Re-learning weight distribution?

[JohnMoore]

I've been skiing typically 2-3 weeks a year for 10 years now and I'm reasonably competent on piste, having first discovered Lito's teaching many years ago and then come on to PMTS from that. I have very little off-piste experience, though, as powder has not tended to coincide with my holiday times. On the odd occasions I have been able to try, though, I have typically run into a problem I'd like to learn to avoid. I really took on board from Lito and HH the business of getting on to one, edged, ski to turn, which I now do pretty instinctively on piste, with 95%-100% of my weight on the outside ski when I am turning. The problem is that I have great difficulty stopping the same instinct kicking in when I go off-piste. I want to turn left so I lift and tip my left ski without thinking, my right ski buries itself in the snow, I go flying, I pick myself out of the snow, do some digging around for my missing ski, start up and repeat. Has anyone got any good suggestions as to how I should learn to kick the one-footed habit when off-piste, without spoiling my on-piste skiing? Some good on-piste drills, perhaps?

[HeluvaSkier]

2-footed release and the bullet proof short turn. I hope Max chimes in because he has links, videos, threads, and other resources that will really help you out.

[JohnMoore]

2-footed release and the bullet proof short turn. I hope Max chimes in because he has links, videos, threads, and other resources that will really help you out.

Thanks for this. I have bookmarked some of Max's links, so I'll go back to those. Could you talk me through how the TFR helps me avoid the probem I have? I'll really concentrate on it as a drill.

[HeluvaSkier]

Do you have Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 2? I can't really explain it much better than is done in the book. If you do a search for "two footed release" ; "brushed carve" ; or "bullet proof short turn" you will get tons of information to sift through.The best advice I can give is to go through the drills/progression in book 2. I don't have it in front of me right now though, so I can't accurately list everything that is in it.

[JohnMoore]

Yes, I have both ACBAES books and DVDs, as well as Essentials of Skiing. I wasn't after an explanation of how to do the TFR so much as an explanation of how it can help me unlearn my one-footedness in off-piste conditions. I'll go abck and have a good look at the books, again, though, it's a while since I did.

[Bolter]

Look at p.172 in book 2.
Cues you could use:
Press the entire length of your legs together
Stand evenly on both skis during the float

JR

[Max_501]

Has anyone got any good suggestions as to how I should learn to kick the one-footed habit when off-piste, without spoiling my on-piste skiing? Some good on-piste drills, perhaps?

Learn to ski with 100% of the weight on the outside ski (phantom), 100% of the weight on the inside ski (weighted release), and combinations of weight in between those extremes (two footed release).

I'd suggest practicing the two footed release drill on groomed with different weighting until you feel comfortable linking those having weight on both the outside and inside skis. Typically I ski pow and crud with a 60% outside/40% inside weighting. So I'm still outside ski dominant but not so much that I drive the outside ski much deeper into the snow.

[Ken]

Imagine that you've super-glued your boots together. Or, super-glued the entire length of your pant's inseam including the boots. Imagine you're on a mono ski. On a smooth groomer, the softer the better, ski with both legs and feet doing exactly the same thing. Take time. Have patience. In deep snow, you can't turn any faster than the snow allows. Learn an easier tempo for skiing. You'll want equal weight on both feet, both feet tipped equally, both legs doing the same thing. Weight centered fore and aft with micro fore/aft weight adjustments. Loosen your boot cuffs. When you're in the real stuff, both legs aren't locked together, but both are doing the same thing. Be smooth, be patient, enjoy. Turning comes from the snow working against the length of the ski bases, curving the skis, and banking you around the turn. Your body has about the same CB/CA while the skis bank in the snow like an airplane banking in its turn. If the pilot jerks the plane around, it falls out of the sky. If the skier jerks his skis around in deep snow...he doesn't have as far to fall.

President Obama co-opted my favorite ski song for his speech yesterday...the old jazz standard, "Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, Start all over again."

Don't lose your confidence if you slip,
Be grateful for a pleasant trip,
And pick yourself up,
Dust yourself off,
Start all over again

As sung by Diana Krall

[milesb]

If you are flexing to release, there should not be much adjustment needed for deep snow: just don't lift the new free ski. However, I suspect you are extending to start your turns (the clue was Lito- he does this in many parts of his videos), which requires equal weighting of the skis when pushing off them. If so, you should learn to start your turns by flexing the stance leg. Essentials has great instructions for learning this.

[Max_501]

In addition to flexing I need to keep 40% (or so) of my weight on the inside ski as I enter the turn or the outside ski will dive as I hit the fall line. This can take a bit of getting used to for an outside ski dominant skier.

[ChrisSSBB]

All good pointers above. Learning the two footed release turned skiing crud and powder for me into a joy rather than the uncertain adventure I usually found myself in. My thought cues are:

* ski as if your two skis are one platform (i.e., superglued boot analogy by Ken) .

* flex downhill leg first but then both legs evenly for float

* Keep a good rhythm with your turns and be active with your pole plants / taps

* don't get stuck traversing across the hill as it becomes a bear to make turns without energy from your skis

Hope you get lots of snow!

[Ken]

* don't get stuck traversing across the hill as it becomes a bear to make turns without energy from your skis

A good flex, tip, & counterbalance will get you started into the next turn. I find myself so enjoying the weightless free fall straight down the fall line that I make J-shaped turns instead of clean C-shaped turns. I'll give that more practice time next snowfall, but I sure like that weightlessness with the white featherbed at the bottom to catch me.

[MonsterMan]

I don't think anyone has mentioned bouncing to get the feel of the snow, the extra drag in powder will allow you to try this without deviating from the fall line much. I'd like to see you bounce on one ski in powder, so I suspect this might be the answer to feel more comfortable with a more even weight distribution. I think the excercise is in ACBAES1 at the back.

[Max_501]

Loosen your boot cuffs.

Ken, would you please elaborate on this idea? How does it help in crud and pow?

[h.harb]

If I hear “I lifted the front of the ski in powder”, I know a disaster is next. If you are lifting you can still ski well in powder, but if you lift the front of the ski, you are back and not able to release. If you then extend the not lifted ski, it will bury itself or fix itself in the power. The only remaining logical next step movement alternative at this point, and it’s not effective, is to rotate the torso and that will get you instantly facing uphill in the next arc, while still traveling downhill backwards.

You can lift in powder, it’s not a deal breaker, but also not the most used approach. but when you do, put weight evenly back on both skis once they are flat to the slope. Check out book two for powder, two knees bent evenly, (in transition) two skis flat to the snow in transition.

Cuffs loose, I want to feel through the front of the boot how much pressure I am applying to the tips. I keep them the same all the time, except on ice (A little tighter) . In powder I don't want any surprises like too much tip pressure by trying to find the front of the cuffs. It depends on what you are used to for cuff resistence. I want to know where they are, too soft, I'm searching.