ImprovingSki Turn Transitions: Smoother Skiing Techniques

No two ski spins are exactly like each other; each combines twisting and tipping techniques to produce the intended outcome. Every turn, however, begins with a change into the fall line, and it is here that you want to maximise your performance. Consider the transition as a phase that links two apexes. On a range of ground and snow conditions, mastery of this coordinated series of motions lays the groundwork for stability, control, and grace.

1. Work on your downhill leg

A change in body weight can improve stability as the hill steepens. Keeping the downhill leg fully extended and weighted assists one to get this. By spreading the braking force throughout the legs, this flexing action reduces knee stress and enhances control. It also gets the legs ready for the greater dynamic movement shown in the extended, eccentric muscular contraction of downhill running. As the skiers in the video above show, flexing the downhill leg can also pre-position the new uphill ski such that minimum vertical motion is needed to start a turn. This produces better capacity to safely negotiate the fall line and a smoother change between corners. Many call this method the pedal turn. Many slalom tactics depend on it as a basic component.

2. Stretch the upward limb

Although this seems contradictory, lengthening the uphill leg will help you obtain the necessary float for a good ski turn. Extending the leg rapidly tyres muscles and requires a lot of energy. Your applied force is significantly smaller if you flex your leg. For this reason, a smaller transition is more effective in preventing the unwelcome turning of the feet while flat on snow (see Oversteering). Since angular momentum will be kept to a minimum, it also helps you to more precisely control centripetal force. For a neat edge change and the movement of balance to the new outer ski, this is absolutely vital. It also demands a strong and seamless apex. This makes a strong and steady uphill leg quite vital.

3. Place the Pole

Planting the pole aids with new turn balance. A good pole plant happens when a skier expects a fresh curve. As the skier approaches the new turn, the snow pushes forward the pole so the skier may make contact with the new edge and start their arc. A good pole plant also facilitates the coordination of the legs' flexing towards the next edge transition. Key to PMTS technique is bending the legs when you switch edges. This synchronising lets the momentum of the new turn assist you to go on the edge faster and more naturally. Especially in mogues and steeps, it also makes it far simpler to keep your shoulders level with the fall line. Consider a falcon as it soars; its wing tips turn.

4. Change Your Weight

Your weight should be gently shifted over the skis at the start of each new turn to enable easy engagement of the edges. Considered a "release transfer," this can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Often the best approach is to just flex your legs and let your body slide into the fresh turn while you keep guiding. This helps to prevent a significant rotational muscle input, which can throw off the transition and lower the speed you can achieve with every next spin. Athletes that apply the release transfer will almost not touch their skis at this point (except from momentarily to determine a new LTE). This is a means of extracting best performance from the turn, not a "jam".

5. Give the Apex top priority

Strong transitions into the following turn depend on a good apex. The point the skis point straight down the fall line defines the apex. Beginning at the finish phase of the current turn, the change between apexes proceeds into the beginning of the next one. Create large angles in preparation for pressure—both ski angle and body angulation—to attain a great apex. Applying pressure too soon can stop your edging, compromise edge engagement, and most likely cause a skid. This apex-oriented approach will help you to regulate your path by making your turns more rounded and tighter radius, thereby enhancing your speed. Try a stem christie to develop this; bend at the knees and unweight the skis to guide them.