Bulgaria Ski discussion board

"Up hill skiHi all,

I have just finished my 6 lessons and I'm going from the top on the dry slopes,, the small problem I keep having is the uphill ski keeps digging in and not following the turning ski..

I had a 2 hour session on my own today and was trying to sort this small problem which I seem to have overcome in my own way, I'm just asking if anyone has a tip to stop this from happening or is it a dry slope thing?.

thanks guys"

Hi Gary..

This is very common with beginners, and is amplified by the dendex dryslope surface... Your problem is that you are not committing your weight to the turning ski, that is the downhill ski, and in leaving your uphill ski weighted it attempts to turn when in contact with the mat. You will find the situation better on snow as you will find that the uphill ski has less effect, and likely (in fact for certain) you will be travelling faster and in that your weight will be thrown more to the turning ski as you initiate and complete your turn. Dryslopes are a great learning surface as they will pick up very quickly any small problems with your technique. I can suggest an exercise that may overcome this problem and head you in the right direction. I'm assuming your at a level that has you stepping into your turn and completing by coming together into parallel (stem christi) ?
Appreciate that this is an exercise, so don't concern yourself to much on how it looks... initiate the turn in the normal manner by stepping out the turning ski, pressure and edge the ski to start to turn, as you start to turn make a concious effort to lift the other ski, the tail is normally enough, this will commit your weight to the turning ski, and bring together as normal whilst the inside ski is still unweighted. Start with quite large turns and carry a little bit of speed, and increase the tightness of the turns as you gain more confidence.. Try to maintain a low body position, angulated with arms spread, bent knees and ankles... all of this will give you a better balance and allow you to react quicker to any adjustments you need to make.. appreciating that in the exercise you will effectively be balancing on one ski through the turn, the need being to centre your weight over the turning ski Good luck