SKI DRILLS
Edge Change
Skiing a carved turn requires that the skis are tipped onto edges at the very start of the turn.
Stand in front of a mirror to check your movements as you practice tipping your feet from side to side. On the snow practice tipping your feet with your boots on and using poles for support. Press both knees forward and to the side as you tip your feet. Feel the upper edge of the cuffs of your boots "steer" the tipping from side to side. Feel the weight on the ball of your foot behind the big toe on the outside foot and the little toe on your inside foot. As you change edges concentrate on the position of your whole body. Angulate your body to balance over the inside edge of your outside foot for each edge change.
Link Carved Turns
On gentle terrain apply the edge change movements of the above exercises to linked turns. Aim your upper body down the hill. Standing with your feet hip width apart, tip your skis lightly onto their edges to scribe a shallow arc before changing edges. Do not turn your skis but just tip the skis onto their edges to create the turn. Have patience to ride the ski edge as it scribes an arc in the snow.
Increase Speed
Ski fast on intermediate terrain to feel your skis work. As you increase your speed, the sensation of slicing through the snow becomes stronger.
At the beginning of the carved turn, the skis are not pivoted at all. The skis should move torward the fall line in an edged arc, gaining speed. The skis should move to the outside of the upper body at the start of the turn. As your speed increases the pressure on the skis increases as a result of centrifugal force.
The farther away your skis are from your upper body at the beginning of a turn, the more they will be tipped on edge. The greater the edge angle, the more pressure there will be on the ski early in the turn. The greater the pressure is early in the turn, the more the ski will bend into an arc and carve a tighter turn.
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