Achieving Better Balance

We hear a lot in skiing about the concept of "weight transfer". We don't like this term. You will find yourself becoming a much more effective skier if you replace the words "weight transfer" with "balance transfer". Skiing is not about transferring weight. Skiing is a balance sport and what you really want to do is transfer your balance. If you think good balance is important on groomed runs, good balance is MUCH more important in 3 dimensional terrain where you find moguls and powder. Think "balance" transfer rather than "weight" transfer and you will become a better skier.

We previously mentioned how a narrow stance improves balance in moguls and powder because of the greater likelihood that both feet will be on the same consistency of snow. Another important benefit of a narrow stance is that it makes it easier to step to, and increase the weight on, the uphill ski prior to initiating a turn.

Most skiers incorrectly believe that they need substantial forward momentum in order to initiate a turn. Not true. You can easily make a turn from a dead stop merely by flattening your skis on the snow and by extending your legs and torso into the direction of the turn that you want to make. When you discover that you can make a turn without a lot of forward momentum, your anxiety drops, you become more relaxed and you will make more patient turns - which facilitates your ability to stay in balance ... particularly in the bumps.

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

Most skiers believe that you are always supposed to ski in a forward direction.

However, let us offer a different perspective. I spend a great deal of my time alternating between skiing forward, sideways and backward. The direction you ski doesn't really matter as long as you remain in balance. By using a flatter ski (smaller edge angle on the snow) I can drift sideways. Or I can point my ski tips high in the fall line which will cause me to ski backward.