All Grip, No Slip Skiing

“All Grip, No Slip Skiing” is as much of a state of mind as it is proper body position.  The edges on our skis are designed to grip, cut and hold on the slope.  They are sharp and should be used as a tool for fine-tuning your experience on the mountain.

At my “All Terrain Skiing” camps at Kilington, Big Sky, Val D Isere France I encourage skiers to “Stand against the Mountain”. What does this mean?  It means lean out and away from the slope, which can be a bit scary but remember your skies are designed for this.  As you lean out and away from the slope move your body to the inside of the turn and allow your skis to move out and away from your body. This will provide proper body position in the not only the arc of the turn but also in the transition because your feet will move under your hips keeping you in balance and moving you forward towards the next turn.

Unfortunately too many advanced and expert skiers use their edges as a last ditch effort to slow down, which produces the ski to skid and or chatter. So many times skiers in my clinics will feel their edges for the first time and think they did something wrong because the feeling was so different from their normal sliding or skiing turn.

The reason you want to stand against the mountain is that edge grip provides skiers the confidence to arc their skis on steep and firm conditions. Skiing requires the skier to be proactive in movement and the faster the more you have to anticipate your movements.  A ski racer once told me that, “Ski Technique can be summed up this way, keep your body moving forward, down the hill and fight to keep up with your skis.”

So where does this leave the skier who does not want to ski as fast as a ski racer?  The answer remains the same, move your body forward and over your feet for “All Grip, No Slip Skiing.”  Speed control is in the grip and the grip is in proper body position.  The better position, the better the grip and the better the grip the more control you’ll have.