Hill Technique on trail equipment

These tips are sponsored by these national and international sponsors:  Infinity Ski Poles, Backcountry Access, Toko Ski Waxes,  Rossignol, Genuine Guide Gear.   I thank them for their assistance.                   

If you have a ski technique that you would like help with then send me an email at     knicol@swgc.mun.ca  Also if you are a manufacturer/distributor of a product that nordic skiers might use then let me know.

My qualifications include: Level 4 CANSI Trail Instructor, Level 3 CANSI Telemark Instructor, Level 3 CSIA Alpine Instructor and Level 2 CAA ( Canadian Avalanche Assoc. Certification). At the present time I hold the highest overall CANSI certification in Canada. I have taught in the largest Masters Camp in Canada at Silver Star, B.C. and have helped thousands of skiers from beginner to expert improve their nordic skiing. As well I have been on 4 Canadian INTERSKI Nordic Skiing Demo Teams and run the Winter Outdoor Pursuits Programme at SWGC.  Check out the Links above to find CANSI's, INTERSKI's  and related WEB sites.

NOTE: The MPEG videos are fairly large, and are best viewed on computers on campus.  The MPEG video may appear to be choppy if watching from home. If you would like to watch the video on your home machine, try watching the WMV version.

The lowly snowplow turn is the bread and butter turn for most skiers. It helps slow you down and make corners on x-c ski trails. But here are some tips to help you make those turns. Remember to keep your legs flexed, arms forward and open, and back slightly rolled. Also it helps to look where you are going--see both photos. As you reach the fall line (left photo) flex your ankles, knees and hips and weight the outside ski to help make the turn.

 Parallel Turns-

Parallel turns on skinny skis is a difficult-no question about it. You really need to finesse these skis around the turn since they have no side cut. They are generally meant to go straight and not turn. It helps to trigger the turn with a pole plant and really rise up for this to unweight the skis (photo 1). Then gradually sink down and continue to turn the skis as you do so (photo 2). Keep the arms out for balance and away you go. Nothing to it.

 The Shield Drill

This drill is a good one for getting skiers to think about separating legs from torso even at the snow plow stage. When making small small snow plow turns (sometimes called serpentine turns) I ask students to imagine that someone is throwing snowballs at them from below and they need to protect themselves with a shield. As they twist their legs to make the turn, their torso and shield face down the hill as shown. This 'legs turning and quiet upper body' is a theme which runs through most hill techniques in x-c skiing.

Tips for your Turns-

Here are 2 tips for higher end turns. In the left hand photo I am doing a hop turn. This is a good drill for working on your parallel turn - especially if you are having trouble unweighting your skis. Plant the pole and unweight enough so that you leave the snow. Change edges in the air-land-and complete your turn. In the right hand photo I am dragging my outside pole to practice the skill of angulation. This puts most of weight over the outside ski.

If I had a dollar for everytime I tell students to put most of their weight on the outside ski I could retire. For most downhill techniques in nordic skiing you need to weight the outside or downhill ski. This is as true for the basic snowplow as with higher end turns. So if you want to start out correctly - try this drill for reinforcing the idea of getting your weight to the outside. Start your snow plow turn in your regular fashion but as you reach the fall line touch your outside knee with your hand as shown in the photo. Hold it there until you finish the turn where upon you rise slightly - steer your skis in the direction of the new turn and then touch your other knee.

For most types of hill techniques the concept of 'facing the upper body down the hill' is important.  This even starts with the basic snow plow and extends to higher end turns as well. Here I am finishing a basic christie turn -- with my skis parallel and skidding sideways across the snow. I have weighted my down hill ski slightly more than my up hill ski and to force my body to be open to the hill I am holding my poles in front of me. The quieter your upper body is - ie little excess movement - the smoother your skiing will be. Imagine your poles are a tray and you are serving drinks -- don't tilt your tray or your drinks will crash to the ground.

Just like parallel alpine turns are tricky-so are telemark turns on skinny skis. First of all try the basic tele turns (see the panel below) and once you have that refined then try gradually making the wedge smaller until there is no wedge at all. Now you are doing parallel tele turns. Some tricks are to plant your pole to trigger the rise up (photo on left) and then slowly settle in the tele stance (right photo). Keep your arms out for balance and away you go. Like with all these turns weight the outside ski more through the turn.

This is a difficult skill for many x-c skiers to pick up. But learning this skill is very useful so lets look at some tips for learning how to side slip. First of all you need good now conditions-- deep snow won't do. Also you need a steep slope-it is very hard to do on a gentle slope. Once you have those 2 conditions available simply put your skis across the slope and edge them as shown in the photo. To side slip, rise up and flatten your skis. This will let your skis slide down the slope. You should leave a smooth slope as shown in the photo. If you want to slow down simply gradually edge your skis.

To learn the basic telemark turn with light trail gear is fairly easy. But here are a few tips to help. Start from a snowplow position and complete most of your turn in this snow plow stance. Then in the last 1/3 of the turn slowly drop into a telemark position as shown in the right hand photo. Be sure to keep your arms out for balance and drop low enough with the rear leg so that it is roughly parallel to the back ski (see right photo). To link turns simply rise up into a new snowplow position and make 2/3's of the turn in this position and then slowly drop into a telemark stance to finish the turn. And practice!

The high speed step turn is the way to go around corners if your objective is to maintain speed. It is far superior to the snowplow turn in many situations but requires good balance and quick feet. Start by going slowing and then lift up one foot and place the ski with the tip angled out.  Commit all your weight to that ski and then bring the other one up and parallel to it. Repeat this process and you have made a step turn. Be sure to take small steps and hold your arms out for balance. Once you have confidence with slow speed turns then try the high speed step turn as highlighted in this picture. For this turn you need to be more aggressive, take a lower stance and keep your weight over the outside ski. Keep your arms out and forward to help with the balance. Once you master the high speed step turn you will seek out hills rather than be intimidated by them.

Sometimes you need to go as fast as possible on a hill-perhaps it is during a race and you want to pick up time or perhaps you want to carry your speed up a hill on the other side. In either case - if you need to turn while you are in a tuck position remember to rise up to unweight your skis and then gradually sink down and steer your skis in the direction you wish to go. Weight the outside ski more and face your upper torso down the hill as shown in the photo. Let your skis skid just as much as is needed to control your speed or make the corner.

To maintain speed on many parts of a trail system the easiest thing to do is to get in a high tuck. As shown in the photo this involves keeping your arms forward with your ankles, knees and hips flexed.  This stance is relatively aero dynamic and is a very stable position. Remember to keep your skis hip width apart and if you begin to lose your balance simply stand up and put your arms out. If you want even more speed then drop into a lower stance which is even more streamlined.