Lifestyle -- 19 days ago
Words: Gentleman's Journal
The ski season is immanent and one must prepare to look the part on the slopes. The Journal runs through some quick tips to optimise your slalom technique, so you don’t look like an amateur and wipe out in front of the rest of the group!
1. Have most of your weight on the tail of your right ski. Project your body mass forward, this starts to get some pressure on the shovel of the outside ski. Plant your pole relative to the direction you are traveling, right for right, left for left – however a racer should try to bring forward the other arm, as well.
2. Moving both arms forward helps to avoid an upper body rotation and puts you in the most efficient position before entering into a new turn. A pole plant executed too far to the side or too close to the your feet is ineffective and can be detrimental as it can produce an unwanted rotational effect too far to either side.
3. Lean into the snow with the inside edge of your skis with your weight shifted forwards. Your upper body should remain square (facing down the mountain) while your lower body absorbs the turn. This enables you to keep your body mass central, which maintains much more control when coming out of a turn and initiating the next one.
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