Get on that outside ski Subscribe Pub Share

If there is one secret to ski racing and performance skiing of any kind, it is:

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GET OVER THAT OUTSIDE SKI

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Let's take a look at all the technical elements that go into that and some sessions and ideas to work on them.

When every ski instruction and coaching association seems to agree on something, we've got ourselves a no-brainer, in terms of deciding if this is a good thing or not:

• PSIA: Control pressure from ski to ski and direct pressure toward the outside ski
• CSIA: Balance on the outside ski will allow the ski design to create the turn. You are moving from one outside foot to the other.
• CSCF: Goal = 100% of the weight on outside ski
• USSA: Outside ski to outside ski
• JF Beaulieu: The outside ski is the rider, the inside ski the decider'
• PMTS: Balance is established on the outside ski. The outside leg follows the tipping of the inside foot and ski

Looking at the photo above, we'll notice the following elements that help him get that outside ski to hold and carve the turn:

• outside ski tipped well on edge
• light, even lifted, inside ski
• body counterbalanced over the outside ski, sometimes referred to as hip angulation or separation, getting the body OVER the outside ski
• long outside leg, allows pressure on the outside ski (a short leg can't take too much weight)
• slight countering of the hips and upper body, allows a better stacking of the body over the outside ski as well as using more core muscles (by combining bending forward at the hips with the lateral crunch)
• inside ski well away from under the body (otherwise it tends to take weight from the other one)
• inside ski pulled way back under the hips
• inside hip lifted, spine without much lateral flex
• inside arm and shoulder, moving forward through the turn, to prevent rotation into the turn
• narrow stance (with vertical separation) helps maintain balance over the outside ski and minimize time off-balance
• rounded back
• inside leg well flexed
• a weighted release
• hands driving forward

Some of the things that we cannot see but are there, include the momentum of the upper body movement over the ski: as the upper body moves over the outside long leg, it develops a momentum which further digs in the edge of the outside ski.

Can you spot the same elements here, albeit much more refined (and better timed) :

Tactically, for the first skier, this was a bit of a tough turn, following a bump and just under a slightly off camber turn, where most were fighting for grip. The second is on injected ice, on her way to win a World Cup race!

When the going gets tough, the tough get on the outside ski!

Training and learning

These and other fundamental elements of great skiing (hard skills) must be trained carefully, over a long time into a racer's skiing, so they become automatic. If these elements of great ski technique are not trained and owned before the age of 13/14, they will not likely be developed well later - according to the "Long Term Skier Development Model".

See Soft skills versus hard skills and becoming a better skier.

Also, while they can be refined in gates, they cannot be learned in gates !

In the case of the skier in the first photo, most of these technical elements were trained carefully at the beginning of this season, often in very slow drills and plenty of video and then refined and challenged at higher speeds and environments, throughout the season.

He had the luxury of going through a custom progression, building on his existing skills with often just one technical element at a time.

What about you?

I gave you my view on why many of these technical elements are important - there are a few I haven't addressed yet... how do you think they help with carving the outside ski?

How many of these did you know about? How many do you practice regularly. How many do you consciously pay attention to in every turn? How many can you still do on a course or challenging snow conditions?

Think about it!

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Sessions and drills:

• Balancing on the outside ski
• On the outside ski
• Drag the outside pole
• Picture frame
• The Schlopy Drill
• Touch the outside boot

References:

• PSIA Skiing Fundamentals By Jonathan Ballou
• CSIA Technical Reference
• CSCF Fundamental Concepts
• Harald Harb Blog

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