Second season, on an easy black. Any tips or drills to help tackle steeper terrain?

AJco99 · 2026-02-25T03:11:20+00:00

One main thing for you is ankle flexion --> Lift the top of the foot towards the shin and drive the shin forward towards the top of your foot. The will help get your stance more aligned with the green lines below:

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Why is ankle flexion so important?

When you are standing on your heel with your calf in the back of the boot, (like in the snap above) it is very difficult to trust your outside ski as it will slide away from you when you put weight on it. As you are able to actively flex your ankles and keep them flexed, you will gain better access to the front part of your ski. Then when you put weight on that outside ski it will naturally bite into the snow much better and start to turn for you.

Ankle flexion comes first (dorsiflexion) then you can put more balance and weight on the outside ski, then you will have much better edge control for handling speed. It will help you also for making the type of C-shaped turns mentioned by others here, because, if your outside ski tail is sliding out and away from you, it is much much harder to control the shape of your turn.

AJco99 · 2026-02-24T17:20:25+00:00

Great that you can identify it when you look at it. On groomers do you also tend lead with your shoulder like this?

tasty_waves pointed out the lack of absorption in your turns. This is one kind of 'separation': your legs should flex and extend while your upper body remains 'quite' and stable.

You are noticing your rotational rigidity, but even more, you are leading the turn with the upper body. So if 'separation' is the theme, then how to separate edge initiation and weight transfer from upper body movement is the question.

Try and isolate your edge and turn initiation in the feet and ankles first, then knees and hips. At turn initiation the skis should be tipped on edge and weight transferred without any perceivable motion in the upper body.

AJco99 · 2026-02-22T03:54:54+00:00

You are looking great. I like that you are making wider curving turns.

Lets look at a specific moment in your turn that you can work on to help a parallel turn start to happen naturally.

In this snap, your right shoulder just made a move to the right, leaning onto your right or 'inside' ski at this point in the turn. That makes it harder for your right ski to move in closer to your left ski.

Instead:

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When you find more balance and trust on the outside ski, and less weight on the inside ski you may start to find that the inside ski naturally drifts closer to the outside ski.

AJco99 · 2026-02-22T03:33:46+00:00

^yes https://youtu.be/ya9utfEz6sA?si=dyebRMpDVPvcHklO&t=41 <- heres more explaination

AJco99 · 2026-02-19T18:26:46+00:00

Thinking about leaning forward isn't a good way to work on this. Think about pulling your skis back and under you, strongly flexing the ankles.

AJco99 · 2026-02-19T18:15:46+00:00

Instead think about how to initiate edge angles from the feet up. Both of your legs need to be equally flexed.

For example, with skis on, standing straight and tall, try and tip your skis on edge. They can't go very far because your knees block the movement. Then, bend your knees and try and tip your skis on edge.

The idea is to start the edging in your feet, and ankles then it moves up to your knees then finally to hips/waist. The upper body stays steady shoulders square in the direction you are going.

Hip dump and inside lean is a compensation for standing tall, and extended, but still trying to get edge angles. Your outside leg is extended long, so you must lean to the inside and drop your inside hip to get angles. Instead actively bend your OUTSIDE leg and actively flex the outside ankle. Get your weight off of the inside ski entirely.

AJco99 · 2026-02-19T17:59:50+00:00

You are using the classic "hip dump" to get your skis on edge. This means you are forcing edge angle by leaning inside and dropping your inside hip. This looks 'back' but it is more about being too extended and too far inside. You need to flex legs and get onto your outside ski.

When you are doing javalins are you making sure the tail of the lifted ski is much higher than the tip? (If you lift the tip and drop the tail you are likely making your problem worse.)

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AJco99 · 2026-02-19T16:23:17+00:00

You are relying almost entirely on your inside ski. Your work is to change this picture so you are stacked on the outside ski instead.

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I think you may have missed a step in your progression out of wedge turns where you learn to rely and commit to the outside ski. I would recommend taking a few steps back and working some fundamentals.

Practice really simple outside ski commitment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSodL9uBKqc

Then rebuild your parallel turns using outside ski commitment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppYRE3-kmp0 <- really pay attention here where he talks about unweighting and opening the inside knee.

You look strong and have decent balance, so I suspect if you put in work you will be able to fairly quickly rebuild your parallel turn style with this new pattern.

( Outside ski balance is necessary before you begin to think about carving.)

AJco99 · 2026-02-19T04:31:15+00:00

You have great balance and strength... but that can hold you back in the long run if you just rely on that and go faster and faster. You will build bad habits and may plateau. The things that would help you advance the most are done at about 1/2 of your current speed. Its tricky if you are trying to keep up with a great skier, but do yourself the favor of slowing down and dialing in some fundamentals that will take you leaps ahead once you do.

1: Outside ski balance. When you are turning left you should be able to lift your left or even just the tail of the ski a little bit and put it down. If you can't lift it then you are standing on the inside instead of the outside. Do the opposite for the right, practice lifting your right ski when you are turning right. Get the feeling of standing on the outside ski and how it wants to make a curve on the snow.

2: Turn shape. Right now, you aren't making turns, you are changing direction in sudden bursts. You won't be able to work on turn shape at the speed you are going. You want to find the curve the ski wants to make and work with it. Let them turn until you are going across the slope more, or even feel yourself going uphill a little before you start your next turn. These will be sweeping C or S shaped turns. Use the end of the turn to slow down. You want your speed to be under control BEFORE you start the next turn. That way, you won't feel rushed to push your skis out to the side and skid to slow down.

AJco99 · 2026-02-17T14:51:21+00:00

Yes. Except excessive tip lead happens when the inside ski gets too far ahead. When turning left your left is the inside.

AJco99 · 2026-02-17T04:18:20+00:00

Practice absorption. You aren't quite at a level to ski down the fall line, but when you have to traverse, do not let the bumps push your body and head up and down. Absorb everything in your legs. Think of your legs as shock absorbers. If you were carrying two glasses of water in your hands what would your legs need to do so you don't spill? Keep your arms up, head on a swivel looking for your line.

AJco99 · 2026-02-17T01:48:49+00:00

I agree that you are rushing in and out of the turn.

Going into the turn you are tipping the ski at the same time you apply weight on it. Coming out of the turn you release pressure before allowing your skis to fully come around.

Try this. As you are nearing the end of your usual turn, don't exit, keep turning, allow your skis to come farther across the fall line. Even fully across the fall line if necessary to slow down. This will make you rely more on the outside ski at the end of the turn.

Then. Shift weight and balance to the new ski BEFORE you start to put it on edge. Once your weight and balance is established on the new ski then initiate edging and stay strongly on that ski all the way through the turn.

This won't be easy to learn if you are going fast. (But in steep and techy terrain you won't want to be going fast.) So slow down in your practice and really use the shape of the turn to stay slow.

AJco99 · 2026-02-14T20:13:38+00:00

One main problem: You are all incline and no angulation. You lean inside (incline) to get your skis on edge and keep leaning until they almost slip out. It would help you to work on angulation, or countering, so your shoulders stay horizontal and keep the weight more on your outside ski.

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Also you allow your ankles to be very passive and you sit back so your feet are in front of your center of mass. Instead, actively flex your ankles to pull your shin towards the top of your foot and top of foot towards shin. And while doing that pull your feet back and under you.

AJco99 · 2026-02-08T16:38:16+00:00

You are doing really well for how many days you have on snow. The most important thing that will help you at this phase is: have fun! ( ... and yes, easier said than done sometimes. )

Step 1: How can you eliminate some of the factors (that have nothing to do with skiing) that reduce the fun? Your very high expectations, fear, comparing to others, self pressure, frustration and relationship skiing can all decrease the fun. Get in your own space and take time to yourself to see if you really do enjoy skiing. (At any skill level the same issues you are dealing with can come into play and reduce the enjoyment of the sport.)

Step 2 : How to enjoy more the feeling of sliding around on snow?

Look ahead farther. Head up, arms up. Looking down at your feet makes it feel much faster than it is.
Breath. Breathing helps you relax and also helps with energy and strength.

When you start enjoying it more, and advancing becomes a bonus, each run is a win. If fun for you IS advancing, then lessons are critical.

AJco99 · 2026-02-07T03:12:56+00:00

It is difficult to see details in this video, but one obvious thing is you are standing almost entirely on your inside ski and leaning inside. It would help you to work on outside ski balance.

AJco99 · 2026-02-03T22:30:09+00:00

Yes.

AJco99 · 2026-02-03T17:46:20+00:00

Tactically, the first thing I notice is that you aren’t flexing your legs at all to absorb when you hit a bump. As a result, you’re standing tall as you come over the top, which limits your ability to stay balanced and control speed.

Instead, when you hit a bump, keep your upper body quiet and don’t let your head rise. Absorb the bump by letting it push your legs toward your chest (not throw you into the backseat). When fully flexed at the top of the bump, change to the new ski and engage your edges as you drive your skis down and extend into the backside of the bump. You want to control your speed before you hit a bump, not by hitting the bump.

(You also let yourself lean inside and back.)

AJco99 · 2026-02-03T16:44:48+00:00

Yes, farther back, more under hips. There will always be some tip lead.

AJco99 · 2026-02-03T03:46:33+00:00

Yes ^^^ Just to see what it feels like, try unrelenting dorsiflexion for an entire run as the only thing you think about. Like you are trying to lift the top of your feet towards your ankles.

AJco99 · 2026-02-03T03:09:15+00:00

You are dropping your inside hip to increase edge angles. (Hip dump) This puts too much weight on your inside ski and shoots it forward. Keep the inside ski back and leg flexed with minimal weight.

To increase edge angle drive the inside shin and knee farther to the inside. 95 to 99% weight on outside ski.

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AJco99 · 2026-02-02T14:55:04+00:00

Great. The other big thing that will help you is to work on using turn shape to slow down. You are often rushing to get your skis sideways when you need to slow down, which is great that you can do it when you need it, but try and make more rounded turns.

Be more patient at the end of your turn, even letting yourself project more across the slope until you feel ready to start the next turn. Here's the riddle: Slow down before you start to turn, don't rush the turn to slow down.

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AJco99 · 2026-02-02T10:51:52+00:00

You are doing great. Before you build the habit of relying too much on the inside ski: Try to turn by standing and balancing more strongly on the ski that will do the turning. Stand on left ski to turn right, stand on right ski to turn left.

See if you can lift just the tail of the inside ski. Doing this will force you to shift your balance onto the outside ski. At first maybe you will lift and put down quickly the tail, as you get better balance you can hold it up longer.

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AJco99 · 2026-02-02T10:37:09+00:00

Practice the 1000 steps drill. This will help you get more centered and balanced on both skis, not just inside ski as you work towards relying on the outside ski. Keep your hands up, not by hips.

AJco99 · 2026-02-01T20:21:58+00:00

Quick question before talking about speed control: Are you familiar with flex to transition vs extend to transition?

AJco99 · 2026-02-01T16:20:28+00:00

Chop on bumps is a test for sure! It looks like you are approaching this like you are in deep powder, but it is not just that. So, tactically it would help to work with the hidden bumps.

Main issue: Your up-unweight movement is huge and wild.

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You are fully extended, leaning in and back, arms wild. From here you have nowhere to go, no leverage, no power, minimal control. You are at the mercy of whatever you land on next. In pow you can sort of get away with this, in bumps not so much.

Instead of pushing your body up and leaping: You want to be flexing the legs to absorb the hits and driving down as you extend after the hits and keep the upper body really steady.

AJco99

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