 Poster: A snowHead
|
Came across this word in The Times Word Watch puzzle......
Christiania
Now the derivation given is clear and fascinating in itself, but the definition and the example given were a bit less informative.
SpoilerA "swing" in skiing, used to stop short. The toponym of the capital of Norway (changed, in 1925, to Oslo). 1954: "On such hard snow the best plan is to side slip down in the christiania position with the weight on the lower ski."
Anyone heard this old term? How was the movement done?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
Often shortened to "Christie" I believe.
Yes, yes and yes. Showing my age I guess.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Stem Christiana a parallel turn with independent leg action still seen a lot today in the self taught 
Very useful first turn in heavy off-piste snow can be uphill or downhill.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Sat 6-04-13 8:13; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Dubaian, most people will be more familiar with the shortened version of the term "Christie". The BASI manual I was first given to work from actually got you teaching Stem Christies as part of the transition from Snow Plough to Parallel. My BASI Manual was printed in the early 70s by the way 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
More here http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115232/Christiania - it's an even older term than I suspected .... 1868 !!!
Bit before my time. 
And more here ....
Spoiler
| Quote: |
| "The Christiania turn: this is the turn used in alpine skiing and when a ski jumper is making his stop. When turning, the skis are held in a parallel position, with the inner ski a little in front of the outer ski. The turn has been called the Christiania turn, or just Christi, since 1901 (when a set of rules for skiing was made) – it was so called because it was introduced in Christiana (now Oslo) in 1868." |
So I think the modern equivalent is a 'hockey stop'
And of course many of us were taught the related Stem Christi turn in the dark days before ski schools took you straight to parallels.
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sat 6-04-13 8:21; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Samerberg Sue, yes I remember Stem Christies too - showing my age now. We've cross posted - see above. I hadn't heard of it without the Stem though.
Seems it comes from the transition out of Telemarking into "Alpine" styles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stem Christie still very useful when you're somewhere that first turn absolutely has to stick. And I,d guess its never gone away - some if the chucking sideways you can do on a nice pivot able ski could maybe constitute the modern Christie.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Hysterical ski term Cagey
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
I used to teach it in two ways, stepping out the outside ski to initiate a turn or stepping in the inside ski to finish a turn. As mentioned by Samerberg Sue it used to be the BASI Manual, mine was from the early 80's. Also had it in a book called "learn to ski the French way"
Was taught as a progression from plough to parallel until you then had to teach people not to step but to steer
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
When I learnt in the 70's on skis 6" above my head, made of very heavy composite, it involved snowploughing into the turn and then stepping in with the inner ski after the apex of the turn to come out parallel, just as Samerberg Sue says. The skid turn only came in with the advent of shorter, lighter skis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As a beginner in the early 80s "Stem Christie" was mentioned quite often in the transition from snow-plough to parallel skiing as mentioned by skitech above. It's a long time since I've heard the term, but brings back a few fond memories.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
The shorter skis with a waist to them pretty much got rid of the need to teach it, a shame because as mentioned above it still has merit in certain situations
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
I've found myself using it in sudden terrain changes when on tele gear as I can't pressure the nose of the skis to power the turn . . . but more often when I leave the uphill ski on the wrong side of the mogul
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
I still do it, as mentioned before, the first turn off a steep, to get it all going...
am I showing my age?
I learned to ski in 1976, and that's how I was taught...in America. So even the yanks taught skiing the 'French' way.. but no one told me it was French. And we snow plowed, we didn't make Pizza's... (was that perhaps the Italians getting bent out of shape?)
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Sun 7-04-13 16:09; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Dubaian, you are CG/DG and I claim my £5!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
HeidiAmsterdam, I learnt in the Swiss Alps perhaps a year or two earlier than yourself and we were taught using the same terms, snowploughs and Stem Christies etc, I suspect the Pizza technique came in during the 80's in Europe when Pizzas became far more popular (available) but I'm probably wrong, can't ever recall that being used when I was learning. Mind you we did get taught how to parallel turn by having to do multiple turns down a slope with our gloves between knees or ankles if you dropped them you had to go do it again  Modern Techniques would have you standing in a more stable feet apart stance and using the shape of the ski as an aid to turning, something not possible with 2.2M Long straight sided skis
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
The Australian Professional Snowsports Instructors still use the terms wedge-christie and stem-christie to denote plough-parallel turns. So there you go.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CaravanSkier, that's a lovely parallel 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.
|
|
Alastair Pink, oh my goodness, this is heading for inner tip lead!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
How do Stem Christie turns differ from Plough Parallel?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ah, that was on my Scuola Italiana Sci record card ca. 1975
Snowplough
Stem Christie
Parallel Christie
Super Parallel
Serpentine was in there too.
The 70s were great, all you needed to be cool was to be able to get stand up and slide down a hill, mostly missing stuff and if you could do a tiny jump and not get injured too badly, you were a hero. We went off piste because we were too stupid to know the difference. Carving was done on the dinner table and owning your own ski clips (remember them?) was enough kit to mark you out as a pro. One piece suits, wraparound shades, Glacier cream, lorries carting the snow off to St. Moritz, Jean Claude Killy,melting pistes made of mud and manure, three clip boots, nylon parkas for ski jackets, jeans treated with Tent Prufe, Franz Klammer, jumpers for slalom poles...
Sod the 21st century archeologists will determine that 1975 was the apex of human civilisation
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Megamum wrote: |
| Dubaian, you are CG/DG and I claim my £5!! |
I thought he might have popped into this thread but ......
No matter.
OT - assuming sH is classed as a UK website, we are all now being archived in the British Library. That might get DG/CG to post.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Another old skiing term : to Wedeln (much admired when first introduced)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
justatheory, The leg movements 
The "stem" was a physical lift of the ski to change direction.
The plough parallel or plough swing was/is a sliding steering action with skis staying in contact with the snow
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Quote: |
| Another old skiing term : to Wedeln (much admired when first introduced) |
.....But now looks faintly ridiculous .
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
