Hi everybody, my name is Kili Weibel, I am a member of the Swiss snow Demo Team, and
today I want to show you a few tips to help you ski on ice.
This video is for two types of skiers: those who want to challenge themselves on icy and
steep terrain, and for the others who feel uncomfortable on ice.
So before we go into the tips, I want to say to have tuned equipment and sporty ski’s.
If your edges aren't sharp then you will probably slip away on the ice and feel automatically
uncomfortable.
So skiing ice is difficult, make sure you practise my tips on easier terrain, on softer
snow conditions first, and then work your way up.
For all of today's tips and when you are skiing on ice it's important to remember to have
a good basic position.
Think about a soccer goalkeeper - hip wide stance, all joints are bent, a lower position
so you are ready to move in different directions.
So let's go for a ski and get into the tips.
Okay, my first tip for skiing on ice with more confidence is about initiation.
To keep your skis from skidding and losing grip on ice you need to get your new outside
ski on the edge as early as possible.
The outside ski should be the boss from the beginning of the turn until the end of the
turn with a smooth pressure build up.
You know the most common mistake people do is extend too much vertically with both legs
and it takes so long until the skis are getting back on the edge.
So my drill for initiation is as soon as you release the pressure from the previous turn,
you try to extend more with the uphill leg and then lift, at the same time you lift up
your inside ski, this is the position from the previous turn and now I will try and extend
the uphill leg, which becomes the new outside ski, more than the inside leg.
Make sure you lift your heel up, lift the inside ski, and you roll over from one side
to the other, you can see and you will automatically have angle on the outside ski.
So, I’m extending my uphill leg, this becomes the outside leg, then I lift up the inside
ski, the tail.
Make sure the pressure is on the outside ski and the ski’s going smoothly on the edge.
This means your centre of mass goes more horizontal rather than vertical.
Tip number 2 is an early and smooth pressure build up between the initiation and the fall
line.
I see a lot of skiers that are in a rush and they rotate their feet too quickly in this
part of the turn.
Be patient, try to roll over from one edge to the other edge and not to rotate your legs.
The ski needs time to bend, getting into a good flex, to do it smoothly.
My tip number 3 is about the upper and lower body separation.
Our goal should be to have the highest angle right after the fall line to the end of the
turn because then you can safely finish the turn and not slip out.
It's really important to have upper and lower body separation and my tip and drill is to
squeeze the side of your core to feel it until the end of the turn and then release.
I see a lot of skiers rotate, following their skis instead of separating the body, what
happens then is that you slide out.
You know if you rotate your upper body too much until the end your skis will slide and
you will wash out, especially on the ice.
On the end of the turn try to squeeze your side, here , squeeze then separate your body.
Squeeze.
Instead of rotate, rotate.
So tip number 4 is more flow, less force.
Skiing is all about the flow, you don't have to feel like you're in a boxing match and
really tense and aggressive, it's more about the flow.
You don't have to think oh S**t there is ice, and then get too tense and have too much force.
Just stay relaxed and do your movement like a dolphin jumping out of the water and going
in, easy and you have the flow.
Otherwise the movements are too rough, focus on the flow and control your breathing, you
will save a lot of energy and will be able to ski all day long, which is definitely more
fun.
My quick recap for the lesson today is - a good position, initiation as early as possible
to get on the outside ski, separate the body to create a big edge angle and of course at
the end smoothness to go with the flow.
If you like the lesson, like, comment and subscribe.
And now the last thing to say is less skidding, more edging - have fun!