Dynamic Carving in 3 days | How To Ski Progression For Carving

Is it possible to transform your skiing and make dynamic carved turns like the pros? I believe so and I’m going to show you how with this first step in a 6 part series. This video follows Ski coach Tom Gellie and student Emma who he had never met before and their process of transforming Emma’s Carved Ski turns. You will learn about the importance of feeling inclination at the top of your turns and feeling for your skis “cutting” into the snow to give you a platform. The 5 videos in the series that follow this can be found at BigPictureSkiing.com along with a full library of content designed to help change every aspect of your skiing. This is the goal. Give people all around the world access to quality “how to ski” content so they can improve their skiing anywhere, anytime and at their own pace. Many of the Big Picture Skiing members are finding that having a fresh perspective on how to ski and also a deep understanding of what is occurring in your body during a ski turn is making their ski goals come true. If you liked this video than I think you will enjoy the rest of the series and all the other content that grows every month.
If you liked this lesson and want to see the next 5 lessons with Emma on her way to achieving dynamic carving in 3 days, visit us at bigpictureskiing.com/programs...
Thanks for your time and please feel free to comment below if this video changed the way you think about your skiing!
Tom Gellie

[@ShalomBrother]

It doesn’t matter what side of the globe your on, there’s always a boarder or 10 sat in the middle of the piste 🤣

[@MrDogonjon]

Where I live we call them gapers.... there are good snowboarders... then there a lot of good people who really want it but they will become gapers instead... please be kind to gapers... they don't know... when they are gaping.

[@mattibe06]

I'm sorry, but it seems like people don't use their brains anymore. It feels like the world is doomed and there's no hope left.

[@GlennSacks]

22:40 I'm really glad that you added the distinction between how counter is more desirable in the short radius turn, and that you don't need quite as much of it in a medium radius turn. You closed the loop well on that piece of information. There has definitely been a strong emphasis in the past decade, since I have been teaching, to keep the zipper down the hill at all times, and only in the past couple of seasons have I heard more direction from the top of the ski instructor ranks to back off of having so much counter, especial in the initiation of a medium or longer radius turn. It is still there, but it is at an appropriate magnitude for any given turn.

[@catherinecapek9321]

Excellent breakdown of carving technique. The client was able to understand exactly what she was supposed to FEEL and it showed in her progression-well done Tom! Your Instructing the client; then making sure interpretation is correctly understood and felt with execution, repetition and feedback (chairlift and repeat) sure made Emma look like a rock star on the slopes!

[@clipwatch100]

Things noted -Hip inside the skis -looser pelvis movements -Calmer upper body angulation Awesome!

[@jamesnasmith984]

The breakdown of motions is so patiently attended to in such a way as to produce a unified flow when put together. Very instructive.

[@hampus7474]

Currently 17 years old and have been going skiing with almost once every year for a little over 10 years of my life. Never really tried getting better these last two years (after not skiing for maybe 3 years) I’ve really been itching to improve. I’ve watched upwards of 10 different channels but none have described the moments in such an intuitive and deep manner such as you. Incredible stuff and thank you!

[@robmorrel7163]

I'm a french carte pro holder, been teaching for 34yrs. Good progression and I agree with the techniques used. Transition from old school teaching to new school carving can be tricky, but is definitely worth it. Just as a side note, I use finishing turn edges flattening off allowing the skis to enter the fall line then gradually using ankles and knees to set new edges. Use an easy gradient for this, I have had many year snowploghers to parallel in less than 1hr. No stem turns required 😊😊😊😊

[@bartoszbudziewski2396]

The idea of showing the learner's progress, what the next phases of making progress look like and her feedback on how it feels to her is outstanding.

[@hondajacka2]

The skiing from before and after looks so much better

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Emma improved a lot over the three days!

[@carolevilleneuve7411]

Wow, so inspiring, well explained and illustrated. Now I can't wait to get on the slopes.

[@MarrymeStevenTyler]

This has helped me start actually making railroad tracks the past two days!!! Finally. I know I watched this before but this time it finally clicked. My ski iq has consistently been up by 15 points but I still have a way to go.

[@rickrussell6188]

Most excellent video... Emma really came alive in her skiing. The instruction at 20.20 in the video you really show what happens when you start the turn by unwinding and still being on the old edges and hindering the cross over, rather than going to the new edges to start the next turn. The light bulb really goes off for Emma when she puts some of what I call the 2/4/2 edge change without allowing a twist of the skis toward the fall line which is so common for folks sking. You so nicely guided her to this same conclusion.... Emma's reaction to this last step was priceless for a ski instructor " mush easier and smother ". A real breakthrough moment for Emma. I really enjoy your video's ... Thanks

[@gallen54]

Thanks, Tom. Loved the connection you make between conscious intentions and outcomes. I've certainly found this to be true when coaching and teaching here in Canada. And your take on the uses of technology in teaching and the importance of body awareness to help effect changes more accurately an quicker has been inspiring. Looking forward to incorporating CARV into my own development this year and just took up Pilates. Keep the good stuff coming.

[@rajdeeprao4290]

This video is phenomenal! Thanks SO MUCH for putting this out there! @tom 🙌

[@myopenmind527]

Such an intelligent and motivated student. Must be a pleasure to teach

[@Superdupergrim]

What's cooler is that I'm trying this by leaning on a wall at home and it also works. I used my hips too much and never felt that knees pressing down until doing this exercise. This is GOLD>

[@SortaDopeIGuess]

Wish you were teaching in the east coast. At one time, I felt like your techniques were logical and came to similiar conclusions but watching other so called experts and listening to peers veered me away and worsened my techniques that would increase pain or injury. Rolling ankles and knees to extreme levels in awkward tall stances never made sense and I assumed knee injury was par for the course. Thank you for re-enlightening me again and using logical biomechanics for skiing !

[@shanejohnson2702]

Love the way you think and speak. Going to try this with my next 3 day lesson. They are actually broken up over 5 days. Hope to see you at DV Utah again....saw you a couple years back but didn't get to say hi. 🤘

[@wallstreetoneil]

Found your channel from your recent new boot fitter video which was excellent. I can relate a lot to this video personally. I grew up playing a lifetime of competitive ice hockey - so I at least have a history of knowing about edges. That said, even with people trying to kill me on ice, the ice is flat, so while I thought, and was able, to get down any ski-hill using my edge control, the ability to carve was something my brain completely resisted - I now know, that it was my brain saying NO to the speed that comes with carving - I would skid out my skis always to slow down. I can tell you the day, the run (on a moderate Blue hill chasing my ex-pro lady), that my mind just said f-it, and I carved the turn to keep up with her - it was a mental choice to say, I don't give a shyt, I'm just going to do it. I can also relate a similar but bizarrely different, but similar, car track-day on a racetrack driving a fast car story, that I had to make the same decision - that it was ok NOT to brake, and just keep the throttle flat and deal with any car rotation that happened in a very scary fast corner situation - it was the situation that made me make the choice. To teach people to carve (and go faster), you really need to go back to almost baby hills to MAKE them keep the edge in - so that their brain doesn't reject the speed that follows. You did a great job with Emma - but my 2cents is that 80% of the initial conversation should be discussing the mental block/resisting to speed/danger that is happening. Learning skiers already know this personally, without actually being able to express it (fear) - so my personal feedback is that this should be a major part of the initial conversation - they know they are skidding out their skies to slow down - their brain is making them do it out of fear and self-preservation. I would embrace this fact head-on, and state that, in addition to everything that was taught, we know that this is something that is actually happening. Love the channel.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Thanks Paul, Some great insights into your own journey. The fear thing gets discussed with emma over the coming days I ski with her. What’s interesting though is in step 5 she says she’s not afraid anymore to go fast. And it’s not from me saying go faster it’s from other elements that make her feel comfortable. So otherside of the coin here in this one particular case. Thanks for the support and your comment I think a lot of people will be helped by it being on this video. Tom

[@kuanjuliu]

I rather like Tom's method of just giving Emma the tools, and letting her discover that the fear melts away. I had nearly the same experiences as you did. In my case, my first cathartic moment was when my legs were so burnt out that I just let myself go the final run - surely, falling could not be more painful than telling my quads to skid one more time. That's when I discovered that speed does not necessarily diminish confidence. Still, it was years later that I really felt my edges for the first time and was able to follow another skier down at 50+ mph with full confidence. But even then, those were massive GS-style turns: I was still missing what Tom has taught Emma here, and in the other video with Paula. So despite knowing for years that my poor form was due to my fear of speed, not having the tools was still debilitating. Thanks to Tom's instruction here and elsewhere, I look forward to this coming season's slopes like a ravenous beast. For one thing, I can't have my own children learn my bad habits!

[@shannaveganamcinnis-hurd405]

You have just described me. Especially on ice.

[@ardenpowers7730]

Less pivot . . . more pressure with cross over . . . more mileage. Most skiers would really benefit from pre-season training in the gym !! Great to see success !!

[@maxb5640]

Fantastic tips. Thank you! You are an amazing teacher

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Thanks Max. I hope the tips help you

[@andrewnash1098]

Awsome Video Tom and Emma! 😁

[@peterhouck1193]

Great teaching and student advancement, good vid to show progression from comfortable skier to confident car error.😁🖖

[@yuurishibuya4797]

I will experiment it out and then come back to give you a 👍🏻.

[@sercanbekar102]

Well , to be honest I could never found this part of skii instructions anywhere as I also feel pretty much in the position of Emma. So it is really helpful , I've been always trying to increase my edge angles but looks like it comes with a lot sweety changes and it feels a lot better. Thanks Tom, very good video.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

You’re welcome

[@user-ev8zc5ke8y]

this is enormously helpful 👍 👍 👍

[@meiocheng817]

Nice, reminded me of my sister! Mostly, I have to remind her to take a more athletic stance, less upright. That gives her just a tad more leg extension for angulation for better carving, and less upright skidding.

[@ilipika4105]

Amazing! you are such a good teacher!

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Wow, thank you!

[@brucejespersen3306]

I really liked your video and as with anything there’s more than one right way to ski as you can see in the comments but I think yours is clearly one that is eye-opening and gives a fantastic approach to some phenomenal technical skiing…. I will be signing up at your website and look forward to what you have to teach

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Thanks Bruce. Look forward to hearing more from you when you check out the rest of the library

[@dasalpengluhen1747]

Some things fit together a few weeks later 😉 What you explained in „Sub-Talar joint motion in skiing“ is nothing else than what you explain and teach here. At least we need separation of the lower body to be able to rotate the lower leg forward and inside without rotation of the hip or pushing the hip inside. We all heard skiing teachers talk about „move the knees to the center of the turn“ but no one says that the lower leg also have to rotate to do that.

[@MrMoiseyeff]

Super! Thanks 😊

[@L0VSKY]

Awesome! Thanks for posting!

[@Bigpictureskiing]

No worries. What did you think?

[@L0VSKY]

The explanation of the correct direction of the pelvis - I see people achieve a kind of angulation in a blocked stance where they are in fact countered, without free knee movement. This exercise is a great explainer of what feeling goes with the correct move. In the end the FEELING is the constant teacher. Thanks again!

[@shawnradtke7506]

Tom really impressive you were very lucky to have a client that is so kinesthetically aware. It took my best clients Damm near five years to figure out dynamic carving. Great tips, I'll definitely use some these this coming season.

[@philliptoone]

Yes, I wonder if she is a dancer. Dancers tend to have more kinesthetic awareness than other athletes who are more likely to rely on athleticism for their particular sport.

[@claudiochisani4120]

Great explanation and exercise to ingrain the feeling! Thanks Tom! Does it feel like move is initiated by the hip rotating in the socket pushing the shins to bend parallel towards the snow?

[@roblipton9121]

I like the stationary work here, kudos. I also focus on angulation, "big toe, little toe" and independent leg movement, as well as pressing your shin into the tongue of your downhill ski. Another issue is that as you age, and maybe, just maybe had a few injuries from ski racing, angulation becomes increasingly less acute, you two are young'uns, really getting that hip to the snow becomes ever more elusive, thank god for shaped skis, and Ted Ligety is perhaps the best example, he pioneered the really heavy angulation to carry speed, but guess what, he had inevitable back problems that made that much more difficult at the end of his career. That being said, any kind of decent angulation will let you ski on rails, big or small turns. One question, where is all this new "bow-legged" technique coming from? Seems like people are trying to do a shortcut and think carving means focusing on both legs at the same time, knees wider than the feet or so it seems.

[@andrewnash1098]

love a ski with you, stuck in CV19 x5 Melbourne... hopefully this weekend!!!

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Hoping you get to go skiing too! I’m in Sydney still was supposed to be at thredbo for two weeks but this lockdown is brutal!

[@TG-pd3ft]

1:15 the weather improved too lol. That can make a huge difference with punter level skiers like this

[@rieksschippers5207]

Super nice Tom.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Thanks mate 😊

[@lpja2326]

Just spent 3 weeks of March in my neck of the woods( Norther Italy) , I've skied about 5 times. I've tried to do drills , practice what I see in your videos BUT , I still think it's not enough to learn the technique properly , a few lessons with an instructor is necessary , you need somebody to see what you do wrong and correct it. Must come to Thredbo and book a few lessons with you .🙏

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Did you get video of yourself?

[@lpja2326]

@@Bigpictureskiing Sort of , my cousin took one but I was a bit far, not really edging much. I've notice it's hard to transition from the old school of skiing (parallel skis, learned to ski in 1980 ) to carving. It's like you have to re-learn how to ski from scratch. Lots of practice needed, not easy in Australia though , the distance to ski resorts , the average conditions and the cost of skiing , doesn't help unfortunately. The place I'm from it's 60/90 minutes to some of the biggest ski resorts in Europe, not live there anymore though 😄 . I'm not giving up, all your videos are extremely useful. Thanks for posting.🙏

[@philippefagnant1841]

Really nice vid,i offten find that my best runs are the one where my body is totaly relax and i just allow my hip to move and feel like i am weithless.I just open my hips and try to stay center on my core if that make sens?

[@stevie5903]

Very informative and obvious visual improvement, hope she got you a few pints for your efforts 😊 Would be great to see the same pupil on short radius turns and her improvement from day 1 to day 3. Thanks and keep posting

[@Bigpictureskiing]

That was supposed to be on the cards…..thanks to the uncertainty of the world right now might not happen. Fingers crossed it changes soon

[@orizontteilluminacion8598]

@@Bigpictureskiing hi Tom, where do you teach?

[@Bigpictureskiing]

@@orizontteilluminacion8598 only via online coaching. I make videos like these using people I run into at the resort

[@orizontteilluminacion8598]

@@Bigpictureskiing thanks but which resort we should go to run into you?

[@Bigpictureskiing]

@@orizontteilluminacion8598 it changes as my home is Sydney so I travel around to different places.

[@fysalides1]

Thanx for the videos and yr efforts to give us helpful tips. However could you pls comment on riser plates under bindings. Are the useful??

[@Bigpictureskiing]

They are useful. It will make carving much easier because of the leverage

[@IMP3TIGO]

Emma's camerawork is much better than Tom's. Great video though, can't wait to try this out next time out.

[@korean_life19]

Please introduce about how to use ski sticks in short lessons. No body talk about that... waiting for the like that video.. thanks you so much ..❤❤

[@dasalpengluhen1747]

Impressing idea to start the evolution to toppling and using the downhill force instead of rising the COM. It helps to make the (somehow too theoretically) „moving in the direction of the new turn“ much more palpable. As well as how to start edging. Looking forward to the following videos. 👍

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Cheers Das. The following videos in the series will only be viewable on bigpictureskiing.com and they are already available. This is just a sample to show how I teach, how I explain and how I get results.

[@MrDogonjon]

You like big impressive evolutionary words. I like to mock words of such expiditioious standards. I prefer countered to localized baryonic compaction... Counterbary.= local frame of reference.... when in motion creating "compaction satisfaction"... Dynamic Counterbary...= inertial frame of reference...freefall... wit and levity rule over gravity.

[@dasalpengluhen1747]

@@MrDogonjon Try to say this in german and I tell you, which german words might have been more incisive 😉

[@pumori2]

@@MrDogonjon The key words are wit and levity😊. Levitation is better but it is too long🙂

[@mwong000]

I am keenly interested in early edging. As you cross under with your feet, your feet are naturally in the 3 or 9 o' clock positions. Yet I notice that you are able to start edging BEFORE those positions -- 5 and 7 o' clock positions. How does that happen?

[@youtoob5104]

Does anyone know what that neck gaiter / warmer that goes over the ski instructors chin is. It’s seen when he’s on the lift. Curious of who makes it and what it is… I figured some ski pros on here would know

[@MWLS1]

Nice, but why do you hold your poles inverted on the lift?

[@jkirby0181]

What was funny…at 6:20+/- the Blue Coat comes by with 7 trailers😂

[@SmartMoneyReviews]

Id be happy just to ski like her

[@vickyhoak3714]

how do I get three days of skiing lessons with you? I am 55 and would love to improve. I am athletic and ski for a few weeks every year in Colorado.

[@andrewdiamond2697]

10:15 Ski like Elvis. I'm just not entirely sure if it's Pressley or Costello.

[@tnkl9230]

Where is this place?

[@jans8659]

It's impressive 👍, but only first part is available on KZbin 😥

[@flyingstud]

You have to pay on his website to get the remainder

[@jans8659]

@@flyingstud ... to get th 2nd part off this instruction

[@YH-et6ym]

I saw your vids on the importance of arches in skiing. as a flat footed skier, what would you advise me to focus on?

[@joconnell]

Just got some custom orthotics before season start and my one foot balance feels waaaaay better. Gonna be really interesting to see if I can be lighter on my inside ski now!

[@tommoritz6659]

Tom - can you up the levels when you are recording your voice overs? I have the video audio and my computer audio at 100% and I have a hard time hearing this part of your videos. No problem hearing your on-slope audio. Emma's audio is also difficult to hear.

[@theozhang0203]

Her legs are not too tight together when she makes carving?

[@kuanjuliu]

In the exercise where you "lean against the wall" onto your poles, which leg gets the most pressure, if not both equally? In the past when I've tried that exercise, I ended up almost standing up on the downhill leg, which has obvious bad consequences for the subsequent turn. But when I practice indoors leaning against a wall, the most relaxed position is achieved with almost all the pressure on the far (uphill/future downhill) leg, which if correct would be mindblowing to me!

[@Ava-zm9sw]

The drill is to practice initiation, if your weight is going onto your downhill foot (the new inside foot), you may be extending off that foot to much as opposed to relaxing into the poles. Your weight should naturally go to the new outside ski in order to support you if you aren’t standing off the new inside foot. Your new inside knee should be mostly relaxed, the leg not taking more than 30% or so of your body weight.

[@Lindar6063]

It is Very interesting but the music is TOO loud, I missed many comments. In fact the music is not necessary at all (if I may) thanks

[@bluffgubben]

Great work, really helpful to a lot of people. Keep up the good work. But the next step is for her to close the gap between the goggles and the helmet, she got a grand canyon thing going on.

[@jordanrichard8122]

这位女士的中级平行式脚下功夫还可以，主要是上肢的姿态问题，收的太紧，另外没有抖手腕动态点杖，姿势显僵硬

[@karengleason4791]

Geez where is this? Way too many people!

[@dj_617]

Great work, Tom. Massive improvement. Too bad JB is allowed here. You are a sport that you take him seriously but any effort to explain him anything is futile. To quote Basil Fawlty: “it is easier to train a monkey”.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Love Basil Faulty hahaha

[@JB91710]

At what point are you going to tell be where and how I am wrong in ANYTHING I said and even tell me where and how he was right? All you did is your usual Kiss Up of one of your heroes. Aren't you capable of talking ski teaching? " but any effort to explain him anything is futile." and not surprisingly, you didn't try.

[@dj_617]

@@JB91710 many people called you out on your terrible demonstration on YT. You have no ability to learn. In the end the girl skis better than you. You are a joke. A dad joke.

[@JB91710]

@@dj_617 You still can't tell me where I am wrong any more than anyone else can. Just Saying I'm wrong is for children dj.

[@dj_617]

@@JB91710 I did many times and so did many others: leaning into turns, no edge grip, tails slipping away, straight legs, etc etc. 70’s skiing. You ski like a snowboarder. I skied more or less like you do when I returned to skiing more than a decade ago. That is until a trained (so unlike you) instructor showed me how it is done on carved skis.

[@naomipenguzman]

I wish you were my neighbor. I need help so bad.

[@tony49douglas]

Sound quality is awful - can't tell what Emma is saying and only part of what the instructor is saying.

[@skifan.2014]

Для русских зрителей. На этом этапе обучения используйте короткие лыжи. Все обучение, снизу, начало поворота, стопа, не выставив таз, который двигаться должен к центру поворота, бесполезно, как в ролике идти дальше. Динамика в карвинге связана с вертикальной работой, которая в апексе, максимальна, и идет от лыжи. И так же идет к центру поворота, именно она и заставляет таз двигаться к центру. Много букв можно написать, но амбициозная цель, динамический карвинг, не достигнута. Пока один пассив...😪

[@Bigpictureskiing]

I’ll leave the proof of the work shown here to be shown in the results after three half days of coaching.

[@MrCcnyone306]

That’ll be $2,000 please

[@MrDogonjon]

You can't look that much like a level II ski instructor without having been drilled on vertical motion in the late 90's. A more skillful skier made the before demo sandbagging to demonstrate level II affects. Either that or a very athletic person caught wind of good info and took it to heart. Both are good scenarios staged or rare both are unrealistic to average progressive expectations.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Emma is quite an athletic person. I say that in the intro. No sandbagging here. My whole goal with being a coach is to exceed expectations.

[@doBobro]

I was lucky to get a wonderful instructor this November. Same story like Emma, may be a bit of more aggressive skiing. But same body position and very pronounced lift to lightweight skis. After 2 days I felt a huge progress. After 6 days it was completely another skiing.

[@oxoTn1k]

Music is really irritating and only distracts from speech.

[@anthonysears871]

Neither have any foot awareness. Just upper bidy movements. Typical! Ugh😝

[@markmd9]

That is not interesting when you show a pupil what to do and she does it right at first try. I want to see you talking someone skiing plow and teaching him carving in 3 days 😆

[@doBobro]

You know it's impossible. There are too many saddle things to grasp while beginners are constantly coping with fear and coordination issues.

[@JB91710]

That knee leaning to the sides is Not what you think about. Doing that forces your weight directly to the inside foot. You can Clearly see that when either of you demonstrate it. When you ski you do Not do that. Therefore, you aren't teaching what you are doing. Stand up next to your chair. Face your upper body to your left/down the hill, and balance on your left foot. Now quickly take your weight off your left foot and watch what happens. You fall to the left or down the hill. Your right leg leans over and you're on the arch of your foot which with skis on, would allow them to turn. That, is what you think about. The positioning of your upper body as you change your weight from your downhill to your uphill foot to start a new turn. So what is the key to skiing? Face where you want to go which is down the hill and practice balancing on one foot after the other. 22:50 The critical thing in her skiing which you aren't focusing on is, a vertical upper body which "Is" facing down the hill while she concentrates on getting off her downhill ski to start the turn. An economy of motion. With that, the skis will make the turn. If you don't face and lean down the hill, you won't fall down the hill. If you don't fall down the hill, the leg angle won't change and the ski won't roll over. It doesn't take much and it is hardly seen but you Have to think like that and do it.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

I guess the thing with this is we will never know if how you explain it or how I explain and teach it is more effective.

[@normalizedaudio2481]

I'm working on edge angle on the inside edge. Deb Armstrong says to ski through the turn vs. constantly forward weighting. Don't over do facing down the hill.

[@JB91710]

@@normalizedaudio2481 "Ski through the turn" doesn't describe or teach anything. The front part of the skis by design are what bend and create the arc or radius of the turn along with your distribution of weight along the length of he skis. Where you stand on the skis and where you position your upper body at the beginning of a turn and all through the turn, determines how much and where your ski bends and how much of it is on the edge. Your body position on skis is like the gas and brake pedals of your car. The more towards the rear you stand, the faster you will go because you have taken the weight off your ski tips and they can't bend. The farther forward, the slower you will go because your weight will be over the tips, they will bend more and the unweighted tails will just slide around. You don't always face and lean down the hill. You face and lean in your "General Direction of Travel." If you are making Slalom, or linked turns, your general direction of travel is straight down the hill. If you are making Giant Slalom turns, your general direction of travel is from one side to the other. BUT! When you want to Start a new turn, you want to look and face down the hill as you get off your downhill foot so your pelvis and upper body can fall down the hill which changes your uphill leg angle which makes the ski roll over so it can turn. "You think and make turns from your eyes down, not from your feet up." If you are trying to roll your feet over, there is no guarantee your upper body will be in the right position to allow your skis to turn and rolling your skis over will ALWAYS force your weight onto the inside foot which you should be getting off of. Stand up next to your chair. Face your upper body to your left/down the hill and balance on your left foot. Now, JUST roll your ankles over towards your left. Did your weight stay on your left foot or change to your right foot? If you don't consciously change your 3weight from your downhill to your uphill foot and allow gravity to work for you naturally, your skis won't turn. Now THAT is what explains what skiing is in words that you can remember and think about.

[@JB91710]

@@Bigpictureskiing You showed people what your lower legs Look Like when you do other things that you didn't explain clearly enough. Where was the weight change in this video? 3:30 The Last thing you should think about is your ski's contact with the snow. When you do what "I say" you then monitor the speed of the turn. If you are going too fast, you need to lean forward and down the hill more. If you are turning to quickly, you back those things off. When you steer a car, are you thinking about the tires and steering mechanism or do you think about what the car needs from you which is rotating the steering wheel and applying gas or braking? 4:30 At this point you should just tell her to get off her left foot. because she is facing and leaning down the hill and balanced on that left foot, she will fall down the hill like cutting a wedge in a tree. Her pelvis will fall over which changes the leg angle which rolls the righty ski over. Recreationally skiers don't need so much attention to their lower body. They don't need that much leg angle to make their slower turns. They just need to be balanced on the correct ski at the correct time. Just, rolling your ankles over won't get them on the correct foot. P.S. You can't roll your ankles over when your feet are in ski boots. What you are referring to is rotating your knees so your kneecaps are pointing down the hill like flashlights guiding your way. 8:50 What you say she Should be doing, is what she SHOULDN'T be doing. What you say she IS doing, she Should be doing. What you show will force her weight to stay on that downhill foot. It will trap it there. Be leaning the hip into the turn as you think about getting off that downhill foot will allow her to get off it. 10:20 Her knee's will last one season if she were to focus on this. 12:00 Do you see her bending or twisting her knees sideways to make these turns? Nope! What she is doing is facing in the direction she wants to go, which is down the hill, as she changes her weight from her downhill to uphill foot. She is NOT turning her skis, her skis are turning her feet. Notice how her hip and upper body are vertical and placed in the fall line as her skis go from side to side and then look at her leg angle. It's the positioning of her body in one location, down the hill, that creates the leg ankle as the skis take her feet from side to side. Nothing about bending your knees to the sides or anywhere but forward. 13:00 Now imagine her upper body is sliding down a cable that runs from top to bottom and is going through her stomach. She just focuses on staying on that cable as she changes her weight from downhill to uphill foot as the skis pass under her. 14:20 In this run she is aggressively leaning her upper body and knees down the hill which heavily loads the tips while the unweighted tails slide around. Her focus beyond that is changing her weight from foot to foot. How can you tell? Because there is no splitting of the skis as one turns while the other lags behind. "Get off the left, get off the right." 20:50 She starts in a traverse. Now watch her wind up her upper body to face down the hill and then she gets off her downhill foot. Watch her forcing her chest to face down the hill just before the weight change. Skiing is nothing but facing where you want to go while you balance from one foot to the other. So, practice balancing on one foot/arch in traverses to build up your muscles and confidence. All you have to do is tell her to face and lean down the hill and get off her downhill foot. Momentum, gravity and the ski design will do the rest.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

@@JB91710 driving a car and driving a pair of skis perhaps quite different in so many ways especially when you think about traction. So I don’t feel that equating those two in this case is a good example. And if it was that simple everyone who drives a car would be an amazing skier. Not sure I see it that way.

[@coolgiga]

Great video instructions! 👍⛷🍷

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Thanks 🙏

[@kuanjuliu]

That free knee pivot rings SO many bells. For years I could achieve a slightly better "bite" with my ski tips if I imagined rotating my big toe "into" the snow, but that always seemed like forcing the matter. I'm quite a bit duck-footed, particularly on my left foot, so I thought maybe that's the way it was always going to be. Allowing my knees to pivot freely sounds like a far more effective and relaxed method to achieving more tilt. Hope springs forth again!

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Let me know after trying it how you go

[@kuanjuliu]

​@@Bigpictureskiing I just got back from Loon in NH, where I spent 99% of my time following my kiddlies. Nevertheless, "unlocking" the free knee pivot was immediately effective in tuning the turn radius, presumably by varying the edge angle. Brilliantly, I found I could freely switch it anywhere from off to VERY on, without any appreciable effect on my balance. There was no additional effort: it was actually a bit scary how instantly I could tighten up the carve. Mind. Blown. Yet, freeing up the knees was just the symptom. The real difficulty was trying to "unlock" it in the first place! Thanks to this and some of your other videos, I found it most helpful to be attentive to the brevity of "being forward" to prevent over-pivoting, as well as "edging patience" during toppling so that I could observe my balance and avoid mistakenly transferring it to the inside ski. Unfortunately, I have no videos to show for myself, but after one section where I knew I had "got it" a lady skiing past shouted "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!". I've never had anyone ever say that about my skiing, so I imagine it must've looked at least decent. So: thanks. Going to take a look at Big Picture Skiing now ....

[@Bigpictureskiing]

@@kuanjuliu that’s something else isn’t it. When a stranger compliments you on your skiing something is going right. Well done 👍