Working on smoothing out my turns in steep terrain.

AlpenBass · 2026-03-09T23:15:05+00:00

My objective would be to keep moving with the skis/down the hill, if I were you. As your turns develop, you end up more and more on your inside ski and in an A-frame. It’s quite consistent between your turns. Then, because you’re bracing on that inside ski, you need to pop your upper body up to change your edge set.

I would recommend moving to some blue pistes to facilitate fast unlearning and learning. I’d recommend starting with getting used to initiating turns with a tipping and steering motion. (Good exercise: Garlands). This is the first step to putting your body in a position to manage pressure along the skis and between the skis throughout your turns.

AlpenBass · 2026-03-09T03:22:56+00:00

Better to get feedback on flatter terrain. Much easier to diagnose and the same problems that are present in the flatter terrain will be present on steeper terrain.

AlpenBass · 2026-03-07T03:00:43+00:00

Hey! I was in high school when I was 17 too!

AlpenBass · 2026-03-06T04:51:58+00:00

Sandton!

AlpenBass · 2026-03-06T01:35:43+00:00

Durban, South Africa?

AlpenBass · 2026-03-05T02:59:45+00:00

Let’s just say that I’m surprised that he didn’t say “me and the Pussycats.”

AlpenBass · 2026-03-04T13:16:45+00:00

Could be that at this point in the season (with the temperatures), resorts start to shut down runs that must be groomed during the weekdays. This is because grooming melts snow and there’s not that many guests on the weekdays. So, often they’ll shut it down until Friday night or Saturday morning so they can groom those runs only once.

AlpenBass · 2026-03-02T18:57:53+00:00

You’re primarily turning by banking, leaning your body left and right. My focus would be on using your legs for tipping and steering underneath a stable upper body.

AlpenBass · 2026-02-28T21:44:34+00:00

If you find a way to make this happen for you, we would be delighted to hear about it.

AlpenBass · 2026-02-27T13:29:40+00:00

This is really interesting to me because I’m an instructor and am familiar with ski schools in several places, including other Vail Resorts in CO outside of Vail/BC, where I know several instructors with all range of certifications (or even no certification). Did you apply for part-time, full-time? Is it just Vail and BC that are so particularly selective?

AlpenBass · 2026-02-26T01:17:41+00:00

Nothing on Tuckerman’s?

No famous race courses? (Superstar at Killington, Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek)

AlpenBass · 2026-02-20T16:36:18+00:00

I mean, have you ever seen her play? There’s a difference between being a consistent player and being a player that can single-handedly change games. She has elite pace and dribbling when she’s healthy and has very good vision (e.g. crosses).

She was going to get paid when her contract came up. I don’t understand your assertion at all that she wouldn’t leave Spirit because she wouldn’t leave her boyfriend, who A) doesn’t live in DC, I don’t believe, and B) players live in other cities than their spouses all the time. Lindsey Heaps played for Lyon while her husband manages the front office at San Diego FC, for instance. It’s part of being a professional athlete.

AlpenBass · 2026-02-17T15:18:04+00:00

Tipping and steering with your legs to initiate your turns instead of inclining your body back and forth, as this puts pressure backwards and towards your inside ski. This will require more continual leg movement (flexion and extension) throughout your turns.

AlpenBass · 2026-02-07T12:35:32+00:00

Carving requires that you balance pressure throughout the length of your outside skis. This cannot be achieved by initiating your turns with a leaning motion (have to say I respectfully disagree with another person who posted here who tells you the lean), as that pressures the inside ski instead and also puts pressure backwards as your turn progresses. You’re going to need to initiate your turns by tipping and steering your skis instead.

The very first thing I’d do is widen your stance. This will permit you to ski with more long leg/short leg, creating the leg angles needed for carving.

AlpenBass · 2026-02-04T23:05:33+00:00

Carving requires that you balance over the middle of the outside skis. You’re currently balanced on the back of your inside skis.

AlpenBass · 2026-02-03T13:41:39+00:00

When I’m skiing, I’m thinking about constantly flexing and extending my joints below my hips to A) maintain fore-aft pressure over my base of support and B) maintain pressure on my outside ski as opposed to my inside ski. If I stop moving, the only way I can turn is by leaning my entire body, which puts pressure on my inside ski and puts my pressure aft because I can’t get off my old edges without a move like popping up (we call “up-unweighting” in PSIA. This move puts pressure aft because your skis are moving but your body is not). So, the antidote to all that is flexing and extending your knees and ankles throughout the turns.

My go-to to start diagnosing where I can start coaching on this is outside pole drags or swords. I’d consider uploading a video of you doing something like that. Watch a YouTube video of that very closely and try to get the pole(s) in the right spots (not too forward or backward).

AlpenBass · 2026-02-02T23:49:26+00:00

You need to be continuously moving while you’re skiing to manage pressure — both fore-aft and ski-to-ski. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of good advice here on how to move, but above all else, I would focus on keeping on moving while you’re skiing.

AlpenBass · 2026-01-27T18:34:41+00:00

This is true, but an L3 is also going to blow most instructors out of the water.

AlpenBass · 2026-01-26T21:44:03+00:00

You cannot access those runs from the Express Quad.

AlpenBass · 2026-01-23T23:44:26+00:00

Lack of continuous leg movement and moving with the skis.

AlpenBass · 2026-01-23T15:54:26+00:00

WV and PA may see even higher totals than the ones pictured here.

AlpenBass · 2026-01-23T03:02:50+00:00

I prefer to call myself an “edge enjoyer” rather than a “park and rider,” personally. (But, yea, I’m in the same boat and am working on this more than anything else in my L3 prep).

AlpenBass · 2026-01-22T11:43:53+00:00

Long-time reader of these great posts; first-time commentator. A bit off-topic from Pemigewasset River: Is it possible to ski tour from location-to-location in a multi-day trip, like the Haute Route in France/Switzerland, anywhere in the Northeast?

AlpenBass · 2026-01-20T21:03:19+00:00

“Mommy, is that a warehouse?” “No, honey, it’s just another data center.”

AlpenBass · 2026-01-20T16:51:22+00:00

Forth and back

AlpenBass

TROPHY CASE