Carving Like Movements Off Piste!!

[jbotti]

Here is some more ski ****!! Again Japanese skiers but this is recent. This some very nice skiing on steeps in fresh snow. These guys are all using carving like movements with a deep flexion release and carved (not necessarily edge locked) short radius turns. Great Stuff!! Now I am really dying to ski!!

The two vids have similar beginnings but they second half is different. Enjoy!!

[Gary]

Sweet videos J....

Some thing that all great skiers skiing that kind of terrain have in common....dynamic use of the uphill ski uphill edge, float in transition between turns and the precise timing of the pole plant. They are just ripn' 

The slow motion shots tell all......Man....tha t stuff sure do get one fired up!

Thanks J.
G

[Ron]

but does he use wicking underwear

[LivingProof]

JB - Some great video, thanks for sharing. Damn, it's only Sept, but, summer is finally over.

I find Japanese video, at least what I've seen via internet posting, to be different in that very smooth technique seems featured rather than the stoke skiing more common in US video. The slow motion plus the softer background music just seems to celebrate good technical skiing. I've seen other video of their competitions where technique and style is the criteria for winning and that's something we don't see on this side of the Pacific. I'm sure there's some high stoke skiing video from Japan

As video is worth more than a few pics, this skiing is what I'd love to look like. Maybe in my next life...

[Gary]

Hey Michael....you're not that far away....

AND those conditions were absolutely mint!

Keep the desire......

G

[Ron]

there are no perfect turns! Especially in off-piste.

[jbotti]

LP, yeah, that skiing looks actually pretty easy, but both of us know how hard it is to ski that way. They are so technically sound that they make it look easy. The one thing that I can say is that I worked very hard for years on my race carving technique and in the past few years? I have worked very hard on being able to do non edge locked carved Short radius turns using high flexion as the release (essentially what we see being done on the video). The success that I have had off piste with this suggests that skiing that holds up in steep terrain using this technique is available to us all!! I do think that more than half the problem is solved when you know what to do and more importantly, what to practice so that one has the skills necessary to ski difficult terrain well.

[Gary]

Very meaty Mr. Botti....very 

please splain "non edge locked carved short radius turns using high flexion as the release"....so does that mean that there are no hard edge sets but using migrating edges pressure of the 4 edges of the skis for speed managemnet and turn shape. AND....extending the body down the mountain during the turn transition, the float, coming from a compressed position (momment of maximum pressure to the edges)  to long and tall in the transition.


Please splain your magical words so that this steel trap mind of mine can comprehend oh masterful one.....I live to understand! 
             
G

[jbotti]

Non edge locked carving is essentially carving using very high edge angles on the inside ski (lots of LTE tipping) , but keeping the angle on the outside ski at a much lower angle so it will not edge lock and track. It will actually lightly brush through the turn. This gives incredible speed control and a greater ability to exit the turn (edge locked can be hard to exit mid turn especially off piste whe the terrain is not uniform). This greater ability to exit the turn, allows for SRT's in steeper terrain at speed. Essentially the brushing acts as a mild speed deterent , but really what controls the speed is the short radius nature of the turns as each one blocks speed from building up. The flexion aspect is using the flexing of the legs (knees bent deeply) as a means to release the ski. This is simply following the physics of motion. If you wnat to go faster on a cat track, the sure fire way is to get in a tuck. In this position you are taking pressure off your edges (you are also getting your weight back). Hence with less friction you move down the fallline faster. The same thing happens when you bend the knees in transition. The edge presusre is released (you also move back some on the ski which releases any tip pressure) therefore the skis are in the best position to transition to the the new set of edges. In this type of turn this is accomplsihed by the tipping of the LTE of the new inside ski and holding back from engagement of the new BTE. Some angle will naturally occur on the new downhill ski, buit I actively hold back the adge angle. This produces a brushed carved turn that will release at any moment. It also allows carving movements in off piste terrain, as shown in the videos.

[Gary]

I see...I find I keep both skis at matched angles after I tip, release and recentering to the uphill ski,? up hill edge....the turn shape for me is controlled with the amount of pressure applied to the edges as sequenced.

I might find myself most compressed just as I pole touch down the fall line, release the uphill ski uphill LT edge and my body extends, the skis transition to the float, BTE to LTE, transition again from uphill edge uphill ski, pole touch, release by tipping, flatten, start again.

I think I see some similarities...gott a get out and make some turns with ya this season!

I luv this stiff...."just go ski"....oh yeah! 

G

[Ron]

I see...I find I keep both skis at matched angles after I tip, release and recentering to the uphill ski,? up hill edge....the turn shape for me is controlled with the amount of pressure applied to the edges as sequenced.

I might find myself most compressed just as I pole touch down the fall line, release the uphill ski uphill LT edge and my body extends, the skis transition to the float, BTE to LTE, transition again from uphill edge uphill ski, pole touch, release by tipping, flatten, start again.

I think I see some similarities...gott a get out and make some turns with ya this season!

I luv this stiff...."just go ski"....oh yeah!?

G

you have to release both edges,,,,

[jbotti]

I agree on releasing both edges and in general that is what I? do. I will say that the really advanced move off piste or in steeps is to actually hold onto the LTE from the existing turn longer, while at the same time releasing the downhill ski from the same turn (stance ski). If you actually do this and then tip the old stance ski while the other ski is still on it's LTE, you have a slight moment of bowleggedness and this creates amazing control. This is actually what I work on when doing SRT's on groomed terrain. If you get it right, you can ski any pitch with amazing control and more importantly, you can never get BTE happy, where the new stance ski (BTE) is beating the other ski into engagement (the dreaded stem) which is what kills most intermediate, advanced and aspiring experts in difficult terrain.

Writing all of this has been helping me formulate my gameplan on snow as I enter this season so this is proving to be very valuable for me. The more I think all of this through the more I remember what I have been working on and what I need to keep improving with. Now all I need is some snow!!

[Ron]

not saying that doesnt work or disagreeing at all, but if you simply release both edges, in conjunction with the pole plant leading the body towards the new direction (forwardagonally) gravity takes over and the turns are effortless, (skis are now flat for the most part; allowing the them to turn/drift/pivot with little resistance) keeping both skis on the snow and setting edges in accordance to turn and speed (articulating ankles moving both skis on edge equally) does the rest. everything moves as one.? ?

[Gary]

Like the proverbial bowling ball rolling down the mountain....

Yes.....does the bowling ball choose where it wished to make turns?

Ah....I need to light a candle and meditate! 
                 
G

[jim-ratliff]

Like the proverbial bowling ball rolling down the mountain....

Yes.....does the bowling ball choose where it wished to make turns?

Ah....I need to light a candle and meditate!?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
G

Yeah, but the bowling ball also doesn't have legs that, without flexing to get out of the way, can stop/block the rolling activity.

and, YES, the bowling ball chooses where it wishes to make turns.? It chooses to never fight gravity and always follow the pull of "The Force" and make turns all the time.? We choose to fight gravity most of the time and assign a new name to that point where we "give in" to gravity.? We call it transition?