"Skiing is all about how, when and where you stand... and who you're with" is a self-coined expression that I refer to when skiing with clients and friends. Certainly, there's more to the full experience of alpine skiing, including indelible memories etched by scenery, thrills and mountain air, but this phrase boils it down for me. Skiing technique, "how, when and where you stand", enhances the hill, and like-minded camaraderie, "who you're with", enhances the fun. Overall, skiing is truly out standing...
Alpine skiing is an Act of Dynamic Standing. Skating, side stepping and the Charleston (don't ask!) are intermittent acts at best, whereas standing is what we do 99+ percent of the time when skiing, ignoring the time we spend sitting on chair lifts. Dynamic standing means moving while standing, and comprises balance, posture and timing. To focus the discussion let's zero in on just one aspect, the 'where' of standing. Otherwise, it'll take a whole book (already written!).
Where is 'where'? Is it the middle of the hill, in the trees, in the village, at the bar? These are 'where' in terms of location, but the important 'where' is in terms of sensation, agony of da feet notwithstanding, as sore feet and ill-fitting boots will undo even the most compelled in their efforts to ski with grace and balance. How should my weight feel on the soles of my feet? What should I feel from my boots to know I am balanced? Where do I want to feel the 'center' of my weight, particularly in the fore and aft direction?
There are different schools of thought on this topic. After all, skiing is an individual sport with unique combinations of strength, flexibility and coordination at play. At times, I've been instructed to adjust my 'where' during each turn: to feel the center of my weight towards my forefoot early in the turn and towards my heel late in the turn. I have also had muted discussions with other experts who say they try to avoid any such fore to aft shift in where their weight is centered. While there's no one 'right way', seeking to understand the rewards and risks of a given approach is part of seeking to understand skiing better. How strong and steady should things feel turn to turn? Should skiing be that age-old tongue-in-cheek prescription 'a continuum of controlled falls and recoveries'? Should we teach for strong and steady, or teach a (potentially disruptive) fore to aft balance shift with each turn?
I go with simplicity on this one. I admit to striving throughout turn and transition for a steady and unchanging fore-aft weight distribution along the soles of my feet. Maybe I'm lazy, but I find it easier to both do and teach this approach, provided that my students can actually feel their feet, but that's another whole topic!
My goal is to feel my weight 50:50 on the balls and heels of my feet, and pressure from my boot cuffs steady at 50:50 on my shins and calves. Balancing with an even and steady weight distribution along the soles of my feet tells me that I am centered. Furthermore, having my weight engaged along the full surface area of my feet helps me balance while being rocked by underfoot turbulence as my skis slide over uneven snow. Notably, I try to balance solely on my feet (ahem) and to rely as little as possible on my boots for support.
As I ski turn to turn, the pressure on my feet changes dramatically side-to-side, and my total weight swings between zero and upwards of three times my stationary weight. However, any change in pressure in the fore and aft direction, other than me failing to stay balanced, is due only to bumps and ripples in the snow surface, rather than due to me purposefully pressing into my boot cuffs at some point in the turn cycle. A 'keep-it-centered-and-steady' goal means that any pressure change from my boot cuffs serves as early warning of an impending 'out-of-balance' development. Earlier warning means easier correction. Stiffer boots help in this regard too, plus a centered, athletic stance.
So now you know 'where' I stand.
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