Commitment To The Turn Is Important To Maintain Balance

Commitment Is Required To Maintain Dynamic Balance When Skiing Mogul And Powder Terrain

If you are a Boomer and want to ski slowly and in control in moguls and powder it is essential to stay balanced over your feet.

When you start a turn and your skis begin to accelerate down the hill you need to keep your center of mass balanced over your feet. In order for this to happen your body must make an active commitment to the new turn or you run the risk of becoming out-of-balance.

As you initiate a turn your skis will begin to point down the fall line and accelerate and gain speed. If you do not anticipate this acceleration then your skis will run out in front of you and your balance point (center of mass) will be behind your feet (a.k.a. in the "back seat"). At this point, you end up exerting a lot of energy fighting to get back in balance - which facilitates both fatigue and burning quads - or falling. Neither option is desirable.

To keep yourself in balance as the skis accelerate there are several commitment actions that you can take.

Here are actions you can take to make a commitment to the next turn:

(1) move your hips over your feet into the direction of the new turn.

(2) maintain shin pressure against the tongue of your ski boots.

(3) keep your hands out in front of you rather than letting them drop down by your hips.

(4) roll your knuckles down toward the snow which tends to move you forward, and

(5) you may also optionally use a pole touch to cue the start of the turn which will move your torso into the turn.