 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
Took myself off to the Snowdome today for the first time since doing their learn to ski in a day a few weeks ago intending to practice my snowplough turns.
Lots of runs from the top and all good fun but something isn't quite right with my left turns. Turning right happens reasonably sharply, and I turn pretty much as I intend, turning left I think I do the same things but to turn in the opposite direction but it tends to become a side on skid downhill with rather slow turning to get to the direction I intend.
Any ideas where I was getting it wrong?
Thanks
David
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I expect this is the sort of thing an instructor on-the-spot could look at and tell you definitively, immediately but at a guess, it sounds as if you're not tipping your ski onto it's edge. If it's flat and you put your weight onto it, it will naturally just slide in what ever direction is down however, once it is on its edge it will try to go in the direction it is pointing. If that happens to be a different direction to the one you're moving in, this will result in you slowing down and/or turning.
Sound reasonable?
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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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What admin, said. To see if this is the problem, try pushing your right knee in with your hand. This will edge the ski and should correct the problem. You then need to concentrate on getting that knee into the same position without the use of the hand.
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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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davkt, See an instructor, could be a multitude different things. A common problem with a flat ski is where people move their hips over the turning ski causing it to flatten. Other problems could be rotation of the body, alignment problems, any good instructor would be able to help in minutes.
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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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Thanks folks, Think admin probably has it as i think when it did go ok or when I got a left turn going it felt like the ski with my weight on was biting in a bit more into the snow so being on the edge would make sense. Will certainly be getting more lessons, today was just using a free hours skiing voucher for a bit of practice.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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davkt, from one novice to another.... (so definitely no expert, but lots of empathy!)
..you sound as if you have a similar problem to the one I had - I am still in the novice category but moving on. When you turn are your skis parallel or are you doing snowplough turns? Usually at the end of the Level 4 in the Snowdomes you will be doing snowplough turns. I was and in doing them was managing to get into a snowplough sideslip, worse one side than the other. I got stuck in a rut of doing so - I had been told to practise and unfortunately in doing so I managed to reinforce the getting it wrong as I didn't know how to put it right. That made it harder to sort out.
Visualise each turn as a portion of a full circle - one ski will be tracing the outside of that curve, the other the inside. As you come out of each turn, and are facing across the slope, the outside ski will be to your down hill side. The key thing for me was to succeed in getting my weight securely over the outside ski with little on the inside ski. Instructors used various techniques to help me do this:
- Think of riding a bike - you alternate pressure on the pedals - you can use that idea in your turns.
- Although not really poss in a snowdome, while taking a long traverse you can experiment with trying to lift the uphill ski briefly. You can then, while travelling across, experiment with rolling your knees towards the uphill side and see what happens.
- What are your shoulders doing? Mine were tending to turn towards the uphill (maybe I was trying to avoid looking down a scary slope  ). Anyway, this makes your weight tend to go on the wrong ski and you lose grip with the outside ski and..  ... you slide away. This was the key for me. As I began a turn I was asked to deliberately lead my way round the turn with my inside arm/shoulder. The effect was instant - it stopped me being able to turn my body into the hill and increased the pressure on the outside ski - result - more grip, line held and a big smile!
I hope that is a bit helpful - if not, feel free to ignore!! 
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Butterfly, in the spirit of the season:
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Although not really poss in a snowdome, while taking a long traverse you can experiment with trying to lift the uphill ski briefly.
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Oh yes it is!! rob@rar and skimottaret get their pupils to do this all the time. On one occasion it led to an unplanned embrace between someone doing this drill and and an unspecting telemarker (also a snowHead). 
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A quick tip - think left and look left - seems to help.
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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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davkt, it might be that you are edging the ski too much, inhibiting you from steering (rotating) it. If you're in a snowplough position both skis will naturally ride on their inside edges, so for slow speed plough turns you don't need to add extra edge. Difficult to diagnose remotely, so maybe another lesson would help you continue your progress?
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I know we all have a favourite turning side, however, and I am prepared to be shot down in flames here, but could it be the skis? I tested a pair on a ski test once that would go one way and not the other. Other testers also noticed it and in the finish we put it down to the edges on one of the skis not being right.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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davkt, I'm a lower intermediate and left footed. I can turn right better and more confidently than going left. I think with more skiing experience and lessons I'd be able to train my non-dominate leg to be more responsive.
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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 rob@rar says, it is difficult to diagnose at a distance, and it isn't much help to you to get a list of all the possible reasons. You might, for example be pushing your right leg out straight and losing pressure on it.
Your instructor will take a look at a turn or two and know right away what the prpblem is and how to work on remedying it.
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As others have said absolutely everybody turns more naturally one way than the other, most people turn left easier, are you left handed? It is just a left handed/right handed thing. You get nearer and nearer the edge of the piste, panicking because you are going to have to make the turn and you have no confidence. As others have said loading the left ski to turn right, and vice versa is a fix for the problem although I don't like recommending it too much because long term if you are going to ski alot it can be a hard habit to break. Its practice and instruction leading to increased confidence.
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You know it makes sense.
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davkt, after doing the learn to ski in a day course you'll still be at the stage where you need a higher ratio of lessons:practice, so as has been said above getting some more lessons is key.
Megamum,
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could it be the skis? I tested a pair on a ski test once that would go one way and not the other. Other testers also noticed it and in the finish we put it down to the edges on one of the skis not being right.
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Seems unlikely - I assume the OP was using the Tamworth hire skis with every edge likely to be similarly blunt!
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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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I had the same problem. On the ski in a day course at Castleford 5 years ago. Couldn't turn left (yes I'm left handed) at first. The instructor spotted the problem and soon sorted it.
Then towards the end of the day the instructor had me traversing on one leg as suggested above and towards the end I found I couldn't lift my right foot off the snow. I thought it was a balence problem. It was only when the day finished I realised that it was my leg muscles that had given up on that leg!
Even now, I know when I'm getting tired towards the end of the day because my left turns go to pot.
adrian
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks all, more lessons will be coming soon, at the end of the learn to Ski in a day the instructor suggested doing a few hours practice before another lesson so that's what I'm up to. On the plus side I am getting more confident with the limited things I can do, top to bottom of the snowdome at a speed of my choosing is no problem. I don't think the turns have got worse than on the course, probably me wanting them both to be as good as each other. I do go left just no where near as neatly as I'd like! It is the Tamworth loan skis and on the course they said they deliberately round off the edges on them all. It is snowplough turns at the moment.
Happy Christmas all
David
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I know a great instructor called Derek Zoolander who will be able to help you with this problem. I think he works for the Magnum Ski School, or maybe the Blue Steel Ski School.
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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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Been back to the snowdome today as littlest rugrat had another lesson and your guess was spot on Admin! Thought about it carefully the first time a turn left was more a sideways slide and sure enough flat ski on the outside of the turn! Get it onto the edge and it was turns not slides again.
One slightly odd thing I noticed, and thinking back to the day of the course I'm pretty sure it was the same then, is when I'm turning (snowplough all the way for me at the moment!) even though my ski on the inside edge and logic tells me my weight should be on the inside of my foot it feels like all my weight is on the outside (off the ground side) of my foot. I think maybe my foot is moving about to much in the boot, does that make sense?
Happy new year
David
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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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And found another factor today, it helps the turns big time if the skis actually have edges rather being rounded off like the Tamworth hire skis! Took my charity shop find Beta Carvs today and the difference was nothing short of amazing even for a low hours skier like me.
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