Ski Carving - Body Positioning

The concept of Ski Carving originated in Alpine Snowboarding in Europe during the later part of the 1980s. Then the Ski industry got inspired by it and now, more and more skiers are learning the joys of Ski Carving. However, being a fairly new concept, many skiers commit mistakes in Ski Carving such as positioning the body in the wrong way. In this section, we will look at some problem areas and guidelines in proper positioning of the body when carving:

Ideally, skiers go from turn to turn together with their hips, knees, and feet at the same distance apart. However, at the initiation part of the turn, some skiers cannot make clean and smooth crossovers because their knees are not positioned correctly. They are either too close together or positioned too far apart. Here are some problem areas on why skiers fail to make turns correctly:

• A- Frame
  In the Snowplough position, skiers position their knees inside their feet most of the time. Likewise, skiers work, steer, pressure, and focus on their downhill ski and legs as they learn how to Ski parallel. This causes many skiers to have an inside leg that is less effective than the outer leg, resulting to a slower time in leaving the knee positioning in an A-frame.


• Edge Platform
  Another problem is not having edge platform that is strong enough to press against as well as give support towards the end of the turn. When this happens, the outer Ski tends to break away and leaves you with your knees closer together compared to your feet.

To unblock your inner leg during the initiation phase of the turn, follow these guidelines:

• You can unlock the A-frame that hinders you to make smooth crossovers at your turn initiation by getting rid of your Ski Poles for a couple of runs. Without the Ski Poles, you can now use your free hand to encourage the leg which blocks the turn to move across.


• In making the turn, put your hand gently inside your leg and pull it across. Do this for a couple of times.


• You can now get your Ski Poles and stay conscious of your inner leg.

It is always important to keep awareness with your body, especially from your hips down to your feet. Doing so will make you focus on your knees and legs when performing turns.

A cross-over is part of a turn wherein your body needs to move across the Skis to tilt them on the new edge. The cross-over begins at the end of a turn, and then, as the name implies, crosses over the Skis until such time that they tilt onto the new edges before starting another turn. You need to have a positive cross-over since it can provide a strong edge hold before making a turn.

It is very important to focus on certain body parts in order to ensure an unblocked and smooth cross-over. For example, many skiers are not able to get the full use of their hips when making turns and cross-over. You should know where and when to move your hips. In this section, we will look at some guidelines on how to get the full use of your hips when carving:

• Look for some terrain where the slope is clear and wide enough that will allow you to go across and make turns.


• When you already found the area, begin to traverse across the slope. When you are close to that point when you will be starting your turn, place your hand slowly at the side of your hip facing uphill. Apply some pressure against it. The direction of this pressure is similar to where you want your hips to go in a turn, that is, across your Skis in order to aid you in changing onto the new edges for another new turn.


• Begin with a gentle turn shape which is close in the fall-line on an even slope. Start the turn increasingly across the fall-line.

Make sure to concentrate on key areas of your body in order to make a smooth turn. With continuous practice, together with a lot of confidence, skill, and patience, you will be able to get used to positioning your body to avoid blocks and make smooth turns.

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