Nordic Ski Tips: Check out the Telemark, Classic and Skating Cross Country Ski Tips with video clips:

These tips are sponsored by these national and international sponsors: Helly Hansen, Rossignol, Genuine Guide Gear, Karhu,  Louis Garneau Clothing, Rudy Project sunglasses, Jenex roller skis, Alpina ski boots Nielsen-Kellerman Weather Meters.  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.

Edging is one of the main skills that will improve your telemark technique-To practice edging find a smooth slope which is also quite steep. Drop into a tele stance and alternately edge your skis and then release your edges by flattening the ski. To edge your skis-simply roll your ankles and knees into the hill while staying balanced over the outside ski (as shown in the adjacent photo). By slowly flattening your ski you can do a controlled side slip. When ever you feel yourself going too fast then increase the edge angle and slow down. Keep your arms forward and out for balance. 

We all need sunglasses and I really appreciate the  hard carrying case and multiple lenses that Rudy Project glasses come with. That way if the light is flat I can change to lighter coloured lens and still get the protection I need. I also like their wrap around eye protection which is important in winter since the snow can reflect light in from all sides. Of course I also use them  for hiking, mountain biking and sea kayaking. These glasses have a lifetime replacement lens (this is very useful) and a 2 year frame guaranty. Check out their web site at www.rudyprojectusa.com.

Getting Hip                                              

Bringing your hips forward is an important skill for improving your diagonal stride. Leaving your hips back is a common problem and makes it difficult to shift your weight adequately as well to prepare for the next stride. So try this exercise - start by holding your poles across your bottom. Then stride forward pulling your hips forward with your poles as you complete the stride. This helps you stand taller and prepares you for next bringing your recovery leg actively forward. Be careful at first since this exercise is abit unnerving at first-you feel as if you are going to fall flat on your face. But once you get use to it the drill will work wonders for your technique.

When the snow goes you can do lots of things to stay in shape but if you want to improve your skiing then you should spend some time roller skiing. For several years I tried narrow tired roller skis but then last summer came across the V2 Aero and found it to be very well suited to our rough, bumpy roads in Newfoundland. The large inflatable tires seem to ride over pebbles and stones that would normally send you for a face plant. They also come with speed reducers so that you can slow your self on the hills. Nevertheless play it safe and wear a Rudy Project helmet and gloves at a minimum. Check out Jenex for more info.

Video Clip:
MPEG  - 49 sec. [8.31 MB]
WMV   - 49 sec. [2.12 MB] home viewing

To advance your telemark turn you need to angulate the upper body particularly at the end of the turn. A good way to feel this ‘body shaper’ is to have someone try to pull you off balance while you resist being pulled down the hill. This will cause a "C" shape to form from your feet to your head and this gets your weight over the ski to help carve the turn . If you don’t angulate, your weight will move onto the uphill ski causing a loss of control.

Balance is the key to cross country skiing. It is crucial to both skating and classic skiing and a drill that I use a lot is the tried and true ‘scooter’. As seen in this image it is great for classic skiing. I usually use this early in the season when my balance is off and use it frequently in lessons. To do the scooter put the foot with a ski on it in the track and push down and back with the "ski less" foot just outside the track (that way you don’t get foot prints in the track). Balance on the gliding ski for as long as possible. Start with small pushes and then as balance improves, push harder or try the drill down a slight downhill. It really helps to lean forward to counter balance the extending foot (see photo). This is a great drill for beginners but racers will also benefit. To add a challenge—add a hop with the "ski less" foot.                               

Video Clip:
MPEG  - 44 sec. [7.43 MB]
WMV   - 44 sec. [1.89 MB] home viewing
 

We often don’t get feedback while we are skiing unless we are doing a ski lesson. However I use shadows where possible to see where my arms are or where my head is positioned. Shadows can tell you if you are getting good weight transfer and if you are following through with your poling. Shadows can also tell you how much winter remains if you have a ground hog nearby on Feb. 2.

Getting beginners to commit themselves to each ski while performing the offset skate is generally quite a challenge. I often tell skiers to "lead with the head" since that usually helps project the skier’s weight over the ski. In the 2 photos shown here you can clearly see the left ski and the 2 poles hitting the snow at the same time (the trademark 3 point touch associated with offset) and the head aligned over that ski. A few moments later I have now started to drive off the left ski committing all my weight to the right ski (see photo 2). Again notice how the head "leads the way". It also helps to have your head stay relatively low until you have finished poling. So use your head - tip that works well in any of the skating techniques and life in general.

Advance your double poling.       

On the face of it double poling is an easy technique. Just plant your poles and flex at the waist and push back with your arms. Nothing to it. If you want to improve your double pole here are a few tips-first of all it will help if you flex at the ankles and lean your body forward you can load up your poles (see photo 1). You will also find that you can get more glide by moving your weight back on to your heels with your follow through (Photo 2). The tails of your classic skis should have glider wax on them and by shifting your weight back you can take advantage of this. As with any double poling keep your legs relatively straight and bend your waist to about 90 degrees.

Angulation is a key skill in tele skiing and helps you stay balanced over the outside ski. You can see a 'comma' shape in my body from my feet to my head and this is called angulation. It heaps us stay on top of our outside ski as we turn. Since with the tele turn we slide our rear ski back this tends to twist our hips and cause us to rotate up into the hill. So when we telemark we must fight this tendency and one good drill to try to reinforce this concept is to drag your poles-particularly the down hill pole as I am doing in this photo. This helps pull our body weight over the outside ski.

Hopping between turns helps with a variety of tele skills not the least of which is balance. When you try this for the first time use a small hop as you change edges but be sure to extend up through the centre of your foot. Too far back and you will land on your tails and off balance and too far forward may put you on your nose. Try it with long radius turns first and then with shorter radius turns. Speiss is one of the goals of the advanced skier and involves making short radius turns with a hop in between. It allows you to control your speed on the steeps and gives the quads a real workout.

To improve your free skate (ie skating without poles) remember to fully commit your body weight to the new gliding ski-my right ski in this case.  This means getting your torso and head aligned over that ski. This produces a toe-knee-nose alignment that can be easily seen in this photo. Many skiers have trouble with this so I often get skiers to swing their hands to help with this projection. It also helps to make sure that your gliding ski goes down as flat as possible. A flat ski will glide better and it will be easier to balance on.

Video Clip:
MPEG  - 1 min. 3 sec. [10.5 MB]
WMV   - 1 min. 3 sec. [2.67 MB] home view

Once you have gotten good at free skating on the flats then try the hills. It is good practice to try skating both up and down small hills. Shown in this photo is skating uphill which will develop your leg power. I am a big fan of doing alot of free skating, especially early in the season and skating uphill is a great workout. Notice that I still fully commit my body weight and head over the glide ski and that I use my arms for extra propulsion. To maximize your leg push, flex sharply at the ankle and knee before pushing off. Once you have free skated up a hill it will seem very easy once you add poles. Like a batter swinging 2 bats before they step up to the plate.

Video Clip:
MPEG  - 46 sec. [7.73 MB]
WMV   - 46 sec. [1.97 MB] home viewing

The lowly snowplow is the bread and butter turn for most skiers-it is easy to do and really works for changing direction and slowing down. But it does have a few aspects which are important to think about if you are just starting out. First of all rise up between turns (ie extend your ankle, knee and hip joints) and then as you approach the fall line - seen in the first photo begin to flex at those same joints. Keep your arms out for balance and continue to flex through the turn (see final image). Stay centred over your skis - in other words don't sit back or move to far forward. It also really helps to shift your weight to the outside ski as I am doing in the top photo. This helps tremendously with making the skis change direction.

The Kestrell 4000 is the top of the line in Kestrell's pocket weather stations. Often x-country skiers want to know what the temperature or wind speed is and this handy devise which weighs just 102 grams tells it all. Want to know the wind chill, relative humidity, or air pressure-no problem-the Kestrell 4000 not only displays all of these variables and more but also records them in graphical form. The latter is especially important if you are trying to track air pressure to find out if that nasty low which has kept you tent bound has begun to move off.  Check out www.nkhome.com. for more details.

Skiing bumps is a challenge well worth trying for the advanced tele skier. It requires fast feel and and a confident, aggressive stance. It helps to keep the upper body facing down the hill as shown in adjacent image. Try turning on the crest of the mogul with a rapid lead change to get the pressure on to the new downhill ski as quickly as you can. A good way to practice the skills needed for bumps before you actually get into them is to be proficient at short radius turns initially. Once you can manage quick and snappy short radius turns then try small, widely spaced bumps- perhaps those at the edge of a trail. Then as your confidence increases move to steeper and larger moguls.

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 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.

Are you getting as much as possible out of your poles while diagonal striding?? Next time you are out for a ski in the tracks focus on ’pole assisted glide’ This techno-babble is just instructor talk for dropping your upper body slightly to load your pole. In the adjacent photo the skier has just produced most of his push forward by kicking his left foot down and back – but is getting more forward push by now loading the left pole with the left pole with the torso before driving the arm back. So the arm action in diagonal stride is more than alternately using your arms only-try loading the pole first by subtly dropping onto it with the upper body.