How To Ski Moguls - How To Stay In Balance

control | balance | tactics

Observation: If you start a turn in balance ... and you (as the skier) do not do anything to throw yourself out of balance ... then you will end the turn in balance. What does this mean? And, how do we achieve good balance?

Answer: It means, "don't blame your out--of-balance condition on the mountain". Consistently good balance is achieved when the skier uses a movement pattern and ski technique that is designed to result in good balance.  Good technique trumps whatever the mountain and snow conditions are.

Paint Cans And Broomsticks As A Metaphor

Visualize for a moment a 5-gallon can of paint, centered on top of, and balanced on, a vertical broomstick. It is a heavy mass with a high center of gravity. As long as the broomstick is quiet and in a totally vertical position the can of paint is stable. However, if the broomstick is moved slightly off center, the force of gravity will act on the can of paint and pull the paint can out of balance. To get the paint can back in balance you would need to move the broomstick back to center. However, it would be very difficult to stop a moving paint can at the perfect vertical position on the broomstick. More likely, the inertia from the paint can would move the can past center and then gravity would pull the paint can out of balance on the opposite side. I think you get the picture. Once the paint can moves out of balance and goes "in play" it starts oscillating as you attempt to get it back in balance.

Now, imagine the paint can as your torso and the broomstick as your legs and feet. Once your torso (center of mass) goes "in play" - moves out of balance off your base of support (your feet) - it will start oscillating as you try and get back in balance. So, it it is important to not let your torso become in play and out of balance.

Any time you: rotate or twist your torso; or have unnecessarily arm motion; or move your hips (including getting in the back seat); or make an abrupt movement of the torso away from a balanced position, you run a high risk of throwing yourself out of balance.

Great skiers have a common trait.

Great skiers have a common trait. They make patient turns and use slow, subtle movements. When they ski it is hard to discern that they are moving their muscles to make a turn. They have a quiet upper body and quiet hands. This quietness facilitates great balance. There are no abrupt movements.

Note: if you are out on the mountain and hand-select ten skiers who you think have really great form, each of those skiers will likely all have one thing in common. That commonality will be the absence of any abrupt movements. Their "paint cans" will not be "in play".

Achieving And Maintaining Great Balance

Achieving balance, and remaining in balance while you are in motion throughout each turn, requires that you first stabilize and balance your torso over your base of support (your feet) at turn initiation ... and then, keep your torso and arms quiet throughout the turn so that balance is consistently maintained.

Another way to look at this is that balance and control is won or lost in the first three feet of each turn. If you don't set up the turn correctly then you run the risk of losing both balance and control. What you do in the very beginning of the turn is key to the success of the entire turn. Therefore, the key is to make a patient (quiet) turn.

The ability to initiate slow, controlled and PATIENT TURNS is essential to good skiing (and particularly to good bump and powder skiing) because it enables you to start each turn in a balanced position, keep balanced during the turn and finish the turn in balance.