TELEMARK


Performing pivot stops can be a great way to assess whether you initiate rotational movement with your upper or lower body.


ANDREW SCHRUM, JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT


LOOKING FOR A WAY TO ASSESS YOURSELF? PIVOT STOPS HELP DIAL IN ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT


By Grant Bishop A


s we close out this season feeling strong, let’s remember that come next winter, we might feel a bit shaky on our skis and need to cycle through some movements to make sure we’ve still got it. Many of us turn to so-called self-assessment


drills to get the juices flowing again. What most people don’t realize is that any drill can be a self-assessment with a little bit of creativity and ingenuity.


RATHER THAN DOING PIVOT SLIPS, TRY PIVOT STOPS! Take your average pivot slip, for example. I know that I want to rotate my skis under a stable upper body, but how do I self-assess and achieve that on my own?


Here’s a tip. Instead of just running


through pivot slips, try stopping every time your skis are across the hill. When you start your next pivot, take note whether or not your upper or lower body initiated the rotational movement. If your upper body initiated rotational


movement, then you have some work to do. If your lower body initiated the rotation, then you are doing stellar! Te key to starting rotation from the


Grant Bishop uses drills to self-assess his technique. 72 | 32 DEGREES • SPRING 2017


lower body is how you ski into the stop. If you stop with your chest facing your ski tips then you have no other option than to rotate your upper body before your lower body or to rotate both upper and lower body together (total body rotation). If you stop with your chest in a countered orientation (more down the hill compared to your ski tips) then you have the ability to initiate rotation from the lower half. As a problem-solving exercise, try it


both ways; shoulders facing ski tips, and shoulders in a countered relationship. What will become apparent is that how you ski into the stop determines how you initiate the start of the next pivot. If you guide and steer your skis across the hill under a stable upper body, you can then initiate rotation from the lower body. If you follow your ski tips with your shoulders, you will end up square to your skis and will likely initiate rotation from your upper body.


BACK TO PIVOT SLIPS Once you have mastered your pivot stops, go back to pivot slips and focus on guiding your skis across the hill under a stable upper body at the end of the pivot. Tis will allow you to pivot into a countered relationship and to initiate the next pivot from the lower half.


Grant Bishop is a member of the PSIA Nordic Team, an alpine and telemark trainer at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and Intermountain Division’s Nordic Chair. He’s also a member of the elusive Jackson Hole Air Force. Instagram: grant__bishop


ANDREW SCHRUM, JACKSON HOLE MOUNTAIN RESORT1


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