 Poster: A snowHead
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Lots of people say Hip width, a few say shoulder width. It depends on what you are trying to do when skiing but Hip width isnt a bad starting point. But how do you determine how wide hip width actually is?
here is a very simple way of determining a Hip Width stance.
in your ski boots standing on a hard surface start with a too narrow stance and whilst holding your hips perfectly still roll your ankles from side to side keeping your knees the same distance apart. Your boot soles will make a click click sound as the edges of the boot come off the surface unequally. keep widening your stance until the clicks come at the same time. you can go wider and you will hear click click again. Narrow back down until you feel simultaneous clicks.
Try it, you may be surprised at how narrow a "hip width" stance really is. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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skimottaret, does that mean that most women have a really wide stance? 
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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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perhaps most of the women you know 
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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And to get someone with a ridiculously wide stance to close up slightly... Well, I tell mine they've got a stance like a whore: legs wide open. (I do of course do some profiling first to decide how they will probably react).
Like you say though, it is very variable and dependent upon what you are doing and trying to achieve. Agility - closer together. Stability and strength - further apart. Bumps - close together, you don't want one leg at the top and the other at the bottom - it looks and more to the point, feels bloody awful. Deep pow - close together (just look at Jodie Kidd the other week to know why... )
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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comprex, you should be able to feel one boot is flat and the other one is on an edge if too wide or too narrow when rocking side to side, being only on big toe one boot and little toe on other, keeping the knees the same distance apart....
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skimottaret, I have just wrecked my parquet flooring. The writ is in the post.
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skisimon, i dont necessarily subscribe to the "wide is stable and strong" camp but that is for another thread...
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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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Frosty the Snowman, sorry should have said not to do this at home if you are over 150kg... 
how wide did you end up? was it narrower or wider than you would have thought?
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sorry, boss, can't do this. One click 4 inches to 40 inches apart.
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Difficult thing is to stop the hips moving. Keep you hands on them to help.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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skimottaret, was only joking...
My stance is fine but seems to narrow as I turn. Just doesn't feel comfortable trying to maintain the width that is often asked ofr by instructors.
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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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Frosty the Snowman, same here of course!!
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My stance is fine but seems to narrow as I turn. Just doesn't feel comfortable trying to maintain the width that is often asked ofr by instructors.
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do what your body tells you to do.. the stance NATURALLY gets wider and narrower as you turn. that is down to body mechanics and your skis interacting with the slope, anyone telling you to keep a consistent stance width doesnt know what they are talking about....
I am a taller guy as well and constantly got told to have "a wider stance for stability", rubbish as my hips are fairly narrow and i have long femurs, the wider stance is actually less stable for me.
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You know it makes sense.
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| the stance NATURALLY gets wider and narrower as you turn. that is down to body mechanics and your skis interacting with the slope, anyone telling you to keep a consistent stance width doesnt know what they are talking about.... |
would that be connected to your inner tip lead perchance?
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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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skisimon, all in due course.... i was hoping this thread would get people thinking about stance prior to discussing nuances of stance width... then again i might just go skiing for a week and not think about any of this stuff.... 
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Poster: A snowHead
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rubbish as my hips are fairly narrow and i have long femurs, the wider stance is actually less stable for me.
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Ok, please explain?
Is this to do with changing direction of centre of gravity as base of support moves down and/or across a slope?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Arno, yes, not to reopen that can of worms but is your stance typically wide, or, narrow at the transition to a new turn....
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monster77
monster77
Guest
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How wide should your stance be? It all depends on what you are skiing. For carving a wider stance is the preffered option while in bumps and powder a narrow stance is better.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
For carving a wider stance is the preffered option
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maybe, maybe not... try carving high speed medium radius turns with a narrow stance and banking (inclining) into your turns, you may be surprised at how powerful this can be and how stable you feel... 
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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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skimottaret, if this new stance will indeed focus on physiology (as you post in response to Frosty the Snowman might imply), then I feel I should qualify my original post. I was not necessarily referring to absolute narrow and wide stances - I was referring to comparative stances, which naturally take into account people's physiology.
It's important to note that I have been accused of skiing like an old Italian ski instructor on at least two occassions. Skiing with your feet locked together is so much fun though! (Maybe I should buy a mono-board?)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Looking at carved tracks I make my stance is relatively narrow immediately after crossover then gets progressively wider as the turn continues. At its narrowest it's less than hip width, and gets wider than that if I'm hacking down in big GS turns. I think I might have a wider stance for angulated turns and narrower for inclined turns, but I'd want to check that with video or photos.
Off piste stance width is normally random 
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Tue 10-02-09 16:35; edited 1 time in total
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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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skisimon, i am not disagreeing with you but peoples perception of having a hip width stance and the reality of how wide that actually is when they ski is generally not the same thing. Perhaps your body is telling you a narrow stance is correct for you and generates a more powerful position when skiing. nothing wrong with that.
with shaped skis people are typically being told "wider is better and more stable", "Narrow is old skool and not as powerful" but they dont know how wide a stance their own personal physiology should dictate as their "normal" stance and end up with too wide a stance IMO to conform to current dogma.
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I think I might have a wider stance for angulated turns and narrower for inclined turns
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you will be well prepared for an ISIA tech course
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| Arno, yes, not to reopen that can of worms but is your stance typically wide, or, narrow at the transition to a new turn.... |
at the risk of heresy, i don't think too much about it
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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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As a generalisation, would you tend to have a variation on stance width dependant on the radius of the turn?
Wider for girt big GS stylee and narrower for shorter turns - regardless of terrain.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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the last picture ....it's me.......
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Poster: A snowHead
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| laundryman wrote: |
| Videos and measurements shown in the infamous thread suggest that you are in good company. |
I'm glad that something good came out of that thread. I'm afraid I lost interest about a quarter of the way in!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rob@rar, when I was in St Anton there was someone I skied with for one or two of the days that skied that way in your "old skool" pic. It was the first time I'd ever seen it for myself right in front of me so to speak, although you do see plenty of it going on looking down from the lifts in ski resorts amongst the general ski public. It was mesmerising for me, most of the time the chap seemed to be looking down at his feet, like he was checking his feet were close enough together or something. I suppose I only found it interesting to watch because I wasn't used to seeing it. He could get round the mountain ok only on piste though, he hadn't ever skied off piste I don't think, or did, and didn't like it. He would struggle when the conditions became more demanding though e.g. poor visibility, big fat lumpy snow on piste. I noticed that every turn was "skiddy". Out of interest, for me, is the checking of the feet being right close together a common theme when people were taught on the old style straight skis and is the "skiddy" turns a common theme amongst the "old skool" stance too? Just wondered. 
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rob@rar - it's nice to see that you had your keen interest in, errrr, "fashion" even then
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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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You can't carve if your legs are 4" apart
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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FlyingStantoni, Don't you just love the glasses. They're as big as patio doors!
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VolklAttivaS5,
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is the checking of the feet being right close together a common theme when people were taught on the old style straight skis
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Not that I'm aware of.
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is the "skiddy" turns a common theme amongst the "old skool" stance
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Yes.
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Hurtle, ah ok it was something that he obviously liked to do then. Another question-how did people do skiddy turns in the lumpy stuff? Didn't the skis catch in that?
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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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| VolklAttivaS5 wrote: |
| Hurtle, ah ok it was something that he obviously liked to do then. Another question-how did people do skiddy turns in the lumpy stuff? Didn't the skis catch in that? |
You learn to skid with great skill
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FAQ
