Learning to Turn on Resort Setup
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 11:01 pm
It’s all about the turn!
There have been a few Threads lately on turning technique:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5534
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4436
To me, it seems like there are almost two different disciplines here:
One is on light equipment, and could be resort, but more likely BC.
The other is heavier equipment, and might more likely be resort, but could also be BC.
With differences in technique for all the different combinations.
Right now, I’m doing resort on heavy.
TX Pro, Meidjo, and a mix of skis (Rustler 10, Enforcer 94, Ripstick 96 mostly).
Fast forward, and today is day 14 total on that equipment, over the last 9 months.
At this stage, each day is a large incremental step in the learning process.
Day 1 was trying to figure out how to not spin out backwards and crash on each turn.
Several days early on brought the realization that, even though I THOUGHT I was doing back foot weighting, it wasn’t as much as I thought and wasn’t enough.
Then came some days of trusting that the skis were going to do pretty much what I wanted them to do and learning to ride them.
Several times today I was getting the tail of my back foot ski onto the tail of my front ski and then crashing.
I think the solution to that is better steering with the back ski knee.
Hard to put into words…
There are a lot of pieces to put together for the turns to work well, be fun, and sort of effortless.
I’ve never liked the big toe / little toe thing, but today had to admit there is something to it.
Where the pressure is placed, on especially the rear foot, makes a difference.
To me, it’s not literally “the little toe” but making sure the pressure is on that side of the foot.
For me, there is a certain body sensation in getting the pieces put together well.
On the inside ski, I feel the pressure on the little toe side of ball of foot and toes, my legs are both dynamic and relaxed, my hip is dropping down toward my heel, core is engaged (upper and lower body are working together), my hips are in line with my spine (my butt isn’t sticking out), upper body is relaxed, shoulders are relaxed, hands are low and ahead, everything feels in balance and alignment.
And then something gets out of wack and I have to look for what to fix!
In the end, it’s just practice, practice, practice (and enjoy!) while piecing together what works.
I’m rambling, but hope there might be something useful for someone in the early learning stages.
There have been a few Threads lately on turning technique:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5534
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4436
To me, it seems like there are almost two different disciplines here:
One is on light equipment, and could be resort, but more likely BC.
The other is heavier equipment, and might more likely be resort, but could also be BC.
With differences in technique for all the different combinations.
Right now, I’m doing resort on heavy.
TX Pro, Meidjo, and a mix of skis (Rustler 10, Enforcer 94, Ripstick 96 mostly).
Fast forward, and today is day 14 total on that equipment, over the last 9 months.
At this stage, each day is a large incremental step in the learning process.
Day 1 was trying to figure out how to not spin out backwards and crash on each turn.
Several days early on brought the realization that, even though I THOUGHT I was doing back foot weighting, it wasn’t as much as I thought and wasn’t enough.
Then came some days of trusting that the skis were going to do pretty much what I wanted them to do and learning to ride them.
Several times today I was getting the tail of my back foot ski onto the tail of my front ski and then crashing.
I think the solution to that is better steering with the back ski knee.
Hard to put into words…
There are a lot of pieces to put together for the turns to work well, be fun, and sort of effortless.
I’ve never liked the big toe / little toe thing, but today had to admit there is something to it.
Where the pressure is placed, on especially the rear foot, makes a difference.
To me, it’s not literally “the little toe” but making sure the pressure is on that side of the foot.
For me, there is a certain body sensation in getting the pieces put together well.
On the inside ski, I feel the pressure on the little toe side of ball of foot and toes, my legs are both dynamic and relaxed, my hip is dropping down toward my heel, core is engaged (upper and lower body are working together), my hips are in line with my spine (my butt isn’t sticking out), upper body is relaxed, shoulders are relaxed, hands are low and ahead, everything feels in balance and alignment.
And then something gets out of wack and I have to look for what to fix!
In the end, it’s just practice, practice, practice (and enjoy!) while piecing together what works.
I’m rambling, but hope there might be something useful for someone in the early learning stages.
