Don’t Waste It

Alpine Tip by Dave Lucas

There you are dropping through the trees; taking face shot after face shot.  Or maybe you just finished a great bump run.  In either case you’re now at the bottom of the area looking at some flats before you get to the lift for another epic run. Don’t waste it.

Flat terrain presents a great opportunity to train and to test your skills.  I think that I learn more about edging when I’m skiing on a flat ski than I do skiing on a high edge angle.  I never miss the opportunity to practice my wedge christies and pivot slips at the bottom of the run.  Because it’s flat, likely there won’t be any bumps and that makes skiing on a flat ski easier.  Now that pivot slips are a part of level II and level III exams, improving your rotary and edging (and de-edging!) movements will be important foci in your training.

As you practice these tasks, take your time to feel your femur turning in your hip socket rather than turning your hips and legs at the same time.  Separation of upper and lower body function is very important to success in both of these turns.  Ask a friend to watch you or video you and then give you feedback on your success.  You will find that your rotary movements are integral to your edging movements.

You can also practice these movements at home in front of a mirror.  Find a spot where you can see your hips in the mirror and where the friction under your feet is low enough that you can easily twist your feet.  You might place a piece of paper under each foot or put on a pair socks to reduce the drag and make it easier.  Watch your legs and hips to see how far you can turn your legs in the hip socket before your hips start to move, too.  Start out with small movements and increase your range of motion as your skills improve.  Visualize tightening your core abdominal muscles and pointing your knees to the left and the right without pointing your hips in the same direction.

As you get more and more comfortable with these turns on the snow, you can up the difficulty by slowing down your movements and your speed.  In other words, if you think that you are doing well: try it slower. Practicing these movements and tasks every day will yield great results as you incorporate them into your everyday skiing.

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