World of Skiing:

Carving

    
You got yourself some new shape skis and you’re getting into the full-on carving, I’ve got some ideas today to give you a cleaner start.

The first point is basic. Get your feet apart. Wide enough apart that you can get a volleyball in between them.

Then with your feet apart, focus on carving and generating pressure in the top half of the turn, releasing in the bottom half of the turn. And that may be a slightly different rhythm for you. If you’re new to this full on carving feeling, what you might be used to doing is generating pressure in the bottom half of the turn, and really applying the pressure at the bottom. When you start carving full on 100% with the new shape skis you want to back that up in the curve. You want the maximum pressure to develop in the top half.

Now, in order to get that early pressure you want to think about riding on the heel, tipping the skis over, riding on the heel, not the plastic. What will really help you get that feeling is get those feet apart.

Once again, increase the pressure in the top half, decrease the pressure in the bottom half. Extend in the top half, flex in the bottom half. This may be a little different rhythm than you’re used to using. Increase the pressure in the beginning of the turn, decrease the pressure in the end of the turn. And what that does is, that decrease helps to bring the skis up underneath and out the other side and you can switch your edges over and you’re on to the next turn carvin’ them up.

Give that a try, and I hope it works for you.