From the same HH Blog that
@Superbman referenced, is a HH explains his thinking of the benefit of tip-lifting for his students. To some extent, one needs to be familiar with the PMTS dictionary and the concepts of flexing to release, counter balance and counter acting and tipping the new inside ski through out the finishing of the turn.
Tip ski lift at the release!
I have never been anti-tip lift, I always saw, or noted that I had it in my skiing, I even wrote about it in 2007.
I started using tip lift for intermediates when I saw too much focus on just lift the back of the ski. Which accomplishes little. I began by telling students the point of lifting was to get a release, but most were not tipping after they lifted the ski. The whole idea of lifting is to get that ski to the LTE.
So I began to tell our students to keep the ski level rather than just lifting the tail. In doing the exercise of keeping the ski level, from a stationary rehearsal, I had them compare the difference in the actions of the leg muscles, between just lifting the tail and lifting the tip.
It became obvious even in a stationary exercise for this comparison, that lifting the tip keeps the ski closer to the ground and it also engaged important hip and torso muscles that helped set up CA and CB, which lifting the tail did not. I began to have the group use just lifting the tip at the release. Low and behold, most of their extension went away, and inside ski lead was reduced. Better overall balance and transfer increased. SO I stayed with it.
Biomechanically speaking, the action helps to close the ankle, or Dorsi-flexes the foot, lifts the foot. The tibialis anterior, is the main lifting muscle used to lift the foot, which also helps to invert the foot. In turn, higher in the kinetic chain it engages the hip flexor, (tensor fascia latæ), You can also use it at Starbuck to order a special Lattee, it really confuses the hell out of them.