Pure Carver Turns
This weekend I observed the difference between a pure carved turn and a side cut turn. Here in lies the discrepancy between what we discuss and describe in PMTS and what TTS instructors talk about and try to defend. Since we have different standards and outcomes for turns we are surely going to have difficulty discussing technique. When two parties are in discussion and they have different understanding of an outcome there is sure to be a large misunderstanding about what should be discussed and how or why it works.
What I saw, I believe was a PSIA training group, I know one of the participants. I don?t know what they were working on, but I saw them skiing one or two runs on a steeper Blue slope. It looked like they were skiing on carving skis (not all Mountain ski). They were obviously trying to carve, but they performed what I call side cut turns. This is different from a PMTS pure carve turn which, has a bent ski and has pressure loaded on the ski to create an arc. In the PMTS definition, a series of turns where the arc is either the same size or actually decreases in size, near the bottom or end.
What I saw from the ski instructors was a side cut turn, which has very little or no pressure and shape added to the turn. In a side cut turn the skier merely tilts the skis and rides the side cut. This kind of carving has a very static or parked look and can be used effectively only Green or moderate Blue terrain to show double tracks. When it is used on Blue toward Black terrain the turns increase in size as the skier progresses and excessive speed becomes a real problem. In other words, to answer one of the questions on an earlier thread, how do you control speed on steeps with pure carved turns? My answer was; create enough pressure by leg extension in the middle of the arc to bend the whole ski. Early engagement of the skis allows this to happen.
The difference between the PMTS turn and the turns I saw from the training group was the attention to ski performance. PMTS carved turns include pressuring the ski with leg extension from, just before the middle of the arc, to just before the end of the turn. In the turns I saw from the training group there was no pressuring of the ski except the pressure that developed from the falline. This approach causes larger and larger turns to develop, with increasing and out of control speed. So there was no speed control.
You can create pure carved arcs in tight radii if the skis are properly pressured and tipped. There is no deliberate steering, but for the untrained observer the legs look like they are steering because they follow the ski tilting and inclination. Because the skis are tipping so quickly and at such extreme angles the legs look like they are steering the skis. This is where the difference in understanding and interpretation arises. The group that was not controlling speed and not tipping the skis early enough, looked like they were not steering. I can also see why they were probably trying to have steering input because the successful approach, which Diana was using, looked like it required steering. What they were in fact not doing was tipping aggressively enough, high enough in the arc, to create a ?High C? turn. Diana on the other hand was not steering, but looked like she was steering because of the tipping action. She was completely in control of her speed and she was carving tight connected arcs on steeps. It is a beautiful thing to watch. Diana exhibited the powerful and graceful movements and perfect use of the tool on slippery steep slopes. There is a paradox here. I understand why those who are untrained in the movements of pure carving as we understand them in PMTS would say that really good skiers steer their skis, while in fact really good skiers are not applying any steering input. In this case steering would only made matters worst, as not carving at all would result.
I truly hope this is not again perceived by the PSIA side as an attack, as my intent as always is to educate and inform. If the unsuccessful skier, trying to carve on steeps will pursue this successful approach, they will see great benefits. I, as well as the best coaches in the US, have seen the results of PMTS techniques in Diana?s racing. For a skier with no racing background and only a handful of days in gates this year, Diana was only two and a half seconds off the best college racers in the country, (many former US Ski Team development skiers) this spring at an FIS slalom. She did this with virtually no training and while being exhausted after a winter of working in our alignment center and coaching at camps. Today I spent a full day reviewing US Ski Team coaching philosophy with one of the US Ski Team staff. He was in complete agreement with the PMTS approach.