Njoroge
14th January 2005, 07:58
# General tip
Don't be afraid of the slopes. Learn to fall over while moving at a snails pace. If you ever get out of control, just fall over. Be confident!
# Beginner skiers
Think "body attitude". You don't turn with your legs on skis, you turn with your body. Make sure you have your weight on your front foot (the one furthest down the slope). Turning happens first with your body, your legs will follow - aim your body where you want to be and don't lean back.
# Beginner boarders
Think "body attitude". You don't turn with your legs on a board, you turn with your body. Make sure you have your weight on your front foot (the one furthest down the slope). Turning happens first with your body, your legs will follow - aim your body where you want to be and don't lean back.
# Board turning tip
As an aid to turning you can use the +/- technique thing which starts with having boths arms extended fully by your sides. (Left / right refer to regular, if you're goofy switch them). You're on your heel edge; your left arm is pointing up the slope and your right is pinting down. You want to turn so you rotate your body so left is pointing forward and right is pointing back; your turn starts. Rotate your body more (concentrating on keeping your weight on your front foot) so your left arm is now pointing forward in the oppisite direction. Do the same for the toe edge turn.
# Ski / Board tip
Weight on your back foot = falling over on every turn. Remember that.
# Intermedite ski tip
The easiest wasy to achieve parallel turns is to bob. At the end of your last turn you'll be crouched. Straighten a little while turning your body across the slope; your skis will follow (honestly!). As soon as the weight has transfered feet (at the point you're facing down the slope) crouch again. Basically it's straighten - turn body - legs follow - crouch - straighten - turn body - legs follow - crouch etc. The crouch and straightening only has to be slight - the effect is that while you're transfering edges you have much less weight on either them so your turns become much easier. You can practise in slow mo.
# Advanced ski tip
Using the bobbing technique above you can achieve very very fast turns (>2 / sec). The premise is to do the same but at the end of each turn you already start to move your body back to turn the other way. This means that your skis follow your body straight away but they are accelerated by the spring your have created in your body. If you keep turning like this you find that your head is always facing down the slope and the movement of your shoulders is perfectly out on synch with the movement of your legs. You should (if you're doing it right) feel the stretch of your body much more than normal.
# Intermediate Carving tip
Carving is about confidence. You can't carve slowly - well, it's bloody difficult; you don't need to carve quickly per-say, but you can't be a wuss either. The carve is define by 2 things - the steepness of the slope and the radius of your ski. Race carvers have a large radius and are very stiff and slightly longer, other carvers are short, have a small radius and are very bendy. The best carving slopes are generally blue runs (with the exception of the massive green run at les deux alps at the very top - that was an awesome carving piste). This means you can have fun carving while staying in control of your speed. Anyway... To carve you need to lean - really, that's it. First of all leave your poles at the top - you don't need em, they'll only get in the way cause you'll start relying on them. Face down the slope (none of this 180 turn, 180 turn never facing down stuff). Get a little speed up and then when you want to put in your first turn, lean into it. It helps to have your arms out like an airoplane I find. To turn left reach forward and left with your left arm and try to touch the ground. DO NOT SLIDE THE TURN. While you lean you'll turn. To stop you stop leaning. To go back the other way you lean right - again - try to touch the ground. Concentrate on not pushing your turns - that's not carving. You need to lean until the ski is turning for you and stay there. Leaning more will mean you start pushing it and you lose your carve, leaning less will just widen your radius (eventually changing your direction). Like parallel - you don't move your skis. Snow sports are all about your body attitude - remember that if nothing else.
Don't be afraid of the slopes. Learn to fall over while moving at a snails pace. If you ever get out of control, just fall over. Be confident!
# Beginner skiers
Think "body attitude". You don't turn with your legs on skis, you turn with your body. Make sure you have your weight on your front foot (the one furthest down the slope). Turning happens first with your body, your legs will follow - aim your body where you want to be and don't lean back.
# Beginner boarders
Think "body attitude". You don't turn with your legs on a board, you turn with your body. Make sure you have your weight on your front foot (the one furthest down the slope). Turning happens first with your body, your legs will follow - aim your body where you want to be and don't lean back.
# Board turning tip
As an aid to turning you can use the +/- technique thing which starts with having boths arms extended fully by your sides. (Left / right refer to regular, if you're goofy switch them). You're on your heel edge; your left arm is pointing up the slope and your right is pinting down. You want to turn so you rotate your body so left is pointing forward and right is pointing back; your turn starts. Rotate your body more (concentrating on keeping your weight on your front foot) so your left arm is now pointing forward in the oppisite direction. Do the same for the toe edge turn.
# Ski / Board tip
Weight on your back foot = falling over on every turn. Remember that.
# Intermedite ski tip
The easiest wasy to achieve parallel turns is to bob. At the end of your last turn you'll be crouched. Straighten a little while turning your body across the slope; your skis will follow (honestly!). As soon as the weight has transfered feet (at the point you're facing down the slope) crouch again. Basically it's straighten - turn body - legs follow - crouch - straighten - turn body - legs follow - crouch etc. The crouch and straightening only has to be slight - the effect is that while you're transfering edges you have much less weight on either them so your turns become much easier. You can practise in slow mo.
# Advanced ski tip
Using the bobbing technique above you can achieve very very fast turns (>2 / sec). The premise is to do the same but at the end of each turn you already start to move your body back to turn the other way. This means that your skis follow your body straight away but they are accelerated by the spring your have created in your body. If you keep turning like this you find that your head is always facing down the slope and the movement of your shoulders is perfectly out on synch with the movement of your legs. You should (if you're doing it right) feel the stretch of your body much more than normal.
# Intermediate Carving tip
Carving is about confidence. You can't carve slowly - well, it's bloody difficult; you don't need to carve quickly per-say, but you can't be a wuss either. The carve is define by 2 things - the steepness of the slope and the radius of your ski. Race carvers have a large radius and are very stiff and slightly longer, other carvers are short, have a small radius and are very bendy. The best carving slopes are generally blue runs (with the exception of the massive green run at les deux alps at the very top - that was an awesome carving piste). This means you can have fun carving while staying in control of your speed. Anyway... To carve you need to lean - really, that's it. First of all leave your poles at the top - you don't need em, they'll only get in the way cause you'll start relying on them. Face down the slope (none of this 180 turn, 180 turn never facing down stuff). Get a little speed up and then when you want to put in your first turn, lean into it. It helps to have your arms out like an airoplane I find. To turn left reach forward and left with your left arm and try to touch the ground. DO NOT SLIDE THE TURN. While you lean you'll turn. To stop you stop leaning. To go back the other way you lean right - again - try to touch the ground. Concentrate on not pushing your turns - that's not carving. You need to lean until the ski is turning for you and stay there. Leaning more will mean you start pushing it and you lose your carve, leaning less will just widen your radius (eventually changing your direction). Like parallel - you don't move your skis. Snow sports are all about your body attitude - remember that if nothing else.