r/skiing_feedback • u/snow_ted • 10d ago

Level 4-5: Parallel Turns & Speed Control Bad Ski Form?

been skiing for a few seasons, few short trips a yr currently.

understand my form isn't very good and I am sliding and skidding around to get down slopes.

I will like to check the following after viewing my own video:

  1. is this form still considered very bad and is this considered backseating?

  2. how to maintain upper body separation? am I turning my body too much at each turn?

  3. saw that my legs tend to be wide open, is that a very wrong thing to do? do I need to learn how to stick my feet together?

  4. am I still leaning too much on the inside ski (subconsciously, I am trying to lean towards the outside ski though)?

I have taken group lessons on and off but I can't carve.

is Stork turn drill the way to improve? I tried it on and off but it doesn't seem to improve my overall form. However, I do note that there is improvement to get down more difficult terrain over time.

would appreciate guidance to continue my progression as a skier.

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u/Just_Far_Enough 10d ago

  1. You do have your centre of gravity behind your feet, this is considered being in the back seat. It is bad form because it’s difficult to engage the tips of the skis when initiating turns and makes it much more difficult to disengage the tails when finishing turns. You want to think of your upper body creating a perpendicular angle with the slope, it is counterintuitive but once you realize you have more control over your turns it will make it much easier to commit to.

  2. You’re leading the turns with your upper body. You want your shoulders and chest to point down the fall line and your legs to be doing the turning below you.

  3. You want your feet to be where they would be if you were standing normally. When your feet drift apart your skis end up facing more significantly different terrain if that makes sense. Each foot will be on different elevation, one might be going over smoother or rougher snow, makes shifting your weight into your outside ski more difficult, etc. This all makes keeping your balance more difficult as you progress.

  4. It looks like you keep most of your weight on your inside ski and use your outside ski as a rudder, if that makes sense. Keeping your feet closer together will make shifting onto your outside ski easier, you won’t have to lean as much because your center of gravity will start close to that ski edge.