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On steep faster terrain I'll...

  • Curl and Clench my Toes

  • Relax and Hang Ten Man


Results are only viewable after voting.

Frankly

Upwind of NY
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Dec 28, 2016
Posts
527
Location
Spencerport, NY
Personally I find myself clenching in tougher situations and sometimes focus on relaxing my feet and spreading toes forward, to my benefit I believe.

At one point I had footbeds made with a ridge that rose under my toes and helped to keep them extended for better balance (perhaps?)

Is there a downside to toe curling? It seems like in other activities it's a good thing.
 

surfsnowgirl

Instructor
Skier
Joined
May 12, 2016
Posts
5,764
Location
Magic Mountain, Vermont
I don't have much room in my toes to curl but this makes me think so this coming weekend when I go down a steep I'm going to pay attention to what I do, if anything with my piggly wigglies
 

jzmtl

Intermidiot
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Apr 25, 2017
Posts
323
Location
Montreal
Seems to me if you curl your toes, the same action would cause your ankle to open and pull you into back seat.
 

James

Out There
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Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,419
Is there a downside to toe curling? It seems like in other activities it's a good thing.
Yes! It makes it hard to move the shin forward, aka flex the ankle. This contributes to an overly rigid, unresponsive body that gets tossed around by an uneven surface. Or just making the transition from one turn to the next.
I can't think of any activity where toe curling is positive. Where do you think it is? We tend to do it in flip flops and I think that leads to all sorts of problems.

Beginners often do this toe curling, clawing at the ground with their toes in the hope of getting control or as a fear response. Enormous amounts of space in a boot can lead to this unconsciously also.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Frankly

Frankly

Upwind of NY
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Dec 28, 2016
Posts
527
Location
Spencerport, NY
Yes! It makes it hard to move the shin forward, aka flex the ankle. This contributes to an overly rigid, unresponsive body that gets tossed around by an uneven surface. Or just making the transition from one turn to the next.
I can't think of any activity where toe curling is positive. Where do you think it is? We tend to do it in flip flops and I think that leads to all sorts of problems.

Beginners often do this toe curling, clawing at the ground with their toes in the hope of getting control or as a fear response. Enormous amounts of space in a boot can lead to this unconsciously also.

Ask a lady, James.
 

KingGrump

Most Interesting Man In The World
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No worries, mate.

I am always relaxed. :D
 

RuleMiHa

Out on the slopes
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Sep 2, 2017
Posts
576
Location
Philadelphia, PA
I have limited dorsiflexion in my right ankle so I can't do anything that makes it worse on steeps or I'm in a world of hurt. Because I'm aware of this, on more challenging terrain I'll extend my toes (or pretend to extend my toes the whole 2 mm my boot allows) which helps me flex my ankles.
 

PTskier

Been goin' downhill for years....
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Jun 16, 2017
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583
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Washington, the state
None of us move a body part well when the muscles are clenched. A while back I found myself unconsciously clenching my toes. Consciously relaxing my feet let me move better. Now the relaxed feet are a habit.
 

eok

Slopefossil
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Nov 18, 2015
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856
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PNW
I generally relax & hang 10. But when in a big area of challenging ungroomed snow (eg: cut-up crusty, deep grabby mashed potatoes, etc.) I'll sometimes curl my toes upward. It's what I was taught to do years ago. The upward toe curling is combined with focus on keeping COM stacked centered and trying to drive my skis from lower down in the boot cuff. Man, hard to explain. Anyway, the upward curling is done with relatively subtle effort, so it's not like my toes/foot would ever cramp-up doing it.
 

Castle Dave

Getting off the lift
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Apr 24, 2017
Posts
324
Clenching toes is often a sign your boots are too big.
I realize I need to explain myself. Clenching toes lifts the arch and instep to fill a larger volume in your boot. Try it now to confirm. Of course you need room for your toes to move but your boots should fit snugly enough so it is impossible to raise you instep. Wiggle toes yes/curl toes no. Many people are not aware of what a properly fitted boot should feel like and this often means comfort first and control second.
 
Last edited:

MRT

Putting on skis
Masterfit Bootfitter
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Nov 20, 2015
Posts
47
comfort first, control second usually means the boots will be too big (as said before) and clenched toes.

This issue has lead most folks to buy boots that are often 2 sizes larger than they need to have control, they then spend the majority of the day
trying to make up for this lack of control (LOTS OF EXTRA WORK). and usually leads to back seat skiing, (NO FUN).

OP should see a good "boot fitter" to solve this issue because a boot to big will allow the liner to move fore/aft inside the shell on every turn, which sucks away from that nice word "Control".

Mike
Master Bootfitter/Cped.
 

Dean

Lawn chair sledder extraordinaire
Skier
Joined
Dec 2, 2017
Posts
405
Location
DC area
Finally got out for a couple days this season and noticed I was doing this sometimes, which didn't seem like a good idea.
I think it mostly happened on scrapey hard pack going faster trying to hold the bottom of my turn.
My first thought was I'm probably not keeping enough pressure on my cuff.
When I had my boots fitted, I asked to leave some toe room (they used a top cap) - I have a mortons neuroma that the cold seems to aggravate. I also don't tend to tighten front buckles down too tight.
So something (else) for me to pay attention to. Any other musings out there?

PS - I should clarify that by curling/clenching I mean pressing down with the toes not up.
 

Jerez

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New Mexico
This is something i have been working on without much success.

It is just another bad habit that is hard to break.

Easy enough on easy terrain when one has enough bandwidth to consciously counteract automatic movements, but harder when the challenge increases and you are concentrating much more on the terrain and,well,survival

Boot size may be an unconscious factor.
 

SpikeDog

You want Big Air, kid?
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Nov 17, 2015
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Wyoming
bat.png


Nice 4 year thread resurrection. I wish I knew if my toes were curling on the steep stuff.
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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Finally got out for a couple days this season and noticed I was doing this sometimes, which didn't seem like a good idea.
I think it mostly happened on scrapey hard pack going faster trying to hold the bottom of my turn.
My first thought was I'm probably not keeping enough pressure on my cuff.
When I had my boots fitted, I asked to leave some toe room (they used a top cap) - I have a mortons neuroma that the cold seems to aggravate. I also don't tend to tighten front buckles down too tight.
So something (else) for me to pay attention to. Any other musings out there?

PS - I should clarify that by curling/clenching I mean pressing down with the toes not up.
In ny case toe clenching was mostly a manifestation of anxiety.
 

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