| Welcome to The Washtenaw Ski Touring Club 2007-2008 (Our 34th year) |
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Ski Tips
Skating? All skating pushes are directly to the side, not back. If the ski is slipping as you push out, it could be technique (trying cranking your knee in so your ski goes more on edge, or you're pushing with the ball of your foot (bad) instead of your whole foot) or equipment (the ski is too soft for the hard conditions. Classic and not in a track? Are you sure you're balanced over the ski? If you're weight is actually between your skis, you would tend to push your ski out laterally as you pushed down. When one encounters a relatively sharp curve on downhill going at a good clip, what is the proper technique? There are two important rules for downhills: Rule #1: Always keep your hands in front of you - you should ALWAYS be able to see your hands. The most common reason to fall is when one hand goes behind you. Rule #2: Point your hands around the corner. You hands should lead you into the corner, and point in the direction of the curve. To answer your specific questions, generally, the outside ski slightly leads the inside ski. Do you push one ski ahead of the other? Yes, the outside ski - especially in a track. You can also steer your ski by pushing against your boot with your forefoot (toward the inside of the turn and heel (toward the outside of the turn). If you're going faster than the corner can take, you must skate/step turn to the inside of the corner. Quickly skate off the outside ski onto the inside ski to get a more inside line - this could be multiple skate steps and is a very quick set of motions! It's critical to be "light on your feet" or have "happy feet" - that means being able to quickly shift weight from one foot to the other - necessary to skate/step turn in a corner. Many people going down a hill have "lead feet" - their weight is evenly divided between their feet (OK) but they can't shift their weight to one ski (bad) because they're fearful of falling (self-fulfilling prophesy). Here's a couple drills: In shoes: stand in place in an athlete-ready position. Now quickly step from foot to foot as fast as you can. On skis: go down an EASY hill and do the same thing. Look where you want to go and not at what you want to miss. If you look at the tree you will hit the tree! Keep your hands in front of you. If something affects your feet, the shoulders will want to rotate and as soon as the arm goes behind your body - you will fall. Have happy feet - the lead feet will make you stiff and more likely to fall. If the weight is between the skis you get stuck and will not be able to respond to changes in terrain. One common scenario is a "face plant" due to the inability to keep the skis together. Try to take the inside of the curve - there is usually more snow and it is less likely to be scraped away. You might have to start on the outside and cut to the inside if you are "flying". (Lexanne Creitz) Always
have one foot in front of the other. This is basically taking the
Telemark position down to a very small distance - from several inches
to one foot between forward foot and trailing foot. Ideally the
forward leg has the leg from ankle to knee in a vertical position
and the knee slightly bent--depending on how far back the trailing
ski is placed. This "offset" position versus both feet
together allows adjustment for any bumps or snow undulations.
(RK) |
X-country ski exercises click here to download the document How should you dress for x-country skiing? What should be carried in your fanny pack? click here to download the document Safety
info: click
here How
to wax skis. |