Did you come here from a cached version of this page? See page bottom for latest version.
This site is not associated with any ski area. Use of any page
means you accept our
Site Use Agreement or
EXIT NOW.
"SKIING
IS A SLIDING SPORT":
Conventional Skiing Wisdoms (CSW's)
by
Bill Jones, Ski Instructor
Certified Professional Ski Instructor (Registration #110478)
CSW # 27:
"I use the snowplow and/or a stem for control."
These are great maneuvers and
essential parts of virtually all skiers' skill pools. On steeper slopes,
however, they are harder and sometimes nearly impossible to perform.
Learn to make turns with skis parallel to manage more conditions, but
never forget the snowplow and stem.
Why is parallel more
effective on steeper slopes and higher speeds? A ski that is edged is
where most of skiing control comes from, for the properly edged ski
slices into the snow to turn us as it is designed to do or we brush it
across the snow to create friction to slow us or change our direction.
On gentler slopes both skis can be tilted up on their edges but on
steeper ones the uphill ski, even though held by our bodies the same
way, cannot engage its edge in the snow. This is just geometry. But on
these steeper slopes if we hold our skis parallel to each other, we can
tilt both so both their edges engage the snow. We have just doubled our
control! It is also true that the snowplow or stemmed position is not a
natural one for human anatomy and so our legs cannot be used to their
full strength when so oriented. With parallel legs, however, we maximize
our strength. For success on the mountain, learn parallel skiing, even
though you will keep the snowplow and stem for many occasions.
main CSW contents
prior CSW #26: "Carved turns are best"
next "CSW #99: "What is your favorite conventional ski wisdom?"
"SKIING
IS A SLIDING SPORT"--a skiing web manual:
Skiing Web Manual Contents
Why Read This Skiing Web Manual That
First Lesson
A Little Skiing History
Motion in Skiing
CONVENTIONAL SKIING WISDOMS
Skier Excuses
Fear in Skiing
Conditioning for Skiing
Equipment and Technique
Skiing Equipment
How
Skis Work
How to Develop Balance on Skis
A Skiing
Turn Simplified
Tactics for Terrains and Snow Textures and Racing
Skiing Tips and Tales--a
potpourri
Exercises for Developing Skiing Skills
Children and Skiing
Age and Skiing
Gender and Skiing
Culture & Skiing
Skiing Ethics and Survival Slope Safety
Skiing Environment Glossary
Acknowledgements
SkiMyBest Website Contents
This "CSW #27: 'I use the snowplow...'" page last
modified
02/03/2012 01:38:50 PM. Did you come here from a cached page? For latest version, copy to your browser: www.SkiMyBest.com\skiCSW27.htm
Copyright © 2012 William R Jones. | 
How
To Reserve a Private Ski Lesson with Bill Jones
Ski Slope Ratings
Skier Skill Levels 1-9 Skiing as a Career
Lnks to Skiing Websites
The Colorado Winter Outdoors
Skiing Discussion Forum
BOOKS and VIDEOS
Skiing Humor A dedication... 