Off-Piste Ski Technique: Five Key Focus Points | ISM

When life gets tricky on skis, I always refocus on these five points:

1. Being centred on the ski and don’t let go of the “steering wheel”. So all good in saying “being centred” but what does this mean and how do we know when we are there? The skier’s weight should be in the middle of the ski with equal weight on the toes and heel. This is really important. I continually monitor the pressure the base of my foot to try to keep an even pressure from the toes to the heel (a customised innersole can help here). On the piste the tolerance for being balanced at the centre is huge as you have this firm surface to push on but off-piste you are balancing on the powder and it can indeed be a fine line. The ski is designed to work best (with the shortest turning radius) when the balance is on the centre of the ski. It is also good to appreciate that as we put the skis in the fall line of the slope the skier also has to lean forward so that they are perpendicular with the slope (and skis) so to maintain being centred on the ski and not in a vertical position (as when walking). If you remain in a “walking” position, then you will be way back on the ski and you will have the fast long turn. Try to fight your brain and stay centred and balanced on the ski.

So, along with the sensors on the souls of my feet I use my shin as a sensor. I like to think of my shin as “holding” the steering wheel which is the front inner tongue of the boot. When you apply pressure on the front of the boot with the shin by compressing the ankle and bending at the knees will have control to work (turn) the ski. As soon as your shin loses contact with your boot, you will have lost control. Therefore, a big focus during the turn is to keep the shin engaged on the boot and to stay balanced at the centre of the ski. Committing to the fall line when turning can be a scary process and as we have spent much more of our time walking than skiing our mind subconsciously tells us to dig our heels in to slow down as this always works while on foot. Of course, if we are wearing skis digging in our heels only puts our weight to the back of the ski and takes our shins out of contact with the boot so we lose control and make a fast long turn as we are turning on the back part of the ski and not the centre. If you need to raise the toe of the skis to help them move in the powder then lift your toes up and try not to put more weight on your heels, this way you will be much better balanced on the ski.

Stay positive, centred and keep your shins pushing on the boots and your turn will be more likely to be in control and stress free.