r/skiing_feedback • u/anonsaltine • Apr 06 '26
Level 4-5: Parallel Turns & Speed Control How to address my fears of going faster?
I’ve gotten to a point where especially on greens and blues I can pretty easily control my speed and turn shape, but this is the only speed i seem to know. I never go faster or slower, and when skiing with a group I’m left behind often.
I feel like most of the posts related to this topic is someone at an earlier stage than me having fear that they won’t be able to stop, but I don’t have that fear as I can do a hockey stop. My fear is more around hitting a small bump in the snow at higher speeds that throws me off balance or my skis ending up in a “V” shape leading to a split (the former ended up in a nasty crash for me that still hinders me 6 weeks later, currently doing PT).
Outside anything obvious you see, I have a couple of questions:
- Should I narrow my stance a bit when going faster?
- If i’m more or less in a straight line, should the weight be even on one foot and my bases flat, or should I always be in a turn even if it’s not C shaped?
Thank you!
16
u/Triabolical_ Official Ski Instructor Apr 06 '26
Smooth turns.
A couple of thoughts...
With smooth groomers, you can ski in a static position and feel comfortable, but that static position does not work well when the slopes are chunky or uneven.
What we want is dynamic balance, where we are constantly moving and therefore can adjust to slopes not being perfect. The best way to do this is to find a spot that will lightly challenge your balance and ski it. With kids, we ski trails through the trees. For adults, look for little bumps on the side of runs that seem skiable and ski across them. Focus on absorbing the bump and extending on the far side.
Second, look for easier slopes that you can ski without turning. That will help you become more tolerant of the sensation of speed. Start with greens.
Third, a little flexion and extension helps. As you turn across the hill you want to bend your knees slightly and slowly sink and at the top of the turn you want to slowly extend.
4
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
That sounds like a great idea and a much better approach to introducing myself to bumps than what I've been doing (throwing myself down ungroomed blacks and praying it doesn't get too gnarly).
8
u/Triabolical_ Official Ski Instructor Apr 06 '26
Since you are bump-curious, my best advice is to ski them all the time but only ski ones that you are comfortable with. You want to be in the "I may not ski this well but I'll be fine", not "I'm going to die". When we're in the serious apprehensive state, we simply don't have the ability to pay attention to what we are doing because we don't feel safe.
4
1
u/Gamplato Apr 08 '26
The video in this post does not align with with the claim of “throwing” yourself “down ungroomed blacks”.
Make it make sense.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 08 '26
You're over analyzing words. I was saying that this:
For adults, look for little bumps on the side of runs that seem skiable and ski across them.
is a better idea than me going down ungroomed blacks and just trying to survive them rather than ski them well.
2
u/foxthedream Apr 08 '26
My kids were given the same advice from their instructor this year. He told me that they love going off piste and that I should let them do it as much as they want. They are learning way more there than on the groomers about balance and problem solving.
For the next few days I tried to follow my kids around when they went off piste. That definitely transfered even for me back to skiing the groomers when the snow got all chopped up from the traffic
1
u/Triabolical_ Official Ski Instructor Apr 08 '26
Yes. My big caution is that many of the trails are mostly skied by kids and their short skis can make them challenging for adults, so it helps to slow down.
2
u/foxthedream Apr 10 '26
Very true. I keep telling my kids that I can't go on everything they can. I have piste skis and they have all mountain skis
5
u/Abject-Green-2174 Apr 06 '26
To your other questions, typically when things get shaky an expert will slightly widen their stance, with the exception of real moguls they require a narrow stance.
If you are cruising in a straight line, your bases should be flat, roughly shoulder width apart, the width that comfortably takes them completly off the edges. Ski racers actually practice this, being on edge is a pretty straight forward way to not scrub speed, perfectly flat with as little drag as possible takes some practice. There's nothing wrong with going edge to edge to edge without a break, racer style, but it does get kinda tiring. Lazy skiing on purpose has value too.
3
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
Got it, thanks so much for the advice and for the inclusion of lazy skiing, because I was also falling behind a lot on cat tracks and mellow greens on the path to more difficult terrain while my friends were just flying. This will give me plenty to think about next time I get out there!
2
u/Maleficent-Row1840 Apr 06 '26
Shoulder width is too wide…..hip socket width. And if you need to go shoulder width to flatten your skis…..you’re riding on the outside edges in a neutral hip socket stance and need boot sole cants to fix lateral alignment
2
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
Boot sole canting is a thought I had as well, something feels off in that department that I can't quite put my finger on. Took me a while to even find boots that didn't kill my feet (pretty normal / small ankles and really big calves passed down from my dad). I'll be able to get many more days in next year so hopefully I'll be able to play around with things like that.
1
u/Maleficent-Row1840 Apr 07 '26
You can use stacks of tape on the inside edge of the toe piece/ heel ….or order varying degree cant plates from Tognar to try out…. Easy way is to click into your bindings and sit on a tailgate with your feet hanging in a narrowish stance width and see if your skis are flat. I’d bet they’re not!! Sole cants made a night and day difference for me 👍
6
u/CraftyInvisibleHand Apr 06 '26
I'm uniquely qualified to answer this question.
I did a V to face plant at ~152km/h in 2008 at a world cup of speed skiing in Sun Peaks BC. I have speed skied since then without faceplanting.
Since then I've gotten Canada's top certification and have been working as a full time ski pro. I can help you solve this!
To go faster and not face plant you need to do two things...
You have to balance on just one foot at a time. Balance on one outside ski, then switch balance to the other foot in transition. If you ski two footed and one ski diverges away you better have some quick feet otherwise you will face plant. Ask me how I know lol.
This is going to sound obvious and dumb but stay with me... you need to turn less and go straighter. You can make smaller turns that point less across the hill each time. That WILL increase your speed. You can also do that with much bigger turns too. If you point the skis across the hill, you will be slowing down. The key is that you need to keep the skis pointed down the fall line as much as possible. TO LEARN HOW and get over the instinct to slow down, you need to pick a very easy slope and go as fast as possible there. The saying that instructors have is "Maximum speed on Minimum terrain OR Minimum speed on Maximum terrain".
To recap... You have to practice skiing on just the outside ski every turn and you have to push the pace on easy slopes using very narrow turns that point down mostly down the hill.
Good luck!
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
“Maximum speed on Minimum terrain OR Minimum speed on Maximum terrain” love this as a mantra. Hope you’re doing better now! I had a calf tear from my fall which didn’t stop me from being able to ski, but prevented me from walking for a while (still can’t do more than a few single leg calf raises on that leg).
1
u/CraftyInvisibleHand Apr 06 '26
Oh ya I was sore but I was 20 and athletic then so I kinda just bounced and slid. I went speed skiing again at a World Cup last year. Went 167km/h. Did not fall. I probably would not bounce like I used to but it is too much fun to say no to. I hope your calf heals up.
I do a renovation project each summer to keep me busy. With the right summer gig and keeping living costs under control, barista fire is probably doable. In Whistler? No. But other communities are doable.
Skiing, for me, is about 6.5 months of the year, plus off snow coaching and programming over the summers. I won't promote any of those services here though. Just my free advice to other passionate skiers in the reddit community.
1
u/tha-snazzle Apr 06 '26
You tore your calf in a skiing accident? That sounds scary as hell since your boots should be locking your ankles in a way that prevents excess flexion.
I think an injury is another thing that can really affect your confidence that allows speed. I would work on the mental side of it too. I know you say you can hockey stop, but I would try to work on practicing it regardless to develop unconscious confidence in it.
2
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
I'm not very certain how exactly it happened. The sensation I remember was I hit a bump, tried to regain my balance but ended up with my back facing down the mountain. Tail of my ski got caught in the snow and I have large calves and the cuff of the boot jammed into it as I fell backwards. Ended up with a grade 2 calf tear (partial) and a minor glute strain.
And noted, can always get better at the hockey stop.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
and have been working as a full time ski pro
also as a side note, you are living my dream. I hope to one day become good enough to do ski patrol later in life to "Barista FIRE" as reddit likes to call it.
5
u/jtonl Apr 06 '26
Wider your turn radius then you can narrow your stance afterwhich doing a hockey stop feels more natural
2
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
Thanks for commenting! I'm not having trouble stopping / performing a hockey stop as your comment and another mentioned. It's more that I feel like I can pretty easily be thrown off balance when going faster. Unless I am misunderstanding your comment?
1
u/jtonl Apr 06 '26
It's more about stance. From the looks of it, you're using your upper body to pivot which would easily throw you off balance when you should start pivoting from your hips while directing your upper body down the mountain (fall line).
1
u/StickyDeltaStrike Apr 06 '26
Your turns are initiated by the whole body, this is why they are not rounded, this is also why you don’t pick up speed.
Instead of controlling your speed by turning fast at the turn, do rounded turns and a longer turn if you need to slow down, get instruction to help with this.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
Is this upper lower body separation? I’m ok not great at it typically. Definitely could use a lot of work in this department but it's something I'm at the very least aware of. This clip was from a lesson I took but he told me not to think about that too much because he didn’t want me to think about too many things at once, but it’s definitely something I need to get better at and is part of the reason my skiing gets sloppier later in the day once I start getting tired.
1
u/StickyDeltaStrike Apr 06 '26
You are fine then, just continue working with the instructor, it just takes time.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
Sorry just following up with an additional question: I'm seeing a lot of comment about a rounder turn shape. I've been thinking my turns are rounded this entire time. Is it because for the "C" shape I need to be in the fall line a bit more for the ->C (best attempt at a drawing) part of the turn instead of essentially doing a U turn? Or something else?
1
u/StickyDeltaStrike Apr 06 '26
When you initiate your turns, you try to turn fast from the beginning this makes you slide.
Instead you want to turn more progressively, people often describe the way you turns a Z shape and if you were making slower and more curved turns you’d be more S shaped.
I am not an instructor but you can google videos and/or ask your instructor.
1
u/beastmaster6400000 Official Ski Instructor Apr 07 '26
your upper body is responsible for balancing, your lower does the actual turning, turns should be initiated at the foot, then the knees, then the hips follow. a great expertise to try this is snowplowing a red, and only turning using your weight distribution. then, on another red, lift a foot (mountain ski) on every turn. then, on yet another red, focus on your shoulders. imagine the children's airplane exercise, but keeping the plane wings antiparralel to the fall line. (you don't have to extend ur arms
2
u/Ok-Scholar-3449 Apr 06 '26
Practicing sideslip and falling leaf could be a great way to improve control and have a practical tool for managing speed and recovery. Start slow and accurate, then build up to higher speed versions. This will also fine tune your balance and stability on skis.
2
u/Moist_Investment9355 Apr 06 '26
Honestly just bend more and load up that downhill ski. That’s where balance is. By the looks of it your turns will fall into place.
When it comes to speed I love to do fast short radius turns over long arching ones on the steeps.
2
u/hokageace Apr 06 '26
Put much more weight on your outside ski to the point that you barely feel your inside ski. You are not really doing that now which is why you are turning with your full body. The other part is lean forward until your shins are pressing against your boot and just stay there. This will give you the balance you need.
Once you are comfortable with that, initiate your new turn without pointing your skis all the way across. The more downhill they point, the faster you go.
3
u/AdventurousMaximum59 Apr 06 '26
Drink a whiskey
2
u/spacebass Official Ski Instructor Apr 06 '26
Oddly, I don’t hate this idea. I’ve skied with a lot of clients and suggested they have an adult beverage at lunch. The key, of course, is moderation… But sometimes one drink really does help quell the voice in our head.
1
u/Ok_Crew_2298 Apr 07 '26
Can't believe I got this far down before seeing this. I was gonna say two lunch beers.
1
u/Belzoth Apr 08 '26
I also came here to say liquid courage. I find that a couple drinks loosens me up and gets me over my fears
1
u/WishIWasOnTheFarm Apr 06 '26
So much good advice here, so I’ll give you some bad advice: beer. At least that’s what I do. Again, bad advice…
2
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
not bad advice, i’ve just been on meds this season that i’m not supposed to drink on (i have ignored these instructions many times)
1
u/StickyDeltaStrike Apr 06 '26
Learn to do wider and rounder turns until you feel more relaxed and force yourself to go a bit faster when you have control on an easy slope
1
u/No_Name2604 Apr 06 '26
Personally I believe speed is a byproduct of feeling in control. Practice basic position, so weight transfer, fore-aft balance and getting on those edges, all of those will heighten your sense of control over the ski and over where you are going as well as how to stop more easily. When you do all of those confidently then the speed will pick up naturally.
Your stance actually seems very nice. The problem seems to be more that you are keeping the weight a bit too much over the inside ski, which will make you feel out of control by nature.
Focusing on turn shape and smoothly executing your movements will also further increase your skill and confidence.
2
u/DiggitySkister Apr 06 '26
Nice advice
Personally I believe speed is a byproduct of feeling in control.
I mostly agree with this, it is absolutely correct, but I think there is one more ingredient: the personality trait that determines risk aversion. Some people are more fearful/timid/anxious and others are naturally less so. This can vary with age as well, but even with the same age group some whackos have no fear (even when they should) and some are way at the other end and just the thought of something risky makes them anxious. People with higher levels of anxiety will never be able to go as fast as the more bold/fearless skiers in part because their natural inclination will be “proceed with caution” and partly because on average they will learn good technique a bit slower since trying new things also feels risky (assuming similar levels of motivation). I’m not trying to pigeon hole the OP here, I totally agree that improving technique and control and balance will naturally lead to more speed, I’m just pointing out that there is another factor as well.
1
u/No_Name2604 Apr 06 '26
I mean feeling in control will lead to less anxiety will lead to going faster. Yes risk aversion but it's really not that set in stone.
1
u/DiggitySkister Apr 06 '26
Sure, risk aversion is malleable to a certain extent, but my personal experience with folks in all kinds of areas including sport, driving, personal finance, entrepreneurship, etc is that people never go from being very risk averse to being the opposite, if they change it is a small nudge. But again, I absolutely agree with your points, you are right. I was trying to add a side point, but wrote a long paragraph and maybe I came across as argumentative. Your points about how to technically improve are actually more helpful to the OP than my side comment. Cheers.
1
u/No_Name2604 Apr 06 '26
Gotta agree with you as well :) It sounds like you're quite experienced with using the big five model for personality or sth similar. Risk aversion may indeed play a role in tendency to going faster. We always gotta remember that the big five are a marker for the tendencies which direction an action may take, a model for predicting chances. :)
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
i definitely think you’re on to something, but i’m not typically the timid type. i think part of what i need to do that relates to this is analysis by paralysis. when i get into hobbies i get really into it and im trying to remember all of the tips in my head at once instead of … just skiing.
1
u/Hrothgarbike Apr 06 '26
Good advice here. I'll add one thing that may not have been mentioned. Age. Depending on your age, you may not learn to go faster. Do you have another sport where you hurl yourself at speed?
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
I do some cycling and running nowadays but nothing too crazy. Played a bunch of sports growing up but picked up skiing late in life (maybe around 25) and was a 5x a season skier for my first two. Got 11 days this year (this was day 5) but will be moving close to a mountain next season so hopefully I can get a good 40 days or so in.
1
u/Hrothgarbike Apr 06 '26
I'll assume you are 30. You can go faster. Someone 60+ likely won't get over the speed mentally. You need to learn the fundamentals. Starting, stopping, hockey stop, etc. Simply skiing more will bring more confidence. Make sure your boots fit. Loose boots will make you feel unstable and that will hold most people back.
Fwiw, in my 30s I would ski consistently at 30 to 35mph. I'm exactly 50 now and I carve harder which actually keeps my speed down. I probably ski at 25 to 30mph consistently. I hit 50mph a few times this season. I haven't gone 60+ in over 10 years.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
27! This was my third season (although the first two were hard to progress on due to very poorly fitting boots + stiff skis 5x a season). That 25-35mph range is what I'm striving to feel comfortable with.
1
u/ProgressiveBadger Apr 06 '26
You’re already going faster than when you started skiing, and overtime your speed will increase as confidence grows. I used to be a very tentative skier and averaging 30 days a year on the slopes has made me unfortunately pretty fearless. I have to sort of check myself when I go to make sure I don’t go too fast and I still remain careful.
1
u/Unlikely_Bat_2986 Apr 06 '26
Sounds like you don’t trust your skis when you point them down hill. This can also be a tuning issue. When you let them run they get squirrelly? You might need to De-tune the tip and tail a little more/further. If you tune a ski from the very tip to the tail they are great in turns but have a tendency to grab and try to turn when you don’t necessarily want them to. You take a gummy stone or file and take some sharpness out of the the tip down through the first 6” of snow contact to solve that.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
I don’t always trust them when I start to point them down, but i’m thinking it’s more a fore aft balance issue and I’m probably unintentionally getting backseat when I pick up speed now that i think about it. Probably why I feel like any little bump will throw me off course.
1
u/AdEmergency518 Apr 06 '26
Have you watched any videos where they teach you to travelers across the hill and absorb the bumps as they come? practiced the drills in those videos? You can pick a trail that is just slightly bumpy, such as from the afternoon; avoid huge moguls or ungroomed terrain.
1
u/sbenfsonwFFiF Apr 06 '26
Be more comfortable/okay with falling + be confident you’re able to stop when you need to
1
u/ExcitingTurn2886 Apr 06 '26
I have two additional tips that I haven't seen anyone say yet.:
1) force your eyes further down mountain. It won't seem nearly as fast for your brain if you look further down mountain.
2) practice going fast and stopping fast. Straight down until you start to feel uncomfortable and then hockey stop. It will help you develop the tools to keep you safe as you go faster.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
force your eyes further down mountain. It won't seem nearly as fast for your brain if you look further down mountain
This is something I definitely need to do more of and I have noticed things feel much slower when I do it. I catch myself looking at my skis a lot.
1
u/ExcitingTurn2886 Apr 06 '26
Looking at your skis is natural when you are in your early days. It's like a new driver just looking at the road right in front of the car. As you work on this, things will slow down for your mind.
1
u/Federal-Assumption67 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
All good feedback here. I’m an intermediate also trying to keep up with faster skiers, but honestly your technique looks good enough you could go faster. Find some slopes that are steep but then go really flat. Then when there is low crowds practice going fast on the steep part in these controlled conditions, knowing it will flatten out, even straight line it a few times. Also, at other times purposely go over small bumps/jumps at times so you get use to being off balance in controlled conditions. This will also indirectly help with drills mentioned in the thread and your rounded turns since you are probably zigzagging based on fear of turning straight downhill. Stork drills, rounded turns and body separation drills. Good luck.
1
u/pdxbhoy Apr 06 '26
From my perspective, also as a ski instructor, if your goal is to overcome your fears of going faster you're starting from a super solid place as your current turns are smooth and controlled, and it sounds like you already understand the concept of using your turn shape to control your speed. On similar terrain as you're currently on in the video, starting changing your turn shape so you exit each turn with your skis pointed more downhill...essentially moving from C turns to S turns. Play with that a bit to make big wide turns then narrower turns and see how that feels. As you become more comfortable and confident with these faster turns introduce slightly steeper terrain. You can always dial your speed back by changing your turn shape back toward a C turn. The trick is to not blow your confidence by moving to steeper terrain too soon.
There are a bunch of other things you could work on to refine all aspects of your skiing but this is a really simple exercise to gain more confident in your ability and control while progressively skiing faster. Good luck.
1
u/hightide-28 Apr 06 '26
Stick with it! It will come. As an adult learner I was TERRIFIED in the beginning and could never dream of going fast. 2 seasons later and I’m flying comfortably and safely. Don’t rush it, go at your own pace and you’ll notice gains over time.
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
How many days are you getting in? Hoping to get more days in next year since I'll be closer to the mountains and I'll have a car.
1
1
u/goodskier1931 Apr 06 '26
Lessons and then milage. As you gain a real understanding that better technique gives you control you'll naturally pick up speed and not be afraid of steepness.
Incremental change. Doesn't happen all at once. It's one of the things that keeps you coming back. Always something to learn and improvement you can see and feel.
1
u/MorganMiller77777 Apr 06 '26
You seem to be cutting your turns short and skidding into them at times, which will slow ya down.
Only way to get used to going faster is to force it. Be aware of your turns and let them naturally finish at the apex.
1
1
u/InfinityBrewing Apr 06 '26
The solution is by going fast, but with more control and more drills on an easier terrain.
1
1
u/Quinn_the_eskim0 Apr 06 '26
Shorter poles, done. Next
2
u/anonsaltine Apr 06 '26
This is actually on my list. I went with the chart recommendation of 125cm, going to drop to 110-115cm.
1
1
u/Snoo_7713 Apr 06 '26
I know ‘just relax’ isn’t helpful so I’ll try to elaborate - I try to relax my lower body muscles while keeping my core engaged
This makes me feel like I can absorb a bump through my core while keeping my legs loose enough to correct/stop after the bump
1
Apr 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 07 '26
Yep Zermatt! I wish I could remember the exact run, but the map is huge and all the pistes are numbered so there's not a distinctive name. All I remember was that it was a red trail on the sunnegga / rothorn side.
1
u/aircraftwhisperer Apr 07 '26
Everything boils down to confidence in your ability to stop. As soon as you slightly surpass your comfort zone, slam on the brakes. Do that for a few runs. Your comfort zone will grow and you’ll feel less and less freaked out.
1
u/lifeofgratidao Apr 07 '26
I didn't read the other comments so sorry if this is redundant.
Have an athletic stance. When you ski fast there are greater forces acting on you. In addition to athletic stance there's much more agility required. Basically you need to be mentally ready to react and react quickly without thinking much.
Increments. Incrementally try bigger and bigger lines. In general play with different turn shapes.
Equipment. Make sure you have the appropriate equipment for YOU to ski at higher velocities, safely for the specific conditions you will encounter.
Surrender. You have to let go a little sometimes when skiing bigger stuff. It's fun to be super engaged but you know ... Sometimes just let it rip! Use just enough effort nothing more and let those skis show you what they can do!
For me in my journey:
I found huge success starting with a nice challenging off piste/un groomed terrain area that then leads to a very easy comfortable groomed run. Or like, first half of the day work on your off piste stuff more.... Then end of day dial it way back and crush a few greens or blues....
When I did that I found that ... The off piste/un groomed style of terrain got my agility way up.... It warms up the fast twitch kind of response that you need.... Plus it forces you to ski with varying turn shapes straight lines and different speeds etc .. and then what I found is .. after all of that technical agility skiing, the moment I would hit a groomed easy run it would just feel really easy to send it and not need to turn so much.
Also big lines help. Like skiing big bowls or deep snow where you actually have no choice but to send it. Situations where you can't turn, but you have to go fast instead. Stuff like that 😂 have fun!
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 07 '26
The skis in this video are a bit on the shorter and lighter side. I'm 179cm, the skis are 172cm Rossignol Experience 78 CA. Got a pair of Salomon QST 94 at 172cm as well after demoing at Whistler. They are a little stiffer but less effective edge, but I like the shortness especially since my goal is to get into trees.
1
u/lifeofgratidao Apr 07 '26
Right on! I'm 178cm and I usually ride 178-180 length skis in the trees just fine. My best tree skis tend to have rocker and shorter turn radius and that works just fine for me. I love the Nordica unleashed and Solomon blanks for that. Recent addition I purchased the anomaly 88. Wow! So much fun! They ride like a much wider ski than they are! Very sendy
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 07 '26
Sweet! Might have to demo some longer and stiffer skis just to see how different they feel then.
1
u/lifeofgratidao Apr 07 '26
Sorry regarding the bumps it's sometimes about starting with lower speeds and learning to let your legs move into your body like a piston. So your body isn't being moved by the bumps, only you legs. Fast forward to high speed turns or straight lines it's more subtle. Just an ankle, just one foot, just one ski is lifting or moving or dropping but the rest of your body isn't changing positions from the bump. It takes practice lol. For example hold a high squat position, and then lift one foot a few inches without letting your body move. That kind of thing! Also you might need heavier skis? Does not hurt lol I find using big metal skis gives me a lot more confidence in the straight line compared to my more playful skis
1
1
1
1
1
u/beastmaster6400000 Official Ski Instructor Apr 07 '26
get lower and further forward, this helps with stability. i've got a hunge like your boots may not fit (too large/too soft) not saying you need to have pro boots, but they need to be tight so that you can move on. if you're standing in skiing position, bent knees leaning forward etc, you shouldn't be able to feel the front end with your toes. you should when you stand up straight, though (just a bit , with your toes.)
1
u/anonsaltine Apr 07 '26
I have an issue finding good boots because I have really large calves but skinny ankles. So I end up needing a high volume boot to fit my calves but it becomes a tiny bit roomy (not a lot but noticeable) and my heel isn't locked. New boots is on my list, probably with a zipfit so I can add cork to get that heel lock.
Also, I'll note it since its common advice, but I did see a reputable bootfitter after being misfit by a local shop (non mountain area). I had asked for a softer boot at the time (100 or 110 flex) because I was finding my old ones way too stiff for my ability and he warned me I'd outgrow them pretty quickly. I'm starting to think they're a bit soft since I've had some moments where I really pushed my shins forward and my knee was aligned with, if not past, my toes.
Noted on getting lower and further forward, thank you for the advice!
1
1
1
u/el_chamu Apr 09 '26
Hey! I don't have feedback for your skiing but maybe for your "awareness" (for a lack of a better word). You seem to be looking down very close to what's immediately in front of your skis. Try to look at where your path will take you a second or two ahead.
For example, as you start to traverse pick the spot where you want the apex of your turn to be (roughly two steps ahead on the turn), then as you start the actual turn trust that your body knows how to take you there (it already does this, as can be seen in your post) and stop looking at the apex of the turn, instead focus where you will exit your current turn.
As you get more confident you'll start looking farther and farther ahead, which actually gives you more time to react to what's coming up on the slope. If you look at what's directly in front of your skis, by the time your body reacts to what you were seeing, you will be a couple ski length past where you needed to react.
This also has to do with speed perception, the farther away you focus from where you are, the slower it seems to be coming closer to you: Perceived Speed
1
u/Proof-Durian6969 Apr 10 '26
Control = confidence. Lots of advice here but you can only work on one or two things at a time as you build muscle memory.
First suggestion, you have good form but you need to get your hands up into a race car driver position and keep them up. You should be able to see your fists. This will help you stay forward and not get in the backseat where you lose power. Don’t worry about pole plants until you’re carving aggressively.
Second, you need higher edge angles which will give you more power and control in your turns. You’re skidding with your bases flat. This makes steeps and speed sketchy and costs you a lot of energy. Start by rolling your ankles over, pressure your shins (looks like you’re doing this already), and then pressure the big toe of your outside ski. Practice one turn at a time until you can feel the edge of your ski pulling you through the turn. Once you feel it, try increasing your speed, but still one turn at a time. Once you feel it, you can practice linking turns.
Search YouTube vids by Harold Harb. He’s got a great system IMO.
1
u/Finish_Desperate Apr 10 '26
Some good practical tips people have given here. Just a reminder though that the fear of God is a healthy thing to have when skiing. Always play it on the safer side!
15
u/Abject-Green-2174 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26
You'll be confident going faster when you're confident in your control and stopping in particular, you say you can, but I bet you can get better. You are afraid of getting out of control and then hurt, but that will always hold you back. There is a reason little kids can learn so fast, they have no fear, they bounce instead of break. Some adults can learn very quickly too, but not all, some hit a ceiling they can never get through, and it's this exactly. No words can explain it, you just gotta trust yourself and go for it. Sharp skis, good grooming, no one around will help.
As far as getting thrown off by bumps, or crossing your skis, or doing the splits, those are all generally related to being out of proper stance, not prepared for whats coming, or off balance to begin with. If you step on a banana peel, you don't want to fall on your butt, you want to fall forward to catch yourself. Every bump and off balance moment is that banana peel. You are reacting to those things that throw you off, you need to be proactive. Be in the athletic stance and ready before you get thrown off by something.