Skiing Styles

[Guy in Shorts]

My self-taught style of skiing may never reach the level of being called stylish but it has served me well over the last forty seasons. All I need to do is watch one of the half dozen friends and relatives that I taught how to ski by following me to really see an uglier version of my style. Eons ago in my Navy days skiing buddy would wear out the plastic on the sides of his boots due to skiing with his feet together. No matter how hard I tried I could never ski this style. Loved when skis became wider and skiing with your feet apart became the norm as I was already happily there. Last year I was attacked for my imperfect technique by a PITA Killington regular that goes by the name of Highway Star on our local website. After defending me the best the locals could come up with to describe my style is a power style with the finesse of a runaway bulldozer.

Hate the idea of conforming to anyone else’s standard but added reading the Pugski ski school threads, bought a used pair of 88 under foot Blizzard Brahmas to encourage turning, starting following the instructors that I regularly hang with trying to mirror their turns, swapped my daily drivers to the Renouns and napped a khaki pair of Burton ski pants to match the new skis. Pleased to report I now have look of a polished up runaway bulldozer. Pretty sure that the must be some others bulldozers out there somewhere having as much fun as I do.

Is having a perfect skiing style important to you? Do you like or hate or want to alter your own unique skiing style?

 

[KevinF]

What is "style"? Technique?

Having perfect technique is important to me from the perspective that better technique allows me to ski more terrain. Better technique allows me to ski longer (i.e., less fatigue). Better technique is (in my mind at least) safer -- i.e., hopefully fewer injuries.

If my skiing looks good as a side effect of all that -- well, I don't really care that much. Although it is nice when a random person comes up to me to say "damn, you made that look good"... And that does happen periodically. I don't complain...

 

[Josh Matta]

There is IMO no such thing as style....and fun is subjective.

There are only effective and and ineffective movements and tactical choices.

With the objectively correct skills, you will be able to apply more power than a clone of yourself who is simply using power.

I do find it ironic that HS attacked you because he is kind of a shitty skier objectively speaking his technique is awful. Subjectively he is good at what he does and would leave many people in the dust.

 

[Mendieta]

My self-taught style of skiing may never reach the level of being called stylish but it has served me well over the last forty seasons. All I need to do is watch one of the half dozen friends and relatives that I taught how to ski by following me to really see an uglier version of my style. Eons ago in my Navy days skiing buddy would wear out the plastic on the sides of his boots due to skiing with his feet together. No matter how hard I tried I could never ski this style. Loved when skis became wider and skiing with your feet apart became the norm as I was already happily there. Last year I was attacked for my imperfect technique by a PITA Killington regular that goes by the name of Highway Star on our local website. After defending me the best the locals could come up with to describe my style is a power style with the finesse of a runaway bulldozer.

Hate the idea of conforming to anyone else’s standard but added reading the Pugski ski school threads, bought a used pair of 88 under foot Blizzard Brahmas to encourage turning, starting following the instructors that I regularly hang with trying to mirror their turns, swapped my daily drivers to the Renouns and napped a khaki pair of Burton ski pants to match the new skis. Pleased to report I now have look of a polished up runaway bulldozer. Pretty sure that the must be some others bulldozers out there somewhere having as much fun as I do.

Is having a perfect skiing style important to you? Do you like or hate or want to alter your own unique skiing style?

I think, first things first. Someone giving unsolicited advise in a public forum, especially if they are attacking your skiing technique out of the blue, is a prick. It's probably best to ignore people like that.

I am a newbie, so what do I know. I do agree with @KevinF that better technique is all about exploring more terrain, longer and safer, not so much the looks. But I love beauty. I love music and poetry. I love seeing a beautiful skier. And I wouldn't mind joining that club some day. In any case, I am not self taught. I do take instruction. I feel like it allows me to progress much faster.

I do agree with @Josh Matta (making the point again that this is not my expertise field) that there are techniques/movements that are objectively better than others for a given situation. I do think there are styles. There is no _objective_ definition of style, but there are styles. Two people with perfect technique can very well ski the same run with different styles. We could have @Muleski or @ScotsSkier give a dissertation on the matter, here, I believe, as it comes down to racers: they all have perfect technique, and in some cases, very different styles..

But it doesn't seem to me that the original conflict was about style, but rather, technique.

@Guy in Shorts , you seem like a hell of a nice guy, so sorry that that happened. Having only skied two seasons myself, please take this with perspective, and understand that I say it with humility. But I did find in my avid reading in Pugski and another forum before, some people who, after skiing for many many years without instruction, took some formal instruction and found it fascinating, how making certain changes made them ski significantly better. SO, there is that. If you feel like there is room in your skiing for improvement, and if you feel like that would make you enjoy the mountain better, you might wanna consider it. Regardless, let the prick rot in his own personal issues ...

 

[Monique]

I care about skiing better because I want to be able to ski when I'm in my 70s and 80s. I knew a guy skiing double black bumps in his 80s, slowly and with grace. You don't get there by using inefficient, abrupt movements.

And because there are situations that still trip me up. I can get down bumps, but I want to feel better about it. I can ski groomers fast, but I have trouble skiing them slow. It's fine to want to rip a groomer, but not to feel like you have to fly, stop, fly, stop. I need to get better on ice, or in comparison to the East, "ice." I recently realized how far I am from actually carving, and I want to work on that for my own sense of satisfaction.

But there's also an instructor of mine. She's a PSIA examiner and has been teaching for decades, and she has a way of conveying technique that is better than any instructor I know. But here's what she says: "Skiing is like sex. It doesn't matter what it looks like as long as it feels good." And unless you're trying to teach other people, I think that really is all there is to it. Are you having fun, or aren't you? Me personally, I have trouble separating fun from a feeling of accomplishment, but that's my own issue.

I do think if you're teaching other people, you have a responsibility to try to understand what constitutes good technique, not just what works for you. And to avoid reinventing the wheel, it makes sense to do that with lessons or coaching from someone in a teaching organization.

 

[SBrown]

What is "style"? Technique?....

If my skiing looks good as a side effect of all that -- well, I don't really care that much. Although it is nice when a random person comes up to me to say "damn, you made that look good"... And that does happen periodically. I don't complain...

You did get that new jacket, though....

 

[KevinF]

You did get that new jacket, though....

There was some peer pressure involved... Like, half the forum membership was there staring at me.

 

[bbinder]

There was some peer pressure involved... Like, half the forum membership was there staring at me.

Yeah. I love it when other people force me to spend money.

 

[Brian Finch]

Wow! Really sorry this happened to you. Having seen you ski a few times, you really are a 1%er (99 of 100 others are really hacking at the hill far worse than you!).

Keeping it real there are 2 things holding you back:

Real estate & staying ahead of the turn.

Eastern skiing is really linking a few (5-9) turns & the then handling the obligatory speed check/ gaper/ barespot/ tree..... If you see me ski, I practice a maneuver that Dean Decus taught me & revolutionized my skiing. Yes I said practice....as in every day on the hill. Get ripping FAST, then with the hands well up & in front facing down the fall line nail a hard cross under & then keep skiing. That 'over the handle bars' sensation will pop you out of the back seat & regulate your speed.

Practice every day!

Soon no matter how out of control you feel, you'll have a rescue move that will overcome any erratic skier, terrain, squirrel, snow snake..... & instantly orient you to the fall line & get you back to a stacked alignment.

Then get down to Rams Head for a bit & practice staying ahead of your turns. Dial in a pole plant! Mellow terrain will real help hard wire this. Have someone show you an "upside down" turn- master that plus the move above, you'll be 0.1%er!

As a bonus, it takes a ton to close down the radius on either ski you referenced. When I'm on my 190 QLabs or those 186 WhiteDots, there's a boat load of crappy compensatory stuff occurring (that I hope no one sees....) to make turns @ K. Try the stuff above & the get your hands on a 170cm / 15 meter ski. All grins.

Bulldozer, naw you're a F'kn FreightTrain- love your style!

Best.

 

[Bad Bob]

Like the engineers say; "Beauty is Function". Bulldozers are very tough to tip over, and are very functional.

Last film I skied in (LONG LONG AGO) the guy behind the camera said, 'would you ski with your feet closer together'. My response was along the lines of,'yes,but that is not how I ski'. They used my footage in the bumps, feet apart and all. If you are stable, in control, and like it; do it.

 

[Ken_R]

My self-taught style of skiing may never reach the level of being called stylish but it has served me well over the last forty seasons. All I need to do is watch one of the half dozen friends and relatives that I taught how to ski by following me to really see an uglier version of my style. Eons ago in my Navy days skiing buddy would wear out the plastic on the sides of his boots due to skiing with his feet together. No matter how hard I tried I could never ski this style. Loved when skis became wider and skiing with your feet apart became the norm as I was already happily there. Last year I was attacked for my imperfect technique by a PITA Killington regular that goes by the name of Highway Star on our local website. After defending me the best the locals could come up with to describe my style is a power style with the finesse of a runaway bulldozer.

Hate the idea of conforming to anyone else’s standard but added reading the Pugski ski school threads, bought a used pair of 88 under foot Blizzard Brahmas to encourage turning, starting following the instructors that I regularly hang with trying to mirror their turns, swapped my daily drivers to the Renouns and napped a khaki pair of Burton ski pants to match the new skis. Pleased to report I now have look of a polished up runaway bulldozer. Pretty sure that the must be some others bulldozers out there somewhere having as much fun as I do.

Is having a perfect skiing style important to you? Do you like or hate or want to alter your own unique skiing style?

Humm. Interesting question(s).

There is a lot of form follows function in my "technique" or "style" (I dont think I have neither hence the " ") most of the time. Function in regards to going to places on the hill as smoothly and relaxed as possible to enjoy the day. At some times I ski harder to feel more "g's" and hence edge the ski at higher angles and link as much turns as I can and that looks and feels good. Other times in more challenging snow conditions I adjust my technique as I encounter obstacles or different snow conditions. That is the thing about skiing inside a resort. In one run you can encounter deep untracked (rare), chopped up powder, powdery bumps, slick hardpack spots and everything in between. Never mind the people and objects in your way.

Bottom line I think I go mostly by how it feels.

 

[Monique]

Last year I was attacked for my imperfect technique by a PITA Killington regular that goes by the name of Highway Star on our local website.

Can I ask how the hell that happened? Did you invite critique (which still isn't invitation to be attacked), or was he just like "Hey I know you! You suck!"?

 

[pais alto]

I live for what other people think of my skiing. I seek out and welcome evaluation and criticism. My personal goals fade before my needful consideration of others' opinions.

I need to get some video of my style so that I can submit it for feedback.






Actually, I relish the look on instructors' faces when they see me skiing at work - baffled, horrified, bemused...

 

[Monique]

I live for what other people think of my skiing. I seek out and welcome evaluation and criticism. My personal goals fade before my needful consideration of others' opinions.

I mean, that middle one isn't so bad depending on what your goals are. It's the first and the third that are problematic.

 

[slowrider]

Flow like the river move like a cat.

 

[quant]

Don't worry and just go down.

 

[Don in Morrison]

I had a never-ever lesson on a 20-foot high plastic hill two weeks after my first day skiing. Didn't learn anything I didn't already know. That was my only lesson. My stepdad got me up through stem turns and I figured out the rest by watching others who were better than I. Learned ballet the same way. Most of the time I feel I'm doing really OK. I couldn't give a rat's patootie what others think of my style, but I will graciously accept tips and pointers when offered, because there are definitely areas where I could stand some improvement.

 

[crgildart]

Different stroked for different disciplines. You'll see different styles on a SL course than you will on a DH course than you will on a bumps course than you will on a slopestyle course than you will on a big mountain freeride course. Out on the regular trails outside of competition whatever is effective, safe, and FUN for the rider is all that really matters. As for the rest, whatever wins is what really matters.

 

[ScotsSkier]

There is a reason races are decided by the clock, not by judges...

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Can I ask how the hell that happened? Did you invite critique (which still isn't invitation to be attacked), or was he just like "Hey I know you! You suck!"?

Easy answer - on the internet it is easier to attack and go negative then really help and be positive. Folks on this site put a lot of time, energy and effort to truly help fellow skiers. We all know that that is not the case everywhere. Please no need to feel sorry for me as I have a very thick skin. For years now I have been posting my daily report of mountain conditions on the Killington Zone and Facebook (and occasionally here also). Many folks love to read this unfiltered first hand account and I pour my heart and soul into making it an interesting read. This makes me an easy target with some folks trying to build themselves up by tearing me down.

Here at Killington our huge resort becomes very concentrated to one lift early and late season. Lots of chair time watching others. The soft springtime conditions attract some of the finest bump skiers from the Northeast. Brian Finch hit the nail on the head that I have some work to do to reach that 0.1% level that I strive for. I am very lucky to be able to watch, study and learn for some of the best every day here at my home mountain. Attempting to reach the highest pinnacle that I can in a sport that is my lifetime passion is my goal. Many thanks to all that support and help.