SKI Lesson: 3 Levels of CARVING

since the advent of the modern carving ski the ultimate goal for almost every skier has been to learn how to carve the holy grail of alpine ski hi my name is tom from TVP racing combining ski instruction with race coaching and in this video I will explain in simple words and display with easy-to-follow demos how to carve using my three skill level concept basic intermediate and advanced let's get started [Music] level one basically go linking card turns when we are carving it's important that we dropped the urge to initiate each turn by manually turning pointing pivoting our feet and skis in the direction we want to turn instead we should lean in the direction we want to turn and wait pray for our skis to slowly start turning rule number one it's not you turning the skis it's the skis turning you so why should we trust our skis to start turning the secret lies in the shape of the skis they have a built in turn radius they are wide at the tip and the tail and narrow at the waist so whenever they are gliding forwards and tipped on edge they will turn all by themselves it's almost like magic the first time it happens drill number one the cross-country double pole push drill take a shoulder wide stance and push yourself forwards across a mildly slanted slope much like in cross-country skiing do this in both directions back and forth for as many times needed the success of your carving will be written in the tracks you leave behind in the snow you don't need to use any force or exaggerated tipping and edging movements at this stage because your skis are automatically tipped on edge when you are gliding falls diagonally across a slanted slope just keep your weight centered in the fourth plane and lean slightly sideways out over your outside ski your body should form a mild C shape with more weight on your downhill ski in ski racing we call this position the banana drill number two fishhooks instead of pushing yourself forwards across the slope start out more in the fall line as you do this drill back and forth across the hill gradually point your skis further and further down in the fall line at the start be aware of other people on the same slope as they will not expect you to be turning uphill into oncoming traffic drill number three Ark to Ark laying down railroad tracks when you are comfortable with arcing back and forth across the hill it's time to start linking your fish hooks into properly carved turns we call these turns art to arc as you go from one arc to another start out in the fall line and tip your skis on edge like you did in the fishhook drill but as you come out of your first arc instead of continuing across the slope until you stop roll your skis from their uphill edges to their downhill edges be sure to roll your skis on to their new edges before you slow down too much as you need to keep your speed up repeat these movements in a relaxed and controlled manner turning back and forth across the slope congratulations you are now carving arc to arc no skidding pivoting or drifting if you look back at your tracks they should resemble railroad tracks snaking down the hill remember stay on easy terrain and practice these turns as much and as often as you can that's what we do every chance we get [Music] level to intermediate go confident carving on easier and medium difficult trails carving is like driving a sports car without brakes and in order not to be a danger to yourself and others you need some sort of speed control you need to pick a line that compensates for excessive time in the fall line by also taking you further across the slope as you come out of a turn this way you check your speed after each turn it's called skiing the slow line fast so be prepared to ski a lot faster than before but take the long way home as our speed increases so must also our overall skill level and there is no other type of skiing where the four skills of balance edging rotation and pressure blend as dynamically as in carving we are now going to look at two drills that will not only greatly improve on your skill level but also assign each leg its own specific task the basic rule is use your inside leg to flex and tip into the turn use your outside leg to balance against the forces your stance width should be fairly narrow rather than overly wide and in the fourth plane you should adapt to a forward oriented centered stance at the transition between turns stand tall with your hips in front val ting your center of mass up and over your skis into the new turn this is a cross over transition it's also sometimes called an inside leg extension transition drill number four the javelin turn while carving on a very easy cruller at the end of a turn pick your downhill outside ski up off the snow and place it diagonally over your uphill ski so that the tips overlap but no more tip it at the same time into the turn while firmly holding it back against your new outside ski boot you want one solid package with both skis close to each other angulate and counter at the hip and keep your shoulder lined level at the end of the turn place the lifted ski back onto the snow and repeat the same movements in the other direction drill number five parallel shins for this next drill you need to ditch your ski poles for a while place your inside hand on the outside of your inside knee and apply pressure the natural response of your inside leg muscles will be to resist this force and push your inside knee back in the opposite direction towards the inside of the turn this drill will activate the outside abductors of your inside leg and help keep your inside ski engaged and carving check out my video on how to read a framing for a more in-depth lesson on the topic of parallel shins and how to read a framing link here above level three advanced expert ski goal being able to carve on any type of groomer and in icy conditions most coaches and instructors will tell you to stand tall through the transition even I did so earlier in this video however at level three and beyond I will tell you the complete opposite I will tell you to be in the back seat more precisely I will tell you to attack out of a low position if you look at advanced skiers such as World Cup racers it's easy to see that they hardly ever come up higher in the transition than the infamous toilet seat position so why a low position because the fastest way to move your center of mass from one turn to another is using a cross under transition at the end of the turn release the outside ski by retracting it up off the snow as your hips move into the new turn your skis will instantly be tipped on edge and start the new turn vaulting your center of mass up and over like in a cross over transition is too slow drill number six flexing through transition form any flexing through the transition is counter intuitive as it is the complete opposite from what they are used to they need to read the habit of always extending to start a turn start out by skiing across the hill in a squatted flexed position with your arms down low as you start tipping into the turn extend your legs gradually at the end of the turn flex back into a low position a typical mistake in this trail is that you don't Bend from your knees you need to bend both at the knees and at your waist when done correctly the result will be surprisingly big edge angles and tight turns drill number seven the double pole drag another great drill for staying low is carving down a moderately steep slope while dragging both of your ski poles in the snow on each side grab your ski poles the other way around for proper form this will teach you many things but for mostly to stay low through the transition with a leveled shoulder line and keeping all the action in your legs drill number eight short turns in short turns we keep our upper body traveling straight down in the fall line while our legs cross back and forth underneath here we need to initiate our turns by rotating our femurs to crank our knees back and forth from side to side this is a great drill for activating our knees and feet and creating separation between our upper and lower body these turns are also commonly referred to as retraction turn pivot entry turns for extremely steep slopes such as European blacks or American double black diamonds carving art to arc can get brutally dangerous skiing the slow line fast and tightening itched locked car turns to the max out of an extremely low position may just not be good enough solution the pivot entry turn widely used on racing tracks in the World Cup but also very useful for recreational expert skiers on steep groomers let's take a look at Chris carving down a very steep black run in the Alps instead of simply tipping his skis on edge at the top of the turn people into the fall line and then hooks them up in an edged lock car for the rest of the turn the pivot entry serves two purposes it tightens your turns as you manually pivot and turn your skis into the fall line for a more direct line and at the same time you scrub some speed off for the time your skis are skidding sideways across the slope in this video we have merely just scratched the surface of carving but hopefully inspired you to take your skiing to the next level that's all folks hope you have enjoyed this lesson please subscribe hit that notification bellow and share and give it thumbs up if you found this video worthwhile of watching also please leave a comment in the commentary section below stay tuned for more videos like this in the near future carves safely and see you out on the slopes [Music]

Channel: Triggerboy62

Views: 864,622

Keywords: winter, snow, ski, skiing, ice, steep, basic, intermediate, advanced, expert, lesson, coaching, instruction, instructional, carving, best, parallel, turning, balance, edging, rotation, pressure, skills, fun, voice over, english, level, levels, drills, tips, skis, javelin, arc2arc, pivot, entry, double pole, x-country, skidding, lappland, levi, himos, noux, gaschurn, montafon, nova stoba, snowing, stindberg, atomic, poc, skiservice, carrot, tom, tdk, chris, kenneth, sony, FDR AX700, FDR, AX, 700, 53, dave ryding, slow line fast, ile, retraction

Id: vaPDpU1_OrU

Length: 17min 35sec (1055 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 28 2020