While this was the thread that inspired this response, the writing evolved into a technical analogy that I thought was more relevant to the analogies/teaching thread. However, it is an analogy too complex for the side of the hill such as “You are a pilot? Try to tip your skis like you tip your wings to turn the plane” so, not a good choice for that thread. I appreciate that level of content management to address the randomness that can dilute the message of a good topic. Anyway, the first paragraph is about what numbers on a ski means to me. The second, how it relates to technique and how skis can be seen as a biological extension of the body or the body as a mechanical extension of the skis.
I’m no expert on ski design and more on usage. Though I have probably sold at least a thousand pair ski bumming my way through a few ski shops here and there. I have watched closely the evolution of ski design, new materials and manufacturing processes over the past few decades. Very interesting stuff. There is no other nearly as a sophisticated relationship the human body shares with an external object. Not even the most sophisticated prosthetic devices out there, including robotics, come close to the level of sophistication in the union of skier and ski equipment. I agree as to the lack of importance of individual numbers associated with skis, however, not in terms of how they relate and integrate with each other. Once we take the numbers to the next level, to their relationships with each other, do we start to determine how we can control the “feel” of the ski. Longitudinal flex balance, torsional flex balance and edge radius/shape, independently, are not very inspiring pieces of information. Though, when we size, shape and align these three/4 elements with each other, we start to see the formation of the sweet spot to come alive - its location: more fore or aft, its length: short and abrupt or longer and more progressive and its rebound: quick and energetic or chill and smooth. Once you mix the engineered sweet spot with feel and performance promoting materials, a certain width for terrain type along with the customer chosen length you've made it to the end of the chain of the mechanical to biomechanical mating process (in short).
Now, further bearing with me, I find it very interesting how the mechanics of an alpine skier’s body and how it finds its “skeletal sweet spot” to mimic the same manufacturing process. Any individual motor pattern in of itself is neither much to look at nor judge in an isolated capacity. However, when we look at how we add up, relate and integrate these individual movements into a “unified motor package”, all that share the same DIRT, we start to find the sweet spot in our skeleton. Blending the right flexion, extension, angulation, inclination, rotary and foot movements that find the right unified sense of timing, then “defining” that feel, that specific kinetic chain, and processing it for manufacturing in all of your basic everyday turns. This “home base” of technique with which you master your medium/regular technical turns on open groomers, will soon then serve you on that backcountry terrain as you figure out the “accessory” tactical adjustments. I feel that this unique pairing of such similarly complex dynamics is the reason skiing is such an amazing sport. If you want to manufacture good turns, you need to use a good manufacturing process. Success is not in the turn, it is in the manufacturing process.
