Swing Turn

The basic swing turn is a natural progression from the snowplough and stem turns, enabling you to cope with higher speeds and steeper terrain. It is initiated in the same way, but the skis are brought together, or matched, during the turn. This allows you to complete the turn with a parallel skid, controlling your speed without the effort involved in a snowplough.

The name 'basic swing' covers a variety of turns, depending on the exact point at which the skis are matched. As you gain familiarity, you will be able to introduce the parallel skid earlier and earlier.

In North America, basic swings are known as wedge or elementary christies (any turn that involves skidding is called a christie). Whatever the name, it is an extremely versatile turn: mastering the basic swing will give you the freedom of your ski area and lay the groundwork for parallel turns and more advanced ski techniques.

Many skiers progress naturally into the basic swing as they perform snowplough or stem turns with more speed. In a fast snowplough or stem turn, your inside ski is almost unweighted and flat on the snow. Allow it to drift in, parallel to your outside ski, and the result is a basic swing turn.

Start in a shallow traverse in the standard traverse stance.	Push out both skis into a gliding snowplough.	Sink slightly and steer your skis into the fall line, edging your outside ski strongly and allowing the pressure to shift off your inside ski.
Bring your inside ski parallel to your outside ski.	Continue the turn in a controlled, parallel skid. Keep the pressure firmly on your outside ski.	Rise back up into the standard traverse position ready for the next turn.

Tips

• The secret to matching your skis lies in allowing the pressure to transfer fully to the outside ski. If you are still encountering difficulties, try lifting your inside heel and pivoting the ski about its tip.
• The skidded stage should feel similar to sideslipping: balance against the edges of your skis as they skid over the snow. This means allowing your skis to move to the outside of the turn, while your weight follows a shorter path. This is called angulation, of which more later.
• Avoid using your shoulders to initiate the turn. Start the turn by steering with your feet, and your skis will do all the work for you.
• Don't worry about your poles. This form of basic swing does not have a sharp initiation, so a pole plant is not yet necessary.
• As you gain in confidence, cut out the traverse between turns. Get into a rhythm: rise and plough, match and sink.

Exercises

• Can you lift your inside ski as you match and keep it off the snow until the turn is complete? This is the real test of whether you are transferring pressure effectively to the outside ski.
• Match your skis earlier in the turn. Can you bring them together before they reach the fall line?

Swing Stop

Until now, one of your most pressing concerns has probably been how to stop. The basic swing stop is quick and effective. Starting with a basic swing turn away from the fall line, bring your skis rapidly across your direction of travel and skid to a halt using your uphill edges.

The easiest way to learn the basic swing stop is to try it first from a shallow traverse. Once you have mastered this, set off in steeper and steeper traverses, until you can stop from the fall line.

Begin a basic swing turn uphill (away from the fall line).	Flex down and match your skis, using a strong rotation of the feet, legs and pelvis to turn them across your direction of travel.	Remain flexed as you skid to a stop, balancing against the braking resistance of your uphill edges.

TIPS

• Before attempting the basic swing stop, you should be comfortable with sideslipping and the basic swing turn.
• Your skis must be brought across the direction of travel rapidly, or you will end up turning, not stopping.
• Make sure that you stay on your uphill edges throughout. Catching a downhill edge almost always results in a fall.
• As you come to rest, stand up and allow your body to catch up with your skis to avoid falling over towards the hill.
• Practise stopping to both right and left. Most skiers have one stronger side they naturally favour; the problem is, you may not always have the luxury of choice.
• Never stop above a group of people: you may misjudge your speed or hit a patch of ice, and the resulting accident will be totally your fault. In any case, the humour of showering everyone with snow is unoriginal.

Fear

Many beginners spend their first few days on skis in a paroxysm of fear; even more experienced skiers live through the occasional moment of terror.
A realistic fear of injury is useful: it is your body's protective mechanism at work. But more often, fear results simply from the unfamiliar surroundings or the feeling of sliding. This is unproductive. The way to learn is to concentrate on the sensations of your skiing, and fear blocks your ability to do this.

• Avoid slopes that are well beyond your capability.
• Stop before you become excessively tired
• Talk yourself down slopes that you know you can ski
• Be realistic about the consequences of a fall.
• Always take the time to look around and enjoy your surroundings.

Stem Turn

The uphill stem is an advanced variant of the basic swing that speeds up the initiation of the turn. This reduces the time spent in the fall line, and hence the acceleration you experience on steeper slopes. It is also less tiring, as it involves a less pronounced snowplough. In North America, it is known as a pointing christie.

Instead of performing the initial snowplough with both skis, you push only the uphill ski into a narrow half-snowplough, called a stem. This points your uphill ski into the turn. Shifting pressure onto your outside ski allows you to match your inside ski, and the turn can be completed very quickly with a parallel skid.

Since the uphill stem incorporates a distinct initiation (when the pressure is removed from the downhill ski), introducing a pole plant at this point can help with timing and balance.

The uphill stem turn can be performed at almost any speed. It will help you to develop many of the technical ingredients of advanced skiing: most importantly, quick edge changes and more subtle steering of the feet and legs. It can take your skiing a very long way; indeed, the step turn used by Alpine racers is a natural development of the uphill stem.

Begin in the standard traverse stance. Prepare to plant your downhill pole and push your unweighted uphill ski into a stem.		Plant your pole and transfer pressure to the stemmed outside ski while steering it towards the fall line.
Match your unweighted inside ski.		Complete the turn in a controlled, parallel skid. Keep the pressure firmly on your outside ski.
As you come round into the new traverse direction, rise back to the standard traverse stance ready to begin the next turn.

Poles

The pole is the most misunderstood and misused piece of ski equipment. Many skiers carry their poles without any real understanding of their use. Others use their poles in such a way that they hinder rather than help effective turning.

The "Steering Wheel" position: ready to plant the poles.

The Pole Plant

• Ensuring correct positioning of your body by moving your weight forwards and down the fall line.
• Providing stability by giving you an extra point of support as you transfer pressure from one ski to the other, and from one edge to the other.
• Acting as a trigger to time the beginning of your turn.

Carrying Your Poles

Classic faults include holding your poles behind your body where they are totally useless for any manoeuvre.

How To Plant Your Pole

More important than the force used is the movement with which you plant the pole. This begins with an anticipation phase, in which the downhill pole is angled forwards to point at the spot where it will be planted. The pole is planted with a movement from the wrist that brings the basket into contact with the snow; it is released similarly by a movement from the wrist as you pass. There should be very little involvement from the elbow and none at all from the shoulder.

When To Plant Your Pole

Exercise

Hold your arms in the 'steering wheel' position, then anticipate the coming pole plant.	Use a movement from the wrist to bring the basket into contact with the snow. Tense your arm momentarily to take the impact, but keep any movement of the arm to a minimum.
Keep your arm forward so the planted pole pivots about its basket as you ski past it.	Release the pole by continuing the movement from the wrist. You are back in the neutral, 'steering wheel' position.

First Moguls

Any slope that is used by a large number of skiers develops moguls, or bumps (the two terms are synonymous). The process starts when, by chance, a few skiers turn in the same place. They carve a gentle dip and create a tiny mound. Successive skiers find it easier to turn in the same place, and each scrapes out the dip a little more and pushes up the mound a little further. Soon the snow is sculpted into a series of pronounced bumps.

The uphill stem turn allows you to make your first sorties into this landscape. The key lies in timing your turn so that you take advantage of the terrain. Make your first attempts on isolated bumps on shallow slopes, before venturing into more difficult mogul fields. The uphill stem is a versatile turn and can be used in quite extreme bumps.

Begin in the standard traverse stance. Choose your mogul and approach the uphill face. Bring your pole forwards to anticipate the pole plant.	As you pass over the mogul, push your unweighted uphill ski into a stem and plant your pole.	Transfer pressure onto the stemmed ski, steering it towards the fall line. Release the pole as you pass it.	Match your inside ski. Flex down and complete the turn in a controlled, parallel skid down the far side of the mogul.	As you finish your turn, rise back up into the standard traverse stance and plot your route to the next turn.

TIPS

• Time your turn for the crest of the mogul. Stem too early and you will have to work hard to steer your skis; stem too late and you will be thrown off balance by passing over the crest of the mogul.
• Don't leave your pole planted for too long: this will pull your arm behind you and throw you off balance.
• Try to turn on every mogul. Once you miss one, your rhythm is ruined.

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All about moguls

Every good bumps run in the world breeds its own little clique of initiates. These are expert mogul skiers, who hug the fall line where normal skiers are forced into desperate traverses; absorb bumps that throw others into the air like rag dolls; and, most annoying of all, seem to be enjoying themselves. What is their secret?

Unfortunately, there is no single answer. Fall-line mogul skiing requires a reasonable level of strength and fitness, sound basic technique and good balance. Some specialized techniques will enable you to cope with the violent undulations in the terrain as you perform your turns. But equally importantly, you need the cognitive ability to read the terrain: expert mogul skiing depends on recognizing patterns in the moguls and responding quickly. It is this path-finding skill, rather than any technique, that can be most difficult to master.

In previous chapters, you have learnt how to cope with moguls; the emphasis has been more on survival than enjoyment. This chapter introduces fall line mogul skiing. And the real secret to mastering the bumps? Get out there and ski them!

As you hit each mogul use your hips, knees and ankles to absorb it and keep your arms in front of you at all times. Your centre of mass should follow a straight line.

Absorption

As you approach the crest of each mogul, intense pressure builds under your skis. When they pass over the mogul, this pressure is released and your skis may even lose contact with the snow. This causes great difficulty as you try to turn and control your speed. The solution lies in absorption.

By allowing your legs to flex under you as you ski over each mogul, you reduce the pressure between your skis and the snow. Once your skis have passed over the crest, extend your legs strongly, maintaining contact with the snow.

Exercise

Practise this next time you find yourself in an easy mogul field with a good safe run-out area. As you reach the last few bumps, let your skis run straight down the fall line. Keep your head and upper body calm while using your legs to smooth out the moguls. Allowing the moguls to flex your legs is fine, but you need to push down actively into the troughs to keep your skis on the snow. Notice how the force on your skis is also smoothed out.

Another good way to practise this is to traverse at a moderate speed or perform giant slalom turns through a mogul field (making sure first, of course, that the path is clear).

Keep your upper body from rising and falling as you pass over the moguls, and push your arms forwards as you absorb the bumps.

Tip

Your upper body must remain calm throughout, letting your legs absorb the mogul under you. Don't let yourself fold forwards from the waist.

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Schuss

As you start to experiment with higher speeds, you are ready to try a more advanced schuss position. The tuck, or egg, offers the optimum aerodynamic position, but still allows the use of the edges to steer. It is fun and fast but quite tiring for the thighs, back and neck. In addition, shock absorption is limited, and unexpected bumps and hollows can provide unpleasant surprises for the inexperienced.

Though not as fast as the tuck, the pike position is much less strenuous. It is especially useful for long, shallow schusses.	Use a neat, compact tuck to achieve a high-speed schuss.

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Skating

Skating offers a quick way to cross a flat area or climb a gentle rise. It is much faster than walking, though more tiring. Skating on skis is just like ice skating. If you are comfortable with herringbone climbing, you will find it easy: it is the same movement, with the introduction of a glide at the end of each step.

Lift one ski and plant both poles. Push on your poles and project the lifted ski diagonally outwards and forwards.	Transfer your weight onto the new ski and lift the other, ready for the next step.

Tips

• Don't stay too long on one ski. Maintain your momentum.
• Add power by bringing the lifted leg in before thrusting out for each step.
• If you find skating impossible, go back and revise your herringbone climbing.

Exercise

• Can you skate without using your poles? This ensures that you are transferring your weight correctly and using the power of your legs.

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