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Escarpment Magaz ine Winter
2012
A bit of History...
Skiing has evolved constantly since man first began sliding down
mountains on two boards. The goal was always the same, to arrive
at the bottom without falling down. Balance and control were al-
ways the essential elements. Nothing has changed, but it sure is a
lot easier and safer today than it was in the early days!
Early skis were designed for going across the countryside, mostly
on relatively flat terrain, so skis were made with grooves to help
the skis to track through the snow. These same grooves stayed in
the skis until the 1970’s, but while they made the skis stable, they
also made them more difficult to turn. Meanwhile techniques for
turning became necessary as skiers sought the fun of going down
hills and were looking to control their direction and speed. Skiing
technique evolved from telemarking in deep snow to rotation on
soft packed snow to edge setting as trails became hard packed.
Long skis with grooves in their bases were tough to control, and
you almost had to jump to get them around. Down, up, down, ro-
tation, reverse technique, legs locked together, plant your poles. It
was pretty complicated. Fortunately that's all in the past.
When they finally took the grooves out of bases of skis, it made
them easier to turn, but they were a bit unstable. At this point the
skis were still quite long and relatively straight so carving was a
high speed skill used only by racers and experts.
Then came snowboarding, and the realization that a bigger side
cut (the shape of the board) meant turns could be carved at slower
speeds. It wasn’t long before shaped skis became available and
proved an instant hit. Novices found it easier to develop edging
skills and advanced skiers discovered the pleasure of carving turns.
Here's a new myth: that everyone should be trying to carve their
turns. For many people, it is much more important to control their
speed which is best done by sliding the turns. Beginners need to
know how to balance, how to slow down, and how to turn. They
need to know how to get on and off ski lifts, and how to find the
easy terrain. They need to experience the thrill of accomplishment
not the fear of falling. And most of all they need to fall in love with
skiing, including its beauty and it’s camaraderie.
That means eliminating everything that not essential while still teach-
ing beginners the basics of a good ski technique.
Keeping Technique Simple
Balance & Control are Key...
A few years ago I had a really neat experience with a youngster
on a black run on his first day on skis. His older brother had taught
him to ski that morning. I asked: “What did your brother tell you?”
“It’s easy”, he said, “When you want to go right, you step on your
left foot. When you want to go left, you step on your right foot, and
when you want to stop, you do a hockey stop.” All I had to do was
show him how to skid after each turn to slow down and he made it
down a really steep pitch without a fall. Kids are great at keeping
it simple -- for adults, they need to understand what they are trying
to do.
Balance...
Balance is a fine point. You are either in balance or not. There is
no grey. Interestingly, however, there are two balance positions
for skiing. You can be balanced over the ball of your foot, or you
can be balanced with the weight spread over the full length of your
foot. When you are in balance the ankle joints flex easily which al-
lows you to stay in balance as you ski over changing terrain. The
ankles, knees, hips and vertebra act together as shock absorbers,
but the ankles are the first line of defense. If you can 'bob' in your
ankles you are
in balance.
FEATURE
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ski ing for dummies 101