Should we always edge our skis, or should we also learn to use less edge for different situations?
Your ability to ski steep and narrow terrain in control very much depends on how well you have developed skiing with less 'edge tilt'.
If you skid your skis across the direction of travel and then apply more edge tilt, your skis will travel forwards cutting across the slope. Now imagine skiing in a narrow 'corridor', this is not so help-full, as you will just keep hitting the sides every time you edge too much.
The following video shows a simple and effective exercise that develops some very important skills for skiing steep and narrow slopes.
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Upper body / leg separation for rotation (upper body must face down the hill for narrow width skiing)
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Flat ski skills (Flatter skis helps when we need to pivot our skis)
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A full range of movement for leg rotation (pivoting the skis on the snow to end up with skis across the slope)
The video follows in sequence to show how the exercise would fit into skiing a more direct controlled line over steep and narrow terrain.
By Mark Gear and Simon Halliwell from All Mountain Performance in Chamonix.
Mark and Simon run courses for improving off piste skiing with daily video feedback.
