How steep is that trail?Yeah, it was 2 days of rain followed by a -25C overnight. Common around our parts... Whatever you want to call that thing that the skis don't leave a mark on.
I can't see if he's batting either eye honestly. Can you tell?
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Love the ice?
- Thread starter geepers
- Start date
Not steep, I think it's a blue at that point. It was steeper behind.
Totally agree with your P.P.S. That looks like a good, hard-pack day we in New England love. When it's really icy, no snow is flying off your skis in the turns and you certainally aren't carving great, swooping arcs - maybe in your dreams!Deb is totally right-no big angles, very measured pressure on the edges, light on your feet, delicate. Agree 100% with what she said.
P.S.If all the above fails, just put the damn things flat and fly through the ice patches.
P.P.S. The second video: I am just dying for this type of snow man. Best days in the season.
When it is really icy, the only ski you can carve swooping arcs on are these:
Kinda narrow underfoot...
End all be all to managing ice all boils down to how sharp your skis and skills are. The amount of energy you commit to thrown them out there and carving versus tentatively navigating across or around the icy spots depends mostly on those two things.. followed by how steep the terrain is..
Just as video seems to flatten slopes out, I think that it does the same with ice. Even on injected race courses they don’t always appear as icy as they probably are.
In slalom it is more important to keep the arms and hands in a position to be able to clear the gates. Often it is more of a tap or nonexistent.
An actual pole plant is more to block, deflect or stabilize the upper body when the edges are set abruptly like on a very steep slope or in moguls. A pole plant still occurs in slalom but usually when the racer is late or the slope is very steep. In larger radius turns like GS an actual pole plant is rarely needed.
In a round fully carved turn, the poles are used more to balance, time & guide. In modern times we often refer to a pole swing or a pole touch, which can actually help draw the center of mass into the direction of the turn.
Although not ice, Here are some good visuals for the type of turn where a pole PLANT is necessary…
But they are high enough. More than high edge angles is the fact that he tips them onto edge very early.
I will leave the science of it up to the physics guys but it has always seemed to me that it is easier to get the ski to bend into a carve and tighter radius when the snow is less than bulletproof with some grip. Regardless, bending the ski is what creates the arc.
Kinda dragging that inside hand
Yup, & when it gets steep I follow @Atomicman ’s advice to redirect early and strive to carve through the finish.
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Just as video seems to flatten slopes out, I think that it does the same with ice. Even on injected race courses they don’t always appear as icy as they probably are.
In slalom it is more important to keep the arms and hands in a position to be able to clear the gates. Often it is more of a tap or nonexistent.
An actual pole plant is more to block, deflect or stabilize the upper body when the edges are set abruptly like on a very steep slope or in moguls. A pole plant still occurs in slalom but usually when the racer is late or the slope is very steep. In larger radius turns like GS an actual pole plant is rarely needed.
In a round fully carved turn, the poles are used more to balance, time & guide. In modern times we often refer to a pole swing or a pole touch, which can actually help draw the center of mass into the direction of the turn.
Although not ice, Here are some good visuals for the type of turn where a pole PLANT is necessary…
But they are high enough. More than high edge angles is the fact that he tips them onto edge very early.
I will leave the science of it up to the physics guys but it has always seemed to me that it is easier to get the ski to bend into a carve and tighter radius when the snow is less than bulletproof with some grip. Regardless, bending the ski is what creates the arc.
View attachment 148083
Kinda dragging that inside hand
Yup, & when it gets steep I follow @Atomicman ’s advice to redirect early and strive to carve through the finish.
Re pole plants, just as 4ster say, not really used in modern racing. Seems to only live on in mogul skiing and in what is reffered to as 'technical skiing' / demo teams etc. like in the clip provided in previous post, he looks like a mogul skier skiing on a regular piste.
Re ice most things have been mentioned already, so just a few fun facts re injection. For a World Cup Mens race, like in Val D'Isere GS La Face which is notorious for the ice, or for the Kitz weekend, in track preperation, 600-800 litres of water are injected into each cubic metre of snow along the course. That's what most people want in their drink, not under the skis.
Like a subtitle edge set through the last part of the turn.. but not a hard check..
Yes, & definitely not a hard check. I want the ski to bend & run along it’s length even if it is not engaged till at or after the falline.
Whereas the hard check is a split second momentary thing like a hockey stop which is also useful in situations like we see in the Tuckerman’s video.
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This is one of my favorite videos when it comes to making short turns on firm snow and we are talking about redirecting at the top of the turn. Also note the pole “touch” on almost every turn.
Not some ski instructors making perfect turns on perfect snow with their hip touching the snow, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Not some ski instructors making perfect turns on perfect snow with their hip touching the snow, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
^^ Oh ... that is hypnotic.
It's awesome to see how relaxed and carelessly they put themselves in weird situations and how easily they compensate for whatever... that's why usually the worst thing to use as a technical example is great racers warming up... Having said that... Awesome!
I see the pole touch but a few of them look like they are dragging the pole and I have been taught in professional lessons that you shouldn't do that. I wonder if because they are skiing so low and close to the slope that the pole just drags. I know that I never get as low as the racers but one of the things I am probably gilty of is dragging my poles, maybe that is why I focus on it.
The only reason instructors don’t want you dragging your poles is that it may be because you’re leaning in or dropping your hands back. As long as it is not the result of some technical flaw, it is really no big deal.
& yes some of the reason their poles drag is because they are low with angles that put them closer to the snow.
Thanks.
No big deal, agreed - unless they reveal those issues... There is a pole drag drill - where you drag the poles to the side, it's an angulation drill - dragging both poles in the same place will make you keep the shoulders more or less level. Outside of that, I may be found dragging a pole every now and then, as a balance implement, often just before posing for photos like:
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Maybe we can get some of the instructors here to analyze their skiing and suggests drills to correct their technique.
dm
Cool video. My impression - they all get the ski to bite and get the direction change they want, then immediately move to the next turn/redirection with the skis. So quick on and off the edges! No hanging onto the last turn, supremely confident in their own ability to get edge purchase again whenever they want. Thanks for sharing!
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