Skiing Tip - Extend Your Torso In The Direction Of The Turn

When you initiate a turn you want to extend (extend legs to stand tall) but it is important that you simultaneously extend and move your torso and upper body down the hill in the direction of the turn. If you extend straight up vertically you will likely find yourself in the back seat and out of balance. Why?

The answer is simple. If the hill has a downward slope and you extend vertically then the skis will be at a downward angle but your body will remain perpendicular to vertical. If you diagram that you will quickly see that there will be a larger angle between the tip of the skis and your body than there is between your body and the tail of the skis. By definition that means that you are in the back seat with excessive weight on the tails of your skis. That means that you will be out of balance and it will be harder to initiate turns.

The bottom line: commit to making each turn by extending your upper body downhill toward the turn rather than just extending vertically. You want to remain approximately perpendicular to the angle of the slope directly underneath your feet and skis.

And, think about this ... if you are turning on a mogul then it is important to be perpendicular to the angle on the back side of each individual mogul rather than the overall angle of the run you are skiing.

To your success in becoming a better mogul and powder skier.