Early Pressure In A Ski Turn With Michaela Shiffrin - How Early Is It?

Pressure to the outside ski can be applied at a number of different moments in a ski turn. The desired outcome the skier is after will always effect when the pressure is applied and when the skier is “balanced over the outside ski”. What I wanted to share was a video of Michaela Shiffrin free skiing showing her ski tracks to demonstrate when the pressure would be applied to the edges and the snow. It is not at the moment when many folks think it is.
One thing I have come to appreciate in any elite level skier is an element of “floating” through the transition as opposed to be completely grounded or losing a lot of the contact and sense of the snow. This floating is look shows the skier has a great sense of how much energy is needed to help the centre of mass cross over their skis into the new turn. It also allows them to stay athletic in the transition and initiation giving them better access to using their hip joints, knee joints and feet to fine tune the top of the arc.
I hope this video helps some people that struggle with when and how much to pressure the new outside foot in their turns. It will also probably bring up more questions and possibly make you rethink other things you have taken for granted when being taught or trained by others. My goal is always to help people learn to think for themselves and see things from many perspectives. At the end of the day you are the one skiing and making the ultimate decisions on how to ski the mountain.

[@NovaRedBaron]

The main thing that I got from your analysis and watching the video is she is able to ski very relaxed. Many instructors talk about trying to feel like you are floating during the transition. Mikaela is able to do this effortlessly. Thanks for posting this. 👍

[@TAH1712]

for 'floating' I'm feeling 'flying'...a great analysis by Tom.

[@kaischulte9275]

Cool to watch the transition without her leaving and marks! Surprised to see how much pressure she puts on the inside skinnier the turn! Thanks for the video! Learned something today!

[@magnificoas388]

Thx for the video and comments :) You pointed out 1 important thing: you transfer weight from outside foot to the next BEFORE transition because you have to start from some ground pressure to do so. It is not just shifting your weight from one side to the other, you go forward at the same time. That is why M shows an orthodox centered position while floating.

[@davidborof607]

I really enjoyed this video! I thought it was a really good analysis that I personally found to be helpful. I felt like I had an "aha!" moment - - I love that feeling! Thank you for making this video and sharing it with us! Much success to you in your continued work!

[@EstebanNavarro-oc6pp]

She is using the rebound from the finishing phase of the turn to float to the next turn. Racers do not start the turn by early engagement of the outside ski; they go deep into the turn, getting into high angles slightly before the fall line. The tracks are not circular; they are parabolic.

[@MrArunasB]

Nice explanation of floating phase in the turn. I also expierienced same thing but couldnt understand that. Now when I know I can practice it to perfect it. Thanks for your videos.

[@lynnmiller5940]

I liked your visual of Michaela pressing forward from the ankle during the turn and the timing of when this happens.

[@davidbeazer9799]

Thanks for your insights Tom. Always good to hear from another legend, Jurij Franco, too!

[@Bigpictureskiing]

So great someone like Jurij can add to the video

[@otisregatoni617]

Great comments and tip { getting out early } about being patient Tom.

[@terrybarbour9760]

When will coaches and instructors stop using the word "pressure"! It's a scientific word that does not describe any actionable movements. We can't push against the clouds ----so there is no such thing as "early pressure" ---There is such thing as early balance over the skis and weight transfer. I hear "early pressure" all the time and the unknowing skiers are trying to press their skis into the snow. This does exactly what you stated---"they push themselves away from their skis" and get very stiff legs. To me it looks like Michaela is receiving energy "pressure" through edge angle, turn dynamics, and angulation. One of the reasons everyone loves skiing powder because of the floating feeling you can get between turns. Michaela proves we can get that feeling in any turn! Thank you for posting this video. I love hearing your observations!

[@Bigpictureskiing]

You know I tried for a while to not use the word pressure because as you said it’s load over area. But I couldn’t help myself after a while because the word to people gives a feeling or a sense of something. So therefore I don’t mind breaking the physics rules here because as a coach my job is to get people to feel a change or feel what’s happening so words that they can relate to for that are necessary. Glad you liked the video and hope the response as to why the word pressure is still used makes sense.

[@JB91710]

BINGO! Then vast majority of humans are Two Dimensional Reactors instead of Three Dimensional Thinkers. The see feet turning so they say, "Turn your feet" They feel pressure so they say, "Make pressure." They see legs at an angle so they say, "Tip your legs." Thanks Harold Harb for that genius description of what skiing Looks Like instead of teaching people how to ski. All they are doing is bring attention to what parts of the body look and feel like and call that teaching.

[@terrybarbour9760]

@@Bigpictureskiing You are way better than that! Use words like feel "heavy" --"loading"---support energy---energy from the turn---feel the mountain push into you---functional tension---engagement---resistance----all kinds of ways to describe ways to energize the turn so that "pressure is the outcome". I still say there will be more top racers if coaches stop saying "early pressure" and instead say "early balance and support" Most racers meet their potential too soon because their legs are too stiff from trying to pressure---vs pressure being an outcome of good flowing movements.

[@Osnosis]

@@terrybarbour9760 I would agree that terminology can be both a hindrance and a help, depending on the situation. An additional thing to note is that setting the edge (as MUST be done to start the new turn) is NOT the same as "pressuring" or "loading" the new outside ski. Mikaela definitely sets the edge early (cf Harald Harb), but then allows gravity and momentum to do their thing in bending the ski; this is how we learn to do relaxed (minimum required effort) skiing.

[@gallen54]

Thanks for your posting and the analysis as well as the many comments by others.Thought that this was a great video and for me a clear demonstration of how pressure can be used judiciously to help with the change in direction if produced at the apex of the turn (closer to being in the fall line rather than after) and not always as a means of decreasing or tightening up the radius (as when applied later in the arc). Also gave food for thought on how early a change needs to occur in terms of when the new edge(s) of the outside ski come into play (too early an edge change not always required or even counterproductive?). Have to remember that free skiing practice for racers should always involve preparation for the event so I believe that her technique here is not something separate from what she would do in competition but just modified by the environment. Sound about right?

[@dasalpengluhen1747]

A really nice analysis again. From my point of view: of course a "negative" starting point for giving pressure too early with the new outside foot is a too pronounced/strong extension. But some skiers give even more pressure in the transition than they are able to give counterpressure at the apex of the turn - and therefore they also push the hip inside too early and too hard. This is one of the main mistakes done by advanced skiers. The result ist, that the COM can´t be moved downhill and in the new turn correctly (toppling) - and the hip is pushed so much inside, that there is no chance to get counterpressure back on the outside ski when we need it. Learning effects are to maintain in a lower position, to be more patient and to let the downhill force work. We do not have to support it by giving pressure and pushing with the new outside foot in the transition already. Gravitation is strong enough 💪😉 I often hear other ski-instructors talk about "pressure" and the guests have wrong connotations. Therefore I prefer the terms "counterpressure" (the power that is needed to control the forces) and "moving the COM" (which may mean to use the forces as well as moving the weight over the feet).

[@JB91710]

How do you create everything you just said?

[@MOWFWDU]

Skiing with that bulky coat makes her look like a crazy lady but the way she leaves the snow between turns without any obvious effort is impressive and those turns are just ankle rolls. She is strong!

[@richarddavis748]

Jump at the end of the last turn to project your body towards the new turn

[@Sofia-nk1tx]

Thanks ❤️

[@marcosfernandezrapado2648]

Great explanation. Lots of Coaches insist in pressing as soon as possible the new outside ski and, in my opinion thats a mistake. Skiing is basicaly to place the skis in the position you need and press them. If you put preassure too early, its more difficult to place the ski properly. And its proved that if you do that, its more difficult to make closed carved turns that beeing more patient in the transitions.

[@jurijfranko9002]

Hi Tom! I beleieve we are missing another movement during transition. The key is to change lean angle (like on bike) from inside of first turn to inside of scond turn. To do that, torque must be applied to the body and inertia of the body should be as small as possible (J). Body in tucked position has lower inertia than extended body for the same torque and torque (axis of rotation is paralel to skis) is generated by edge grip at the very end of a previous turn. Ony when body of a skier is positioned in proper (inside) lean, edges can be applied to provide external force that will change direction of movment. Michaela is just 'bouncing of' snow surface a bit during lean angle change, tucking a bit to reduce inertia and therefore decrease time of transition.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Thanks for the additional information Jurij. Actually great to have left this out so you can add your knowledge to this video. I always learn something or sharpen my knowledge when you contribute. I particularly like the word “bouncing” off the snow surface a bit as that is exactly what I was seeing but this description is nice and simple.

[@AlpineMeister]

I'm with you but we wouldn't be having this conversation if we started from the platform. Every turn you have ever made involves moving the body over the skis. I move the body over the skis and stretch with my toes almost uphill if I could. This process always starts from a good 2 footed platform involves a moment of less weight on the flat of the ski and we get an edge change happening. Both legs extended with pretty similar pressure though your feet Voila. Every turn you ever made is established by the agressiveness of this move which established exactly how much pressure you were ready to put on your body to make the turn happen. Not the other way around. The timing is the next critical issue you can tip a ski create great angulation and at a moment still have very little pressure on your edges that's called lots of other things the point is the pressure comes with the turn.

[@jurijfranko9002]

@@AlpineMeister Just to clarify: Quote: 'Every turn you have ever made involves moving the body over the skis' - but no movement over skis is possible without external force - interaction between a skier and ouside world (snow) using aparatus called skis. Therefore forces between snow and skis define every single movement of a skier. If there would be no force between skis and snow, a skier could only deform his body, but no change in path or rotation would be possible. Manipulating skier's body to change interaction between skis and snow and keeping dinamical balance at the same time is called skiing :-). So to keep things in order, first you have to increase/decrease angulation to change friction coefficient, this will produce in return reaction force that a skier can use to make a turn, transition between turns etc. How fast and how much he can manipulate this friction coefficient depends on skil of a skier. In case of transition between turns, a skier must keep balance and therefore must first lean to inside of next turn before edging and making change in direction of movement (not just orientation of skis)...

[@AlpineMeister]

@@jurijfranko9002 without external force ...it's called jumping up and down that explains the next 300 words of your letter ...wasn't that easier to follow.

[@JB91710]

When you guys learn to speak in plain English, my head won't hurt so much when I read your comments. None of you explained or taught anything. At best, you just described what some parts of a turn Remotely look like. Learning to ski is not rocket science. A little grammar school science and you are good to go.

[@markfrancis5751]

REally felt this in Breck this year. Keep learning from your vids and improving.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

I appreciate that! Thanks for the follow

[@MrRavenski23]

Interesting video and comments about M doing some relaxed skiing but I bet she skis very differently when she is racing.

[@PlaneImpactGolfStoneridge]

Good videos, Thxs my question do you promote inside edge tipping to start a turn? If not why not?

[@kountchev1]

amaizing

[@torbengregersen]

Some great comments here and thanks for the analysis, although I find it a bit too lengthy and technical for most people to understand. However, I would like to add that she is skiing on a very shallow slope with completely fresh snow, that has fallen overnight. This in itself requires a very different approach as if she skied on a hard surface and/or steeper slope. Where Shiffrin absolutely rocks is her feeling for the snow and how to handle the current conditions, even through a single turn. What she does here, is to me a very relaxed warm-up run. How to do the same - go and ski all kinds of snow conditions on and off the groomed runs, and it will sooner or later come naturally. This way it will also be way more fun and a work in progress, instead of trying to focus on small elements of a turn, that is more or less impossible to master for most skiers. This is just my thoughts, hope somebody finds them useful.

[@JB91710]

Believe me, they don't understand it either otherwise, they would have explained it so you could understand it. The more complicated they speak, the more confused the skier is, the more the skier feels they need them. But more to the real point, they can do it but they don't understand what they are doing so that they can tell a student, so they create complicated words to deflect your attention away from that fact.

[@borssky]

@Tom Gellie, can you post the link for original video please?

[@pumori2]

Thank you , Tom , for an excellent analysis and illustration of how one of the worlds top racers manages to smoothly shift from one arc to another. That perception of a floating transition will stick in many minds as a way to move from inside one turn to inside the next turn. Despite the word storm generated by your use of language ,itself just a tool in creating understanding, the message you wished to convey is very clear It s essential that the teacher uses words which will convey an impression to the student which will affect the pupils actions. The image you laid before us will I suspect generate in many students the same feeling as will be experienced by JB’s students when they lift off and release from the old edge. However that was a very interesting analysis. If only we could get on to snow ….🤗 and try to emulate that lovely position she has at the top of a turn.

[@JB91710]

Since he has taught you, explain it to a parallel skier. "and try to emulate that lovely position she has at the top of a turn." Emulate as in Copy? Mimicking what a skier does might Look Like what they are doing but if you don't understand how they are making it Look Like that, then you will not be able to control your speed or ski on anything that creates anxiety in you. Without understanding, panic ensues. But since you know exactly what they are talking about, make believe I am learning to make parallel turns. Teach me what to do from a traverse across the slope while balanced on my right foot.

[@MrSjGibbs]

It sounds like you are caught up in the put your weight on it to turn it. This is a great example of getting the legs the same length between the turns to reweight the old inside ski. Then the skis are tipped that causes them to bend putting a lateral force against the ski from the snow, and that is pressuring the ski. Tipping it and bending it or pivoting it gets the ski across the direction of travel of the center of mass turns the ski. If you do a straight run with your weight on the left foot and do a christy onto the hill to the right you will feel more pressure on the ski in the turn than the straight run.

[@strathound]

Tom, I think you gotta take this video with some context. First thing that I notice about this skiing is that the carved turns are only happening at the shaping phase. So my question to you is ... why? Well, this is Mikaela, and she's the greatest American skier of all time. She may someday be considered the greatest skier of all time. So we can always learn from watching someone who is at the peak of their sport. But is this a warmup run? Why is there no edge engagement through 50% of the turn? That's not what we teach in PSIA, for sure. But PSIA teaches resort skiing techniques. What Mikaela is doing here, quite obviously, is trying to bend the skis. It might be a warmup run. She's in her jacket and not her race gear. I think she's just warming her legs up. If this was not Mikaela and one of my students, I would be looking for more progressive application of edging and pressure throughout the whole turn to have better speed control and balance. But if it's a racer, I would assume they are warming up their legs and feeling the flex of their ski at apex.

[@rufusdorsey2427]

Thanks Tom. Very interesting. Is there a relationship between what you are showing here and the sensation (cue) you taught of "suction cupping" the skis with your feet in the transition as explained in the Emma series? I am just trying to connect the dots correctly.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Yes But also there is something else going on that I will explain in more detail HOW on the Big Picture Skiing Website. I’m waiting for the snow to arrive in Australia first so i can demonstrate and teach it for you.

[@islandoutpost]

Great video and analysis. Her coaches must have put that patch of corduroy down to specifically work this drill?? The amount Michaela is bending that ski and the energy out of it gives no choice but to float heavily in transition. But...I would have bet she was on her new outside ski much earlier. Another transition technique to play with next time taking laps. Thanks for posting!

[@AlpineMeister]

She is just coasting down a morning warmup nothing agresive not much radius. This piste has set just a bit so you don't see any tracks when the ski is flatter. With some edging you break the tiny crust of the groom to a pretty soft underneath. It has more to do with edging and less of what Tom is selling.

[@MrDogonjon]

Early weight transfer is the 'secret daddy" of good skiing. To know the timing of the secret daddy is a secret... that's why it's the "secret daddy". When I discovered "secret daddy" my coach said "keep it to your self".You can only "see" the secret daddy when the video runs backwards or plays fast forward. It is a good discussion topic but in this case she was not in a competition so she wasn't really making "secret daddy"turns. "secret daddy" has a distinct move every one calls an error.

[@rich8304]

It also looks like the inside ski is passively active Look at the mark in the snow at the apex .would like to hear her thoughts on what shes feeling at that part of the turn.Great explanation.

[@MrDogonjon]

It's not her favorite snow, much too soft to get compaction satisfaction = gauge pressure manipulations that create hyper fluidity in the race way..

[@raymondgilkie2551]

Hi Tom, do you still apply the weight shift, forward at the beginning of the turn and backward at the end of the turn. This made a big difference for me in regards to skidding. Unfortunately skiing is over at our local resorts, but I have to join your site again in the future. It has some great content.

[@AlpineMeister]

I want you to really think about never changing the balance on your skis though out a turn you don't have time and it's really hard on your body. Tipping a ski properly is a far better goal with a singular balance and forward agression . Your big toe is able to tip you ski 10° more than the rest of your foot. As you are rising up for an edge change what part of you foot is trying to tip the ski. If it is your entire ski boot sole length then I'm certain I can tip my ski 10 ° more than you and that leads to maybe a 50% improvement in edging and even pressure throughout the turn. Its much more reliable turn after turn with power and balance on your toes. I really try not to put any pressure on my heels unless I want to skid. This is all about tipping a ski from one spot the toe piece. The ski just behaves better this way. Good tipping.

[@JB91710]

@@AlpineMeister You foot tips the ski after your leg changes angle which comes after you have leaned and faced down the hill prior to the weight change from downhill to uphill ski. What happens in your boots is the Last thing to think about, not the first. When you do think about your foot/arch, it is to see how much edging is happening versus sliding. If there is too much sliding, you have to move your hip into the turn more to increase the leg angle. You ski from your brain down, not from you feet up.

[@AlpineMeister]

JB91 is on my case about tipping and about skiing from the Brain or skiing from your feet. I've also commented on ski boots allowing or not allowing particular movements. I'm going to fix your entire golf swing by telling you to relax your ankles. Test that theory then apply the same analysis to your ski balance problem. I think my other messages translate better without a book or a bible. If your type of documentation is required for your brand of ski instruction I would think it's a struggle from day one.

[@profpat70]

Bingo!

[@jude-7777]

Is Mikaela flexing (drawing her legs up with hip flexors and abs) to unweight for edge transition?

[@justinrfogarty780]

Tom , thank you for your analysis. I am not a fan of the use of the concept of applying pressure . A couple of things to notice. At the transition her skis go flat. We agree on this. However, if you play back your video you will see that she holds her old direction longer and before starting the new turn and before moving inside her inside leg shortens and she moves up and over that Inside ski. What does that do. It causes early edging by causing tips of the the skis to bite and it causes the outside ski to be longer and pressure is thus built up on by her extended outside leg and her shortened inside leg. When she is in the balanced position she is able to move inside quickly at the apex of the turn . Therefore because she is well balanced and thus can resist the mountain’s forces, in so doing ,pressure is a result not a consequence of applying force.

[@JB91710]

You can't apply pressure beyond what gravity creates against your skis. The adjustment of your body position on your skis can make the skis turn sharper which creates braking or deceleration of your body falling down the hill but other than that, there is no Button that you push to create pressure. Most "Ski Instructors" can't tell you how to do that, so they just throw out the words, "Create Pressure" and leave it to the student to figure out how to do it.

[@chrislenczyk8617]

She def still seems extended in transition but only a little extended taking pressure off and floating into weight transition.

[@gairnmclennan5876]

Shape of the turn and the radius vary with the slope incline angle. A blue slope will need a shorter radius but a relaxed shape as there's not enough speed to make an aggressive shape. This carved turn generates a rebound from the ski (which comes into play after maximum pressure on the outside ski has been applied and naturally that's the apex of the turn. That bend in the carved ski after the apex can accelerate the speed of the ski and/or vault the skiers weight upwards. To graph the path of COM and the outside ski on x,y and z axis would be cool. Both in the plane of the fall line xyz then in the cross slope plane another set of data charting xyz movement. As with the keel on a yacht and the wind pushing the sail, the race designed yacht can sail faster than the speed of the wind. It's force vectors of the wind on the sails meeting the keel heading as it carves a line under the water; accelerate the yacht. Something similar is seen here and M lifts and accelerates both the COM and the skis. Thank you for the video commentary Tom. This level of skiing is so fluid and such a display of balance and strength!

[@gairnmclennan5876]

For me it's simply a case of aggressively rolling/tilting my knees in the transition. No hesitation and everything else is happening automatically.....only weight the outside ski when your leaning! Way too much fun on carving ski's for hard pack or All Mountain ski's in soft snow.

[@Landwy1]

Michaela is just doing some free skiing here. Her skiing in the gates is different. She is known for getting the turn started earlier and finished earlier than other racers. This is why when she is starting 30th for the second run (i.e. having the fastest first run) she is not skiing into ruts. This is also why she looks so smooth even though she is the last skier on the hill. If you are avoiding ruts your skis flex evenly and you are on fast and smooth snow surface. Your analysis is to make a J turn around the gates. I thought the racing community got rid of the J turn? Marco Odermatt seems to be the exception, and he is still fast though. When you are late to a gate and have to make a J turn where the forces imposed on the snow are the greatest. This means you are overly trenching the skis and literally dig out snow. It may look impressive, but making an overly deep trench means the energy from the pressure of the skis is wearing out the snow and slowing you down. As an example, take an axe blade and run it over some ice with just a little pressure on the axe and you will see it doesn't require much arm energy. Now do the same thing with some elbow grease and you will that you have dug a trench and your arm is exhausted. Coaches will tell you that strength makes you fast. That is mostly true, as you are trying to get the ski into reverse camber and using the rebound energy to propel your mass down the fall line. However, if you can't control that energy, your mass is propelled upwards rather than down the hill. So basically in this scenario you have used muscle energy to trench the skis rather than using that energy to push your body mass down the hill. For Shiffrin having a light touch also has rewards. She is known for having patience and being able to make a lot of time in the two gates above a flush and exits the flush with a 0.5+ second gain on other skiers. If you get the turn done early, when an opportunity presents itself to cut off the line, she will take it. Only if the skier is early can the skier take that line to gain speed. Remember though at the end you might be going too fast and having a difficult time not disqualifying. This is why Michaela typically does this near the finish as the gates open up. She would be first every time if she was more aggressive in the first three or four gates. This is where she could use more energy to bend the skis into reverse camber and transmit that energy into propelling her center of mass down the hill. Michaela actually has a pretty light touch on the snow compared to her brethren. Especially in earlier times, skiers like Christen Cooper, did very well having a light touch. Ingemar Stenmark had a medium tough on his skis, whereas Herman Maier had a heavy tough. All of them are champions, and champions have plenty of tools in the toolbox to make it work.

[@bradmusolff]

The energy from a ski coming out of reverse camber does not 'propel' a skier down the hill. First, it takes very little force to bend a ski into reverse camber, so there isn't much stored in a bent ski. The weight of a skier is way more than enough to bend a ski at any edge angle, and the forces a skier creates are way beyond this. Second, the ski is bent in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel, so forces from the ski are perpendicular also--such forces simply can't accelerate the skier in line with their direction of travel, or down the hill. The truth is that there is a sensation of rebound in skiing that is due to the dynamics of the turn and has nothing to do with the ski itself acting as a spring.

[@SamSoMite421]

Hey Tom, I've heard of a few coaches and instructors say; stay "heavy" in transition and not lose contact with the snow. This is the opposite. I don't believe there is one "correct" way to ski, but wonder if this is an either or question, or like most things in skiing it's simply another tool in the bag.

[@JB91710]

The one Technically Correct way to ski is allowing the skis to make the turns with the least amount of body movement. Everything beyond that is freestyle skiing. As long as you are in control they all work and are acceptable. However, only the technically correct way should be taught. Once you know that, the student can experiment on their own and have correct skiing to fall back on.

[@Bigpictureskiing]

Yeah i agree Sam its not about being correct. It’s about understanding what skiers are doing to produce different types of turns. I think Jurij Nails it pretty well with his additional comments around external forces acting upon the skier.

[@JanosKoranyi]

Hi. You are right but there is one very important point you miss here. You should add the possibility of pulling back the new inside ski as a good option during the transition. When the skis get flat, you can pull back the new inside ski. This will put an early pressure on the new inside ski during the edging of this ski. The shorter turn you wish to create the more force you can use to pull back the new inside ski. This is an awesome tool to get a more smooth and much more parallel turn. The second part of this speed modification is to make the new outside ski move faster when you have started to edge it. You do this by turning your outside hip into the turn. The speed modification is nothing you, you have it at Telemark skiing, but now this is much less visible. By speed modification you can shorten the floating time of the transition and get both edges, both skis to be used more together at the edging process.

[@JanosKoranyi]

@UClZ8L0sM5_tzrqJXwgL1MXQ Maybe you are right, but let me tell you, that this speed modification idea was the single most important factor that made me to learn a good transition and a much more optimal carved turn. I tried to make good transitions for years at different ski-schools and no real development happened. Then a new ski-instructor told me about this and showed it and it gave me the biggest advancement I have ever experienced in my skiing career ever! This is the reason to my comment.

[@JanosKoranyi]

@UClZ8L0sM5_tzrqJXwgL1MXQ Maybe you are right, but let me tell you, that this speed modification idea was the single most important factor that made me to learn a good transition and a much more optimal carved turn. I tried to make good transitions for years at different ski-schools and no real development happened. Then a new ski-instructor told me about this and showed it and it gave me the biggest advancement I have ever experienced in my skiing career ever! This is the reason to my comment.

[@JB91710]

The lead of the inside ski comes naturally because your feet are turning more than your upper body so your pelvis is forcing the leg forward.. You don't think about doing things that happen naturally.

[@JanosKoranyi]

@@JB91710 Maybe you do not think about this, but I do. Why? I do not believe in that everything develops optimally by itself, which you seem to believe! You can make optimal advanced carved turn but you can also make less advanced turns as well. If you want to find your issues you must try to understand the dynamics. You must also decide what you think is a good priority order of the things that are going on. I work hard on these subjects and I am writing a book about ski technique.

[@JanosKoranyi]

@@JB91710 Now you are really wrong! Your argument is false! Think though it again. The common logical way of thinking is the following: there are some requirements to the goal of no ski-lead at apex. Your way of thinking is about one way of creating no ski-lead. You could have said that, if you keep your hips in a special way, the skis will have a natural tendency of having no ski-lead. However it does not mean that this statement is true enough. Because: The inside ski has a much shorter way to go on the inside of the turn, than the outside ski. So here will be also a natural tendency to a ski-lead of the inside ski at apex. So if your goal is to have no ski-lead at apex, which is the same as a square at the apex, you must understand more than just the turn of your torso. Now you can read my previous comments.

[@shooter7a]

The reason MS is probably going light between turns here is that she is free skiing, and deliberately not working that hard. So instead of doing a lateral transition to minimize CoM movement, she is doing a more old school taller transition and coming up a bit. But she is still MS. That means she is loading the ski hard, and getting rebound. Take these two together, the energy coming out of the turn and a more vertical transition, and some of that energy is going to lift her up...and the skis go light. I think people are reading to much into the ski tracks as a reflection of ski technique. If she were in gates, or really skiing hard, you would not see ski pressure go as light between turns.

[@MrDogonjon]

Good call on the non-competition free skiing floatypop.

[@2drsdan]

Great video, BUT, your description is not quite right. Mikaela is sitting in her chair, she NEVER leaves it. There is no extension as that would cause her to stand up out of her chair. She never does. The floating you see is her lifting her knees while still sitting in her chair in transition. The pressure she exerts happens equally between both skis by simply rolling her knees to make perfectly even tracks. Better go to the gym and do strength training because skiing while sitting in the chair takes MUSCLE. BTW just increasing your edge angle without being 50-50 on your skis will introduce all kinds of funk junk you'll have to unlearn.

[@darrenlew8801]

flat ski is a fast ski.....

[@JB91710]

First of all, the word Pressure should not be used as all you are doing is "Describing" the effect of gravity. That doesn't teach anything. If you are allowing the skis to make the turns instead of you forcing them, the weight change from your downhill foot to your uphill foot happens when you reposition your upper body to face and lean down the hill as the skis pass under you. You were balanced on that downhill foot but now you aren't so you fall down the hill. That pulls your legs over which rolls your skis over and they turn. Because your feet were crossing the hill and your upper body is falling down the hill, that creates torsion in your body which is released in your legs when you get off the downhill ski edge. The feet will start to realign with your upper body. 1:18 Your balance should be on your uphill ski at this point with your body falling down the hill. Right after this point, you can see that the upper body has stopped traveling across the hill as the ski continue. Leg Angle Change. Also, don't use the word "Transition". That doesn't teach anything either. Labels don't teach! Plain English does. 3:00 You aren't trying to "Press Down." Gravity takes care of that. You want to be thinking of getting off your downhill foot and balance on your uphill foot. Stand up in front of your computer now. Balance on your left foot. Downhill is to your left. Start to fall that way and get off that left foot. Look what happens to your right leg.

[@AlpineMeister]

You are giving everyone static for being verbose. Accept that your body moves over the skis at a point where your legs extend or compress to lighten the ski. It's always a two footed platform and allowing your legs to extend and tip a ski as your body finds it's line and angulation inside the turn.

[@JB91710]

@@AlpineMeister That's what happens but that doesn't teach how to do it. You have to create a picture in a person's mind that they can understand and remember.