Proper use of edges is one of the most important problems that a rider has to solve while skiing. Decisions must be made dynamically, bearing in mind the general principle that the milder the edgeing, the faster driving will be. I don’t want to be considering to what angle to sharpen the edges, although that’s definitely a necessary fix. I want to focus on the intensity (aggressiveness) of the edge in the different phases of the turn and on the decision whether always aggressive and strong edgeing will lead to braking. For the rider to drive faster than others, he must support the force pulling him “down”, that is, at the top of the turn as much as possible on the skis to press, and at the bottom minimize this pressure. These are the highest skills of the rider. How can we observe and rate them “live”? With pressure, even the edged skis slide slightly, throwing a little snow or ice aside. When the pressure is high, the snow and ice squirt from under the skis and can be clearly seen on the camera screen or TV. When the rider’s skis reject the snow in the first phase of the turn – you can see that he knows how to accelerate the turn when too much snow appears in the second phase you can see that it brakes. You do not have to wait for the result from the timing measurement, which will surely confirm our observation. It is a serious and difficult issue, how to provoke the strong with as much pressure as possible on the edges when starting the turn. I can’t give a single solution here. The carvng skis have enabled such a way of accelerating, and the best riders are looking for its optimization. Surely, with these searches, it is not possible to start the turn by going up, because it is in the first phase of turning that you need to reload the skis, rather than relieving them. According to my observations, this weighting is currently possible by starting the torso turn early enough, which is thrown into a new turn “down” while the skis continue to turn the previous one. This prepares the base and the possibility of the earliest pressure on the new inner edges. In achieving the second phase of the turn, minimizing the pressure on the skis is a key problem. It seems to me that depending on the situation and driving technique, you can implement this in two ways. First, classic one, by pulling up the knees and feet under the body. If we drive the skis as softly as possible, then of course their pressure on snow is small. This is the universal, most commonly used way, which certainly needs to be used in short and fast turns. The second way to finish the turn can be possible in longer, less tight turns. After aggressive and dynamic edge and pressure in the 1st turn phase, or halfway there, we allow ourselves to straighten the ski in the 2nd phase of the turn, recovering energy from it. This straightening ski, from which we released aggressive pressure, can additionally “kick” the skier in the side direction, ie. from the turn.
7.1. Aggressive early edging followed by “active passivity”
Let us refer to the gravitational analysis of the track described in chapter 2. Let’s assume that the skier is riding on a mildly steep slope with a fairly long turn, such that the skis ride on an arc along the entire length of the turn. The pressure on the ski and its strong edge in the upper part of the turn, i.e. before the fall line, gives a completely different effect than the edge in the part after the fall line. This is illustrated by vectors and their components shown in the figure. Aggressive pressure on skis and edges at the top of the turn will accelerate the skier. Strong pressure and edging at the bottom will be a braking factor. What to do, how to prepare a skier’s layout so that it can be pushed away from the snow at the top of the turn at all. What to do in the second phase of turning? How to minimize the increasing influence of the skier’s weight then, adding to the centrifugal force generated from riding in an arc? When we want to absorb the impact of our torso against the ground, e.g. when jumping, we simply do a deep squat during the jump. It seems that here we can apply this mechanism. The lower, closer to the snow we go down in the squat, the more we get the cushioning (reduction) of gravity. Of course, this “squat” has an appropriate system of hips, torso and arms to maintain both balance and strong ski edging. There are so many great photogenic examples of competitors passing past poles, especially giant ones. It is worth analyzing them and choosing the method of the best amortization combined with a strong, though not always maximum, edge bending system. A certain variant of this turn, although it is rarely used when there are conditions for it, i.e. not very deep and longer turns, stopping the descent in the knees and hips and wait until the straightening ski pushes us a little forward in the direction of our ride between gates. Conditions for such a turn appear rather rare, because the slalom setters more often “tighten” the turns than “untight”, more often imposing difficulties than encouraging acceleration. It seems to me, however, that it is worth to train yourself and this kind of twist to apply it in the right situationsometimes even subconsciously, gaining a few hundredths of a second over competitors.
7.2. Leg throwing
Certainly it is not a literary, or scientifically accepted phrase describing the phenomenon of flipping skis in the air to make them curved in the next turn. In a situation where a competitor feels that he will not turn on the edges, due to lack of space or steep slope, he simply throws skis in the air through the slope fall line, and prepares the position for maximum edging in a new turn. It seems that one of the important aspects of this turn is not to extend the time of this edging to start the next change of direction efficiently. This is a very unnatural and “physical” turn, which both competitors and theoreticians do not like, because it is not an element of sophisticated technique, but simply a very forceful and uncomplicated element.
7.3. Fluidity search
When discussing the dynamics, i.e. the forceful actions that are part of the ski turns, it must be said that when we are looking for a fast route, this “dynamics” should be as little as possible. Let’s seek consciously and subconsciously technical solutions that will minimize the effects of forces. The exception, however, are the accelerating forces of the skier, i.e. directed in the direction of his ride (or when their components are directed in this direction). The title “fluidity” of movement, which usually gives minimal braking, is associated with the economy of movement achieved during many repetitions, often performed under significant fatigue. The method of refining this fluidity is usually long-lasting training. However, the methodology of this training should be left to trainers who will adapt it to the rider’s abilities, while protecting him from injuries and other dangers.