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Reprints From The Professional Skier

Fall 1999 - "The Evolution of Short-Radius Turns " by Scott Mathers

This article is reprinted from The Professional Skier. All copyrights apply. Please see our copyright and disclaimer notice page.

When equipment innovations meet skier creativity, the result is an almost endless array of on-slope possibilities--from cool tricks and laid-out carving on skiboards to straight-lining through deep powder on long, fat skis. Today's skiers tend to embrace developments in design, and the new gear is built to satisfy the range of abilities and areas of interest--intermediate skiers who would like to explore more of the mountain as well as those experienced individuals want to refine their technique.

Like the variety of equipment now available, options for creating assorted types of turns have never been greater. Short turns, in particular, can be performed several different ways, and the skier who is comfortable with more than one type is better equipped to handle diverse mountain terrain. To do justice to this discussion of three contemporary short-radius turns, I'll describe them in terms of the historical background of short turns and the impact of equipment design and slalom racing. Collectively, this will help explain how and why we ski short turns the way we do today.

Options for creating short-radius turns have changed tremendously during the past 40 years. Essentially, we've gravitated from having to use pivoting and skidding actions to the more refined technique of using the ski to carve more through short round turns.

Through The Years

Consider the "short swing turn" which, as described in PSIA's first manual, The Official American Ski Technique (1964), was characterized by "tail displacement ending in effective check." The manual also listed rhythm, unweighting, and pole plants as effective ways for skiers in low, leather boots to quickly turn long, stiff skis. The pinnacle of skiing prowess in the 1960s was the short-swing wedel in a very narrow boot-lock stance.

In the '70s skis became lighter, snappier, and shorter while stiffer plastic boots became the norm. "Rebound turning" was the rage. Skiers turned their legs vigorously and set a firm edge at turn completion to "tighten the arc of the turn in preparation for the new turn," according to ATM Teaching Concepts (1980). Counter-rotation, firm pole plants, and fishhook turn completions were the techniques of the day. During the 1970s technical advances made carving long-radius turns easier, but short turns still relied on pivoting followed by hard edging late in the turn. Instructors taught hockey stops and "braquage turns"--pivoting flat skis on the snow from an open-width stance.

With the introduction of PSIA's Center Line concept in the late 1980s, instructors began touting short turns with a rounder shape. Long and short turns began to rely on more similar movements, with the "intensity, duration, and timing of movements determining the size, shape, and speed of the turn" ("The Center Line," The Professional Skier, Winter 3, 1988). Designwise, skis were losing a little of their length and stiffness, and gaining slight sidecut. This evolution in skis made it possible to ski more of a steered short turn with edge engagement and pressure developing earlier in the turn.

While skiing changed slowly and subtly during the 1970s and '80s--and even into the early '90s--it has exploded with possibilities within the last few years. Skis are now much shorter and softer with a lot more sidecut, but they aren't the only type of equipment that shows vast improvements: today's boots are more anatomically built, provide better feel and sensitivity through customization, and transfer more energy to the skis than those made just 15 years ago. Innovations in bindings have also contributed to the recent revolution in skiing, offering everything from increased leverage through added height to flex control for fine-tuning the stiffness underfoot and vibration dampening for increased stability. With the many advances in equipment design, a skilled skier can now carve wickedly short arcs and carry more speed in short-radius turns than his or her predecessors would have thought possible.

Slalom skis in particular have recently undergone their most radical construction change since the early 1970s. The traditional slalom ski had a narrow tip and waist with a wider flaring and stiff tail. A ski of this shape can be turned quickly down the fall line and hammered in the mid- to final phase of the turn to bite firmly on hard snow. Today's slalom skis are more radically shaped than older models, and racers are experimenting with very short lengths in the 160- to 180-centimeter range.

On these new-generation slalom skis, the tip is the widest part of the ski. This huge design shift is motivated by the increasingly round and across-the-fall-line turns demanded in World Cup slalom. Very short skis with a wider tip, a very narrow waist, and a high taper angle (narrower tail than tip) are extremely effective at carving short, round arcs and directing energy forward and across the hill between turns. Slalom racers are generally skiing offset slalom turns with earlier pressure and much more carving on these radical new slalom skis. The biggest problem the racers encounter appears to be the challenge of maintaining balance on such a short platform. The shaped skis that most instructors are now using put these very round, more carved short turns within reach of us mere mortals; we just won't ski them quite as fast as the World Cup racers.

To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn

Being an all-mountain skier, I believe in striving for variety and versatility in my skills. You can never have too many types of turns in your arsenal to draw upon for skiing in the constantly changing mountain environment. Within the realm of short turns, I practice three fundamental types. In describing these turns I find it valuable to relate the path of the skis and feet and the path of the body (center of mass, or "CM") to the fall line.

aThe most elementary of short turns I define as the braking short-radius turn. Throughout these linked speed-control turns the feet and the CM travel downhill on the fall line.

aA more advanced short turn is the round short turn, as defined in the Center Line concept and currently evaluated in Level III alpine certification exams across the country. In these turns the feet and skis travel in round arcs across the fall line as the CM travels mostly downhill on the fall line. Both of these types of short turns create what most instructors would describe as "fall-line skiing."

aThe third turn--one that's very difficult to perform--is called the reaching short turn. This contemporary turn is characterized by the CM traveling across the fall line in each turn transition as the feet and skis shape very round tight arcs and travel even farther across the fall line in each turn.

The braking short-radius turn (photos 1-3 at right) is derived from the classic short swing of the 1960s. Although this is the easiest short-radius turn to perform, its movements are no less important than the more difficult short turns: the skier who masters the proper movements of this turn betters his or her chances of success with the rounder turns.

The braking short turn is where I start level 7 skiers in their quest to ski moguls and steeper off-trail terrain. The mechanics of this turn allow it to be the shortest turn possible and thus extremely effective at controlling speed in narrow corridors, steep terrain, or when negotiating a tight bump line. The key elements of a braking short turn are as follows:

aThe skier's legs turn relatively flat skis under a stable torso

a The skier demonstrates accurate pole swing and a firm pole plant

aThe skier sets the edges with the feet, knees, and hips at turn completion

Some great exercises for practicing and teaching the elements of the braking short turn include the following:

aLinked pivot slips

aSideslipping to an edge-set stop with a pole plant

aHockey stops with a pole plant

aSkiing as many turns as possible within a given distance

aHop turns (for the strong of heart)

The Center Line round short turn (photos 4-8 at right) is more exacting than the braking turn because it requires more accuracy and finesse in the execution of your movements. This turn evolved out of the "rebound turning" of the 1970s as skiers learned to direct the energy in the skis into a glide across the hill. A round, short turn is necessary for skiing powder effectively, and it may be used to ski a rounder, more elegant line through the bumps.

In addition, slalom course setters have this turn shape in mind when they decide where to place gates, so the majority of open turns in slalom call for a round turn shape with the skier's body traveling mostly down the fall line. You also need to master this turn to pass a PSIA Level III Alpine Certification Exam. I have my level 7 students practice round turns at very slow speeds on gentle terrain. By levels 8 and 9, my students are all somewhat skilled at this type of turn and we use it often when skiing off-trail conditions. The key elements to creating round short turns while keeping the body mass in the fall line are as follows:

aThe skier edges the skis early while they cross under the body as it travels down the fall line. This is accomplished by tipping the legs diagonally into the turn.

aPressure on the skis and from ski to ski is regulated with the legs to direct the energy in the skis across the slope

aThe skier turns the legs to guide edged and pressured skis through a round arc

aThe skier maintains a firm torso

aKeeping the hands quiet and disciplined, the skier exercises consistent and accurate pole use

Some of my favorite exercises for practicing and teaching round short turns include the following:

aShort turns with an early weight transfer

aVery slow short turns in a wide stance

aSkiing a very round line through the troughs in moguls

aSkiing slightly offset gates or turning targets, such as cones, on a moderate slope

aHaving the student follow your short round tracks in the snow

aShort-radius tracer turns (For example, linking turns while maintaining 90 percent of your body weight on one ski and 10 percent on the other ski. The skier does not transfer his or her weight from ski to ski between turns, but maintains this lopsided pressure distribution throughout the series of turns.)

One of the most challenging turns I have ever practiced is a short turn in which both the skis and the center of mass are deflected across the fall line with every turn. These are called reaching short turns (photos 9-16 at right). This contemporary short turn is the offspring of the round short turn defined in the Center Line. The difficulty in performing these turns is that both the body mass and the feet reach across the hill. It takes a high degree of accuracy and skill to move the body mass across the fall line as you shape short arcs at speed. Although I have yet to teach reaching short turns to my students, I have been practicing this type of turn with highlevel instructors.

Four years ago, this turn was so new that very few instructors--even those in the upper echelons of their ski schools--knew how to perform it. A year later, at the 1996 PSIA Alpine Demonstration Team tryout, it was a scored task in several phases of the skiing segment. I expect that at the Demo Team tryout next May, many candidates will be ripping these turns with a very high level of energy and accuracy. The mechanics of this maneuver may challenge most skiers' idea of "short turns," but it's clear that reaching short turns are destined to become part of the accomplished skier's repertoire.

As previously mentioned, the challenge of performing a reaching short turn is that the center of mass must be deflected across the fall line through each short turn. It's comparatively simple to keep the body mass flowing mostly down the hill as the skis turn back and forth under the body. In fall-line short turns a small mistake in one turn usually doesn't dramatically interrupt the gravitational flow of the body down the hill. During a reaching short turn, however, a small mistake with the skis on the snow can be disastrous, since the carving skis are what carry the body mass across the fall line.

In reaching short turns the path of the CM is not tied to gravity so much as it is to the deflection and direction of the skis carving through the snow. Interrupting the carve in these short turns disrupts or eliminates the body momentum across the hill, and because the body then tends to slip back into the grips of gravity as it descends the hill the skier has little chance of pulling off the turn. A slalom racer who makes this mistake won't reach his or her gate. Although it's fairly easy for skiers to deflect CM across the slope in longer-radius turns, shearing forces that lead to tail displacement are greater during short turns, thereby making carving exponentially more difficult.

The following technical elements and movements are required to ski reaching short turns:

aThe center of mass flows in curves: forward, across the hill, and down the hill.

aThe feet, legs, and hips commit to early, progressive, and parallel edging.

aPressure is regulated through long leg/short leg movements and a weight redistribution that directs all energy in the arcing skis forward through the turn transition.

aBalance is accurately directed toward the outside ski through precise angulation movements.

aEdged and pressured skis are steered powerfully from the legs to swoop through a tight arc.

aPole swing is directed across the fall line and in the direction the body mass will take in the turn transition.

aThe skier must be patient. It takes time to deflect the body mass and direction of travel across the fall line. In World Cup slalom the longest of these turns may take up to one and a half seconds to complete. In comparison I've observed that slalom turns in vertical combinations take approximately half a second and the more common open turns that take place more in the fall line take between seven-tenths and one second to complete.

In practicing reaching short turns I have found it beneficial to focus on the outcome and let the movements fall into place on their own. Overanalyzing the mechanics during performance of these turns will not result in much improvement. It's also important to realize that these turns are appropriate primarily on relatively steep terrain such as a groomed black diamond run. Drills that help you practice the feel of these reaching turns include the following:

aVisualizing the turn shape and/or the path of the CM and then making it happen.

aMaking a pole plant for each turn on the same fall line as you ski as short a turn as possible.

aPerforming fall-line short turns with a long swoop across the slope on every fifth turn to establish a new fall line. The sensation in this swoop mimics the sensation in the transition between reaching short turns.

aPracticing short turn garlands, focusing on the change of direction at the end of each traverse of the slope.

aStarting with longer-radius turns and gradually decreasing the size of your turns until you are making reaching short turns.

aSkiing reaching short turns very slowly on moderate terrain.

aSetting gates or targets that require a reaching short turn and the body mass to travel across the fall line.

Reaching short turns are less widely used than braking turns or round short turns, but I play with them because they're a great challenge. In addition, the ability to change the path of the body mass in a relatively short space does come in handy at times, especially whenever you need to dodge another skier, a half-hidden rock, or an unfriendly mogul. Because they evoke swooping and free-falling sensations through the turn transitions, I find these turns really fun to practice on very steep terrain.

All the turns outlined in this article are useful to us as instructors and skiers. Even historical turns like a classic short swing can be effective in the moguls from time to time. I suggest that you practice this variety of short turns since all three have application to all-mountain skiing. I urge you to take a look at World Cup slalom footage and watch for the turns where the racer's body mass swoops across the fall line. A moving visual image of this most contemporary turn might help you understand them better.

How will short turns evolve in the future? As history proves, the possibilities in skiing will only continue to expand. I enjoy looking ahead for new and exciting ways to ski, and I have my ideas of what the future will bring. Do you?

Scott Mathers is the training director for the Alf Engen Ski School at Alta, Utah, and a 12-year-veteran of PSIA's Alpine Demonstration Team.