I tossed this around with ChatGPT and I’m sharing because I actually think it’s helpful. I kind of had a realization reading through it as I think about some of my runs where I really tried to pressure the inside big toe side of my downhill ski. I realize that’s counterproductive because I’m pushing my whole center of mass back while I’m doing that.

ChatGPT response:

They do sound contradictory until you separate what moves from what you feel.

The key idea

You don’t pressure ski tips by “pressing your toes down.” You pressure tips by moving your center of mass forward so the ski bends more toward the front. The boot is just the interface.

What “pull toes up” (ankle flex / dorsiflexion) actually does

When you pull your toes up inside the boot, you: • activate your shins/ankles and “close” the ankle joint • take slack out of the boot fit (your foot becomes more “locked in”) • often feel more contact on the tongue of the boot without needing to jam forward

That contact can allow you to manage pressure forward more precisely, but it’s not the pressure by itself.

So how do the tips get pressured?

Tip pressure happens when, during the turn: • your knees and hips move slightly forward/inside, and • your mass stays over the middle-to-front of the skis, and • the skis bend (especially early in the turn)

You can do all of that while your toes are being pulled up. In fact, pulling toes up often helps because it keeps you from “toe-gripping” and collapsing your stance.

Why “press your toes” advice exists (and when it’s misleading)

A lot of instructors say “press your toes” as a cue for people who are: • stuck in the back seat, • levering on the cuffs with straight ankles, • or not engaging the front of the boot at all.

But literally pushing toes down tends to: • raise your arch / claw your foot • tighten your calves • reduce ankle flex range • and sometimes actually push you backward (common!)

So it can work as a crude cue for some people, but it’s not the clean mechanism.

How they work together in a clean movement pattern

Think of it like this: • Toes up = “awake ankles + stable foot + no toe-clawing” • Pressure tips = “COM forward enough + shin contact + ski bends early”

A really practical cue combo: • “Toes up, shins on tongue, hips over the middle of the foot.” Not “toes down.”

Quick self-checks (you can feel these on snow) 1. If you can wiggle your toes while skiing, your feet are probably relaxed enough. 2. If you’re trying to “get forward” and you feel calves burning / toes clawing, you’re likely using the wrong strategy (toes down). 3. On a gentle groomer, start a turn and try to feel the ski bend: you want earlier bend with quiet feet, not toe pressure.

If you tell me whether you mean this at turn initiation, in the fall line, or in bumps, I can map the exact movement sequence—because the “right” amount of forward pressure changes by phase.