Give me one thing to work on...

[richk]

As part of Harald's free foot activity--lift, tip, put it next to the stance foot--also pull that foot back (from the picture it looks like that foot is way forward).

One thing to work on--doing the most effective movements with the free foot.

Playing with the free foot can make huge changes in control and effort very quickly.

12 days is plenty of time to make big changes if you're focusing on the right movements.

Enjoy!

[WTFH]

Thanks for all the comments so far, just to pick up on a few things...
When I said about leading with the inside knee, I didn't mean using both knees to steer, but as an aid to initiate the turn, by pointing the knee slightly into the turn (which is done by moving the ankle, and other joints), this rolls the ski onto its edge, and once that happens, then the outside ski will follow suit.

The other thing is, for those who have suggested I read books or get other tools to work on, we're now down to 4 days until my first trip, so I'm not going to get much reading done between now and then, nor will I have any daylight to use anything outdoors.

I have another question about the logic of some suggestions, but I am concerned that it may just be my engineering mind that is confused.
Can someone explain to me in simple terms how narrowing the support, i.e. narrowing the stance, can give improved stability/balance? In engineering terms this doesn't make sense (for objects at rest, or in motion), so I'm not clear on why it should be different for skiing.

Thanks.

[tommy]

PMTS makes a distinction between stability and (dynamic) balance.

A good analogy might be (motor) bike riding: in order to make turns on a bike (assuming some speed), you move your centre of gravity laterally, and "lean" inwards. You don't use steering (handlebars) very much. The same applies for skiing. In order to turn, move your CG into the turn.

Now, imagine putting training wheels on your bike (like small kids have): you can no longer make turns by moving the CG, instead, you have to turn by steering.

The training wheels give you stability, but inhibit use of dynamic balance for making turns.

So, PMTS advocates making turns (and skiing in general) by using dynamic balance. A "narrow" stance ("no training wheels") makes it easier to move CG laterally, and to quickly adjust CG position.

Cheers,
Tommy

[Tommi]

I have another question about the logic of some suggestions, but I am concerned that it may just be my engineering mind that is confused.
Can someone explain to me in simple terms how narrowing the support, i.e. narrowing the stance, can give improved stability/balance? In engineering terms this doesn't make sense (for objects at rest, or in motion), so I'm not clear on why it should be different for skiing.

Thanks.

(I'm an engineer, too )..
The narrow stance is better, because when you ski efficiently, you have almost all of the force created by your body weight and acceleration acting on a single ski only (the stance, outer ski). With narrower stance, the lateral distance between the alternating 'support lines', the ski edges, is closer to each other. So you can transfer the weight with smaller movements. For me, I've found narrow stance immediately enhancing my short, fast turns.
In high speed/high force GS I feel better with wider stance (not very wide anyway).

Have fun,

Tommi

[Guest]

...acting on a single ski only...

Ah, ok, that makes more sense. (I don't mean this as a criticism of tommY, but the bike analogy falls down if you use both skis, and not just one)

But that leads me to the question - why only use one ski when you've got two?

[WTFH]

sorry, that last post was by me!

[John Mason]

Why walk with one leg why you have two?

Good question. When we walk, we use balance. We step forward with one leg, plant it, then fall over that planted, skeletally stacked up leg. We are falling over that leg when just in time we have swung our other leg forward to catch us and keep us from falling.

We could hop on two legs at once but that's harder.

In skiing, we are playing with our bodies CM in terms of its lateral position over our skis. If we have a the wide stance of a golf cart our CM stays between our skis. Making skis work is about using the skis edges. When your CM stays between your skis you severly limit the amount of edging you can achive simply from the lateral tipping of your CM to one side or the other of your skis.

A narrower stance (not feet jamed together, but to start, try feet dangled straight down out of your hips sockets) allows you to remove some pressure from your downhill ski as you begin your bottom of the turn and transfer the energy that you normally feel in the skis at that part of the turn, to lateral motion moving your body over the skis. All this nice stuff breaks down with a wide stance or requires a lot more energy.

Try this simple experiment. Put your feet shoulder width or farther apart then stand on one foot or the other. Now try the other extreme with your feet locked together and do the same thing. The farther apart your feet are the more dificult it is to shift balance. If you are skiing with both feet weighted nearly equally all the time, then - trust your engineering instincts - you CM is staying inside both skis. You want to learn to "fly" by having your CM inside both skis only at the moment of transition between turns. At all other times your like a bike, your mass is on one side of the track your wheel is making or the other. If your wide and your CM is in the middle, then your skiing will look and be much like a golf cart and not a motorcycle.

Both Harald and Lito have a long section deriding the loss of teaching one ski balance as part of the progression from an intermediate to advanced skier. At the none PMTS race camp I went to everyone on the hill is working on one ski balance. This concept is not just PMTS but all high end skiing is taught emphasising this skill. Shaped skis did not change this (contrary to what one reads in Skiing magazines educational section (gag me)).

[milesb]

It's the difference between balancing ON the ski and balancing BETWEEN the skis. In the picture, you are balanced between the skis. Harald wants you to balance on the outside ski's big toe edge, and he gives you a simple movement that will do just that. Note that even when skiing deep snow, you should still balance on the outside ski, while allowing some pressure on the inside ski. I know that sounds weird, but it works.
BTW, Tommi, a motorbike is best controlled with the handlebars. But it is not the same kind of steering as a car or skis. It is actually the closest analagy to PMTS I can think of. You pull the left handlebar towards you to turn right. This (through gyroscopic action) causes the front wheel to tip over to the right. The rest of the bike and rider follows the tipping, and the sidecut (shape) of the tires (tyres for you :p) causes the bike and rider to turn. Think about it. One small action, pulling or pushing the handlebars slightly, controls the whole 600+ lb motorbike/rider combo through a chain of motion.
One small action, tipping the free foot, controls the whole skier through a chain of motion.
What you suggested is a gross motion of directly leaning the bike over. It's innacurate, tiring, and potentially dangerous.

[skiingjon]

my first suggestion is "DO" buy new equipment, the boots are too stiff and as a result you are in the back seat. Those K2 race skis that you are riding are to stiff as well and results in skidding turns instead of carving.

[OH MY!]

my first suggestion is "DO" buy new equipment, the boots are too stiff and as a result you are in the back seat. Those K2 race skis that you are riding are to stiff as well and results in skidding turns instead of carving.

I hope this is a joke! I'm not sure in which discipline one would "Race" on Seth Pistols.

[WTFH]

I was just wondering that myself, OH MY!

Although, in a race for the powder, when I'm on those, I will do my best to come first...

[Tommi]

BTW, Tommi, a motorbike is best controlled with the handlebars.

Tommy is not the same person as Tommi, to be exact. Close though. 300 miles only separates us, I suppose

[Tommi]

[/quote]
But that leads me to the question - why only use one ski when you've got two?[/quote]

Well, in engineering thinking I think the point here is to achieve the most effective grip and the ability to adjust the turn radius with pressure and the angles of the ski and the body. In practise, it's usually not 100/0% force on the skis. I would say in not so powerful turns it could well be 20/80 and still being very effective. When the forces get stronger and the slopes get steeper/icier then you need the max, and it's very close to 100/0%.

See the top guns in GS or SG course. When there are bumpy turns, you usually see their inner ski lifting off the snow momentarily, but not the outer one.

Try the PMTS moves. It really works. When you have done a couple of the exercises on Haralds web pages you'll note the difference.

Have fun,

TommI

[milesb]

Hey, that's not fair, you guys posting one after another!

[MOZ]

Your stance looks like someone drinking Guiness whilst standing up leaning in a doorway. Not sure if this is good or not BUT practise makes perfect. What you need is a HH beer cooler endorsed by my mate SCSA and attached to a beautiful women in a Bogner suit (with padded G) skiing in front of you, just out of reach. This will improve your stance, stop the door jamb leans and keep you focussed on the all important .... going downhill. Don't worry your feet will just follow along with the skis attached as they should.