Infrequent skier

[sburman]

Hi All

I have been a long time visitor to the site, but this is my first post. As way of background, I am 36 years old and skied for the first time about 10 years ago. I live in South Africa and as a result, given distance and cost, I ski maybe once every 2 years or so for 2 weeks. I have probably skied about 9 weeks in total my entire life. My last trip was in Jan 2007 where I did a one week PMTS course in Fernie. The video clip enclosed is from that trip. Prior to that I had a few lessons of the "just follow my tracks" type in Europe.

I have all 3 of Harald's books, but I must say that my eye is still not very good at picking up technical detail. However, from what I have read [and felt], PMTS seems to make sense to me. We are skiing in France next year in March in Ste Foy and Val Disere. As you can imagine, I am pretty excited about it and wish to pick up where I left off in Fernie. The first week in Ste Foy should be quiet by European standards and so should be perfect to work on technique. I have enclosed the following clip of me skiing on our last trip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6NU1HACRig

I would appreciate any comments that you might have and in particular one or two drills that you think I should focus on [I apologise for the limited video]. As mentioned, I have all 3 books, so if you can reference these that would be great - my problem is that there is so much info in them, I'm not sure where to focus [one or two things for my simple mind would be great]. Ideally, I would like to take PMTS lessons there, but this seems unlikely [unless someone can suggest a teacher in France]. I assume it is better to "self teach" than take non - PMTS lessons.

I am committed to improving so am happy to mix drills with "free" skiing, especially in the first week. As always, no need to hold back on comments!

PS I know it is sacriliege, but I have never owned a pair of boots and always rent. I am happy to buy some in France, but I am fearful of getting wrong advice. Any comments here would also be appreciated.

[trtaylor]

First, I would say you are skiing quite well for the limited amount of ski time you have. Your challenge will be discovering what one or two things are worth working on, while keeping your limited ski time fun and enjoyable. I'm sure the replies you receive here will help.

My two cents...

You appear to be up-unweighting (extending) in order to release your edges. I think you my be unconsciously doing this so you can then stem your new downhill ski to start your turn. I don't see the obvious stem in all turns, but it is quite noticeable around the 16 second mark. I will suggest the boot touch and tip drill from the Flexing and Extending chapter of the Essentials book. You may want to combine this with the target tipping drill from the Tipping chapter. Or do the boot touch and tip drill a few times, then do the target tipping during your next free run.

I hope you find this, and the other replies, helpful.

[Bolter]

Great progress for such a short time on skis. Your commitment to improve will take you a long way using PMTS.

Release efficiency needs to be the focus for you IMO and the transition is the crux of it all. Relaxing the stance leg must be the first movement to exit the turn or begin the transition. Without this occurring first the transfer and engagement to follow will require more effort and you will likely NOT produce parallel skiing. Bending movements, not extending are "essential" for you.

lightening or lifting the outside ski (stance foot) will collapse the base of support, the CG will move toward the old stance ski freeing it up to tip to the little toe edge through foot inversion- lateral tipping of the stance foot (old outside ski).

Parallel skiing should be your goal, with actions starting at the stance leg/foot. "The Myth" exposed!

Drills for parallel skiing are laid out in the Instructor Manual in the GB section, if you do not have it, get it so you can self coach more effectively.

Harb Carvers will have you "skiing" year round, think about it, then get them. OOPS! You will need your own boots, so maybe not a possibility.

JR

[jclayton]

You can see right away the benefits of starting PMTS from the beginning , good tipping . The tipping is immediately obvious , the skis are on edge gripping for most of the turn . I wasn't able to do that after years of TTS .

Boots can be a real can of worms , I wouldn't buy until you can get properly fitted , i.e. PMTS , I have bought in St.Anton in supposedly the best place , and Spain . After 15 years of purgatory and 6 boots I only had performance and comfort when properly fitted by Harald . I still have the same boots now after 5 years and still going strong . You may buy in France , they may seem O.K. for a while then you may find you can't wear them anymore , money down the drain .

Admittedly everyone is different . At least with hire boots if you are not happy after a few days you can change them . The bottom line is buying would be the single best , or worst , investment you can make in equipment .

[ibMED]

As I live in the eastern USA, it's been 8 months since I skied, so many are infrequent skiers too. Be proud of the skills you have developed, and, attending a PMTS camp is a great move. Some of the advice I've learned the most from is to start from the ground up and keep it simple.
I've been rereading the PMTS books with emphasis on the basic movement patterns in preparation for my first days. Harald describes the sequence of the phantom turn as: release, transfer and engage. Bolter described the release as being initiated by relaxing of the stance ski leg and that's a basic Harald repeats throughout all the books. Transfer is described as moving your balance to the new stance ski. Engage is the tipping process. These 3 basics + free foot pull back + fore aft balance are my plan for the first few days.
Looking at your video, I'd like to ask what ski edge are you trying to release off? It appears to me that you transfer your weight to the uphill ski with a small stemming movement, and, then release off the uphill ski. Releasing off the little toe edge of the uphill ski is a super phantom move and that may be your intent. I do like the way your knees roll through the turn in the tipping process and your reminds me of Harald in his sample turn in Essentials of Skiing.
My only other thought is too look at the position of your right hand, it seems waist high and to the rear. This will effect your fore aft balance.
So these are my thoughts: more learned PMTS skiers will continue to offer analysis, and, in the end, we all should learn something.
Good Luck.
PS - In 10 days, the skiing drought will end - YEAHHHH!

[rstraker]

It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to develop efficient carving skills with rental boots.

A "good" pair of boots

- fits you well
- are advanced enough that you can grow into
- match your alignment needs, and
- have been aligned as necessary by a PMTS-trained technician.

I had a hell of a time getting boots that fit, due to skinny lower legs. Worked with SureFoot for a number of years (they talk a good game but are useless), a Harb-recommended boot tech in the Salt Lake City, Utah area (had me buy boots that were too big in the lower leg), and finally went to the Harb Skier Alignment Center in Colorado and worked with Chris Brown. Chris immediately put me into a pair of boots (Nordica Dobermann) that fit my lower leg much better, then spent a couple of hours on fitting and alignment. Presto -- my skiing got a lot better and much more comfortable.

So the best thing I could recommend is to plan to get to a Harb camp (like the European Camp) and get a pair of boots there. Or plan a trip to the Harb Skier Alignment Center in Downieville, Colorado. Will make a huge difference.

The Harb folks might also be able to recommend some boot techs close to where you're planning to vacation. Didn't work out for me but that may have been an isolated situation.

[MonsterMan]

I don't see the consistent up move. The stance leg is not always extending, indeed I see it flexing on many turns, both left and right. I bet the perception you had was that you were flexing a lot, certainly much more than the reality shown in the video; been there, done that! There is also some great tipping happening. The hire boots must have fitted ok??

I also see some good counter balance and counter action in many of the turns. I also see that hand positions working against the good movements. You have a good excuse for the limp wrists, as you are probably a Springbok supporter, but a good way to disguise this is get the backs of your hands/knuckles pointing more at the sky. Have a re-read of the Old Testament, the section on pole plants and get your home base hand positions sorted out.

I'd forgive the stem movements and put most of that down to alignment/boot fit.

The single most important movement I would suggest working on is the hand position that is working against your countering movements. I would suggest exagerating the home-base positions by doing the boot touch drill then enhancing this with positioning the inside, (strong) arm forward and over the inside ski. Do all your turns like this: add the looking at a post/tree in the side of the piste drill to help minimise the stem, but be aware that the boots/alignment may make this tricky.

All of the above moves will be easier to perform if you flex more to the release. Get feedback from your skiing partners. Quantify it with a scale. I was introduced to the J scale, but I'm sure all of the coaches have their own. Maybe call a straight leg zero and a 90 degree knee joint bend 10. Flex your best in some turns and get your mates to rate you 1 to 10." Perception is not reality in skiing", (H.H. every second sentence).

Regarding boots, why not limit the range to those that they sell at the Skunk Works? http://www.harbskisystems.com/retail/retailboot.htm That might simplify things a bit. Read the alignment stuff in book one too before you buy.

Please consider this an amateur go at movement analysis. WHat usually happens arround here is that Harold or someone else learned will correct bad feedback. But this is my take.

Thanks for sharing!

33 days and counting!

[sburman]

Thanks all for your comments. From the feedback received so far, the key things for me to work on are flexing to release as well as hand position.

I've always struggled with the concept of flexing to release as I've felt I couldn't flex more without lifting my foot even further off the ground. I have just re-read this section in Essentials and I think I understand it better now. In essence, although there is a lightening of the old stance foot, the bending of that leg does not result in the hip of the leg being flexed going up. In other words, although the leg bends, the side of the body that is bending does not move up. I've always struggled to picture how you can do this i.e. how do you maintain contact [even if it is light] with the snow when the space that your leg was filling is now reduced? I'm not sure how clearly I am expressing myself, but if anyone has any comments/thoughts on this I'd like to hear them. For me it is thinking of it more as bending than lifting ...

PS Monsterman, as with most Springbok supporters, I can only attribute the limp wrists to being worn down by holding the World Cup ...

[Bolter]

Release?
Efficient- flattening the downhill ski: PMTS
Inefficient- steering the foot to edge the ski: TTS

My eyes are drawn to the first movements of release, in particular look at the first moments of second 16. The uphill ski rolls onto the BTE before the downhill ski flattens. A wedge entry with inefficient release is black and white, no grey area.

The base of support for your turn initiation is typical of a steering type initiation with no release. The stance ski remains on edge while the uphill leg extends and steers pushing the CG toward the fall line. This movement pattern makes it difficult if not impossible to control release. IMO you need to focus your movements on the rate of release, accomplished and controlled by how quickly the stance leg flexes. On the stance leg: relax the foot evertors, relax the adductors, relax the quadriceps- the skis will flatten, edge angle reduced. Foot inversion (movement to LTE) may be the most important movement in skiing, so I have to throw it into the prescription for change to strengthen the release and engagement.

Progressive release - eliminate steering

Work on:
-Releasing
-Phantom move, Super Phantom move
-Uphill ski traverses

Again, very good skiing for the time you have on snow!

JR

[Bolter]

Thanks all for your comments. From the feedback received so far, the key things for me to work on are flexing to release as well as hand position.

I've always struggled with the concept of flexing to release as I've felt I couldn't flex more without lifting my foot even further off the ground. I have just re-read this section in Essentials and I think I understand it better now. In essence, although there is a lightening of the old stance foot, the bending of that leg does not result in the hip of the leg being flexed going up. In other words, although the leg bends, the side of the body that is bending does not move up. I've always struggled to picture how you can do this i.e. how do you maintain contact [even if it is light] with the snow when the space that your leg was filling is now reduced? I'm not sure how clearly I am expressing myself, but if anyone has any comments/thoughts on this I'd like to hear them. For me it is thinking of it more as bending than lifting ...

IMHO . . .

Yes, bending movements. I think you are ingrained into laterally projecting yourself (CG) into the new turn by extension- not by bending. If you habitually use extension, the bending and subsequent movement of the body into the turn seems unlikely and a difficult concept to put into action.

Bending is a lower body movement and along with tipping starts the release, enabling momentum to drive the release- a "driven release" as opposed to one that is a product of extension. BTW, holding on to the BTE makes driven transitions next to impossible, you can not "use the force."


The upper/lower body coordination of tipping and counterbalance are primary and secondary movements that work together. Tipping (feet and legs) requires the complementary upper body movement of counterbalance. Is this what you mean by the hip going up? I think so.



how do you maintain contact [even if it is light] with the snow when the space that your leg was filling is now reduced?

The CG moves into the turn while bending the leg and tipping (inverting) the foot onto the LTE increases, its edge is engaged. Continued bending of free foot/leg lowers the CG- "closing the gap" between the foot and hip.

I hope this helps, I do not want to add confusion, am I?

JR

[4Slide]

To emphasize again getting boots, they'll make a big difference; plus being able to work with Harb Carvers, once having gotten boots, would be worth the equivalent of lots of time on snow for you as well. By asking here you should be able to get some leads on bootfitters, and boots to consider, for while you are in France. Even a mediocre outcome on getting boots is likely to be better than what you experience with rentals.

[MonsterMan]

My brother can't get to a PMTS bootfitter so we're going to a local ski shop tomorrow to purchase new boots.We'll ask to see if we can find a fit in any of the following, lifted from the HSS site before trying anything else.

Head: Raptor 120?, Mojo XP
Nordica: Dobermann Pro 130
Dalbello Proton 10

Us Queenslanders tend to have wide feet from not wearing shoes as kids, so if we can't get a fit in the Raptors or Dobermanns will move to the Mojo's or Protons.

Obviously the bootfitters will know what they are doing to a certain extent, but why not try to get something that a PMTS fitter knows well for when he can get to a camp sometime.

If they talk us into a footbed, I might just ask a few dumb questions and try to get the ankle centred on the range of movement and support the forefoot if it is sitting high on one side.

I'll let you know how we get on.

Geoff

[h.harb]

Don't forget to bring your brass knockles, this is Australia after all.

[leopold_bloom]

Hello sburman,

Something that may help you resolve the seeming lifting/flexing paradox is some consideration of the why and when of these movements.

At the end of a good turn, just before the release point, the skier is locked into a carve. The stance leg is resisting the pressure and the ski is flexed in an arc. The skier needs an exit strategy. At this point in the turn, flexing the stance leg reduces the pressure (or lightens the ski) and allows one to tip it off the old edge easily. Flexing here is like dropping into an overstuffed chair at home. You stop resisting gravity and allow yourself to free fall into the chair. On skis, your momentum is the chair in the sense that it saves you from landing on your can. Once you stop resisting the forces at the end of the turn, momentum carries you into the next turn. At the moment of release, the why of flexing is to assist in getting off the old edge.

You could release your edges without flexing but this raises a problem, namely managing the energy that comes from releasing. A stiff-legged release, or a release without sufficient leg flexing, will launch you into the turn in a looping or "up and over the top trajectory". This kind of move will delay your engagement in the upper half of the turn as you struggle to just keep you skis on or near the snow. Another factor is the energy in the flexed ski. A heavily loaded (flexed) ski on firm snow will snap back and contribute to the "up energy". You see racers flexing deeply with both legs to absorb this energy. They why of flexing in the moment after release is to manage the energy created by the release.

At this point in the turn, the skier needs to establish a new stance leg. Flexing the old stance leg (new free leg) in this situation may lighten or lift the ski off the snow. The why of flexing at this point in the turn is to aid transfer of balance and establishment of the new stance leg.

As the turn progresses, edge angles increase. The hips drop to the inside of the turn. Flexing the free leg or inside leg allows this to happen. In the later part of the turn the why of flexing is to allow for greater tipping angles of the legs and skis.

I hope this resolves the "lifting/flexing paradox".

- Leo

[h.harb]

You could release your edges without flexing but this raises a problem, namely managing the energy that comes from releasing. A stiff-legged release, or a release without sufficient leg flexing, will launch you into the turn in a looping or "up and over the top trajectory". This kind of move will delay your engagement in the upper half of the turn as you struggle to just keep you skis on or near the snow. Another factor is the energy in the flexed ski. A heavily loaded (flexed) ski on firm snow will snap back and contribute to the "up energy". You see racers flexing deeply with both legs to absorb this energy. They why of flexing in the moment after release is to manage the energy created by the release.

This isn't excellent information; it's the best information you will find about skiing anywhere, period. You have come to the right place.

Many skiers want to do what Mr. Bloom wrote (sure that’s a real name?), but destroy the ability to do so by swinging the upper body square just before the release happens. All should remember if you want to take advantage of this excellent advice, keep the upper body facing the stance boot, or down the falline at this point in the arc, do not move out of this counteracted situation until after you feel the release of the stance ski.