 ALPINE SKI LESSONS: SKIING ON ICY SNOW |
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Icy snow |
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| In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, learn to recognise icy zones on the slopes. These are usually located in spots that are alternately in the sun and in the shade. It's preferable, when skiing on icy snow, to avoid turning altogether and to keep leaning on the weight-bearing ski. However, if you must turn, there are two strategies to do so: |
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Explosive support |
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This method requires a good basic technique and a good ability to estimate the right weight distribution on the skis and the correct edging angle for each type of snow. This method consists in strongly leaning on the weight-bearing ski during the initial phase of the turn thanks to a marked flex/extension. The edging angle can't be too strong or the ski will skid, it should, however, be sufficient to ensure the ski's grip on the snow.
In short, this is a kind of "make or break" situation: heavily leaning on the edges will give the ski a stronger grip, but, if the ski skids, the risk of losing one's balance is increased by such heavy leaning... |
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Even distribution of the weight on both skis |
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| The goal here is to, on the contrary, minimize the balance shifts as much as possible to avoid having your skis suddenly start moving. The skidding is anticipated and measured. The steering of the skis should be as gentle as possible and the unweighting/weighting phase reduced to a minimum. |
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Various tips |
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Have your ski edges sharpened.
Go for a very flexed stance, with a tall upper body. This way, your balance will be better and your skis' grip on the snow will increase.
Instinctively, you won't use the stem technique. You need to have both your skis on the snow because if the downhill ski starts skidding, you need to be able to immediately shift your weight to the inside ski, at least temporarily.
Keep your skis close together. Indeed, if they are too far apart and one of them starts skidding, you might end up doing a split
Rather than worrying about the weight-bearing (downhill) ski's skid, anticipate it. When that ski starts skidding, apply as little weight as possible to it (the little weight on it should be evenly distributed over the sole of the boot) and instead, transfer the weight to the uphill ski until you manage to stabilise the first ski. If this downhill ski skids too far down, reduce the edging angle of the second ski to accompany it.
Basically, work on your skidding technique.
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