It always seems to me that many of the pros on here assume I don't actually understand the forces etc, just because I reduce explanations to the simplest form possible!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
easiski, I'm not assuming anything (you know what they say about assuming), and although i know next to nothing about you you obviously have an excellent reputation on these fora.
I quite agree that we must reduce these concepts to the simplest forms possible for 'client consumption' (though obviously we have to understand the physics/mechanics behind it, which I'm sure you do).
I'm sure we can agree to disagree on our individual diagnoses for the OP ...
How many ski instructors does it take to change a light bulb???
...
...
...
Doesn't matter, sooner or later they'll all start arguing over how to change it anyway... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Or if you're in the states :
10, one to actually change the bulb and the other nine to say : "Hey, nice turns dude!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Surely the only way to get pressure onto the front of the ski, and thus to bend the ski is collapse, relax, flop. whatever youcall it, into the front of the boot. My vote goes to Easiski.
|
|
|
|
|
|
brian
brian
Guest
|
It seems to me that this is a total non-argument, and is (quelle surprise) actually only about semantics.
If you keep a totally stiff leg then the instantaneous pressure applied at the edge will be greater. However, since you'll end up bouncing around and not being able to control it, the sustained (controlled) pressure at the edge over a longer period will end up being less. So relax, let your flex absorb the bumps and enjoy the ride.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
brian, if I lock my leg I also find it much harder to come off the edge and crossover onto my other ski. Much easier to control the pressure, and manage it better, by flexing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Frosty the Snowman, Stand on your skis. Now rock forwards and backwards. As you do this you are changing the pressure distribution along the ski. Simple. No collapsing required.
There are many ways of getting pressure on to the front of the ski.
But hey, what would I know? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
offpisteskiing, more than me thats for sure. Your method would unbalance me, surely?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Frosty the Snowman, there are lots of ways we can move on our skis: fore & aft, laterally, up & down, rotationally... All of these done appropriately may enhance our skiing (& balance). Done inappropriately (timing, rate, range, duration) may be ineffective and/or send us out of balance...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
