Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Struggling to keep weight on the downhill ski. How to overcome?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm perfectly fine on blues and normal reds - skies are parallel and close together, feel perfect balance and totally enjoing.

But when it comes to steeper reds and blacks, things change all together. I struggle to keep my weight on the downhill ski, especially when left is downhill!
It makes my downhill ski flap and jump to the point of loosing control, legs slide apart etc. At this point I isually need to come to a full stop to regain control.
This is especially uncomfortable on "hard beaten" or icy piste.

My instructor has been trying hard to fix this and was relatively successfull (before that I could only feel comfy on non-steep blues).

Are there any general tips on how to overcome this? An exercise or something?
latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Quote:

skies are parallel and close together

skis can be too close together.....

I found the exercises where you lift the inside ski, eventually holding it off the snow for the whole turn, from transition, very useful. So you just swap feet at transition. Something to do on a nice easy blue slope. If you only have one ski on the snow, there's no doubt where the weight is. wink

It's something I always try to do if I'm a bit wobbly, vis bad, new skis, etc. Anything which tends to put me off my stride - helps remind me of the essentials.
ski holidays
 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?
Maybe banking, with the full length of the body, to derive a false sense of security from closeness to the steep slope; rather that separating laterally at the hips so that skis are edged while upper body weight is towards the outside ski.
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
What pam w says.

If you are "banking" (leaning over with a straight body and legs) as laundryman suggests doing as pam w suggests will tend to fix it.

Do bear in mind that if you put too much weight on a ski too quickly that the edge will tend to break away. As someone far wiser once said to me - "the ski needs to make love to the slope - not treat it like a 15 year old boy treats his p***s".
latest report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
and whereas it's good to have the weight firmly on the downhill ski in hardpack, in proper ice (vary rarely encountered, thankfully) the usual advice is just to skid over with skis flat till you find a nice snowy bit to grip on. Maybe it's just where I ski, but having skied for many weeks for each of the last ten seasons, I've very rarely seen any ice - and except for one time it was just in patches which could be avoided. It's horrid. People talk a lot about icy pistes when it's not really ice.
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Thanks for advices everyone, yes I did the lifting of the inside ski with my instructor, which is how I got where I am. I did it on blue run and it was all good and well, but I still loose it on steep reds/blacks. Need more practicing next season I guess Smile


pam w, Yes that's what I meant when I said ""hard beaten" or icy piste", now I know the term "hardpack" Smile Sorry, I'm not a native speaker.


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 21-01-13 16:28; edited 1 time in total
snow conditions
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
pam w,
Quote:

in proper ice (vary rarely encountered, thankfully) the usual advice is just to skid over with skis flat till you find a nice snowy bit to grip on

I'd just about cracked that as a strategy on the Tignes glacier, in October 2011. (Blue ice Skullie ) Worked well - until the point when Scott started yelling, 'Turn, turn, turn, turn, TURN!!!' as he was skiing down behind me. Laughing
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Pedantica, my son was skiing with a bunch of off-duty ski instructors in Val D'Isere one day and found himself, to his horror, at the top of what looked like an extremely steep slope of sheer ice. His companions told him to side slip it, until he found something softer, and proceeded to demonstrate, going at huge speed. He took a big deep breath and launched off after them - and it worked! But he said it had needed all his determination just to go with the side slip long enough. He's a really good skier but he said he felt like a 5 year old beginner skiing with those guys. I can't imagine anything more terrifying, but as it seems improbable that an ski instructors are going to invite me to go out with them on their day off, I probably need not worry.
latest report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy