placing it on the snow. Transfer your weight to this ski and feel how deliberate the pressure is along the inside of your foot (photo 3c). Be aware of the tension in the muscles of your foot and lower leg that contribute to the accuracy of the tipping movement. Search for the same sensations when
you ski. Use muscular tension to capture this action and feel how the inside edge of the outside ski controls the arc of the turn. Paying attention to this detail will help you carve turns more accurately and refi ne steered turns in which you actively direct an edged ski along an intended path by turning and tipping the foot. To feel the muscles you should use
6
when you tip the inside foot as well as the outside foot in a turn, try the exercise demonstrated by PSIA Alpine Team member Dave Lyon and me in photo 4. While stationary, Dave tries to tip both of his skis on edge while I stand on them. When you try this, feel the engagement of the muscles of your feet and lower legs as you try to tip your skis. Capture this feeling as you tip your skis on edge at the start of a turn.
FLEX YOUR ANKLES AND TIP YOUR FEET T e following progression starts with ankle fl exion and then builds as this action is
combined with tipping the foot. Stay focused on tensing the muscles of your feet and lower legs suffi ciently to maintain balance and improve your ski performance. First, in the transition phase, transfer
weight to the new outside ski. Lift the new inside ski and traverse for a ski length (photo 5). Concentrate on fl exing the uphill ankle to move forward. T en, turn while keeping the inside ski off the snow, angling it downward to help stay in balance. Flexing the ankle forward in the traverse will bring your center of mass over your foot, making it easier to turn on one ski. Next, link outside-ski turns (with no
BRAD FOSTER Photo 6: Link outside-ski turns, lifting the inside ski. 7
traverse), with your ankle fl exed forward and your raised ski tipped downward (photo 6). Accomplishing both of these objectives will help you to stay forward and balanced along the inside edge of the outside ski. T en bring these exercises back into your skiing by continuing with the same mechanics, but with the inside ski light on the snow (photo 7). By fl exing your ankle (forward movement) and tipping your feet (lateral movement) at the same time, you can smooth out your turn entry and develop a round-shaped turn. Maintaining muscular tension in the feet and lower legs while blending these movements allows you to tip your skis on edge accurately, draw them into the fall line, and be in balance so that you can add leg rotation eff ectively to adjust the radius of the turn.
YOUR FEET WON’T FAIL YOU Movements are most effi cient and eff ective when they start close to the snow versus with the upper body. Deliberately engaging the muscles of your feet and lower legs not only stabilizes your lower body, but allows you to move quickly and accurately. T is muscular strength and tension help you plow through cut-up or windblown snow, change turn radius abruptly, and always be ready for the next turn.
Co-author of the PSIA Alpine Technical
Manual, Ellen Post BRAD FOSTER Photo 7: As you ski, deliberately engage the muscles of your feet and lower legs. 116 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2016
Foster is a trainer at Colorado’s Beaver Creek Ski and Snowboard School. Last spring, she received the Educational Excellence Award in recognition of her educational contributions to PSIA-AASI. Go to
tiny.cc/2w2c3x to read her acceptance speech.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132