So a kick turn, it is a big part of the progression in touring
and actually quite a fear for a lot of the skiers
today we're gonna go more in depth and see how to master it.
First of all it is important to choose the right spot where you're gonna do your turn,
so away from the rocks, where it's less steep, where the snow is better, obvious.
What I like to do is to put a bit of an angle with the lower ski,
so that you're going to have to turn less after,
that's a privilege from snowboarders, because we've got short tails.
So now poles, it's very crucial because they're going to give you the right balance
for initiating your turn.
You need to bring back the lower pole and plant it next to your foot
I like to put it a little bit behind and really close to my lower foot
Boom, that's going to be your balance, you're going to keep it close together
and then with your upper body you're going to open up and initiate the turn
and plant it across, like this.
There are different techniques but that's how I like to do it.
Once you're stable you're going to have to turn your upper ski
so for this there's going to be a bit of a forward backward movement
which is going to allow your ski to turn around, to move and for the tip to lift up
so there you see you're in a stable position with the weight on your heel
at this stage you're going to need to put the second ski down
now you can move your poles again.
So bring your upper pole closer to your upper ski
closer to the foot
and then bring back the other pole, forward.
So now it's the crucial moment
that's the stage where you're going to have to transfer the weight from the lower ski to the upper ski.
Bring your heel towards your bum,
give a bit of an angle with your heel
and turn it around before you bring it back.
If there is a bit of snow on your tip and your ski struggles to turn around and to lift off the snow
give a little flicker with your heel and it will do the job, that's the kick.
The first common mistake is to put too much weight on the front, on the toes,
look if you're too much on the front or on the toes you lose the grip.
If you want to have a good traction you need to stand upright as much as possible with the weight on your heels.
Mistake number two, is to forget to anchor well your lower ski before you make the whole turn
that's the mistake.
Mistake number three, is to place wrong your poles, it's important to try to stay concise
to have all your poles close together, close to your body,
so you're going to be a bit more balanced and less spread out and stuck into your , movements.
So if you're too spread out, like this,
it's not going to work,
the lower pole close to your foot is going to be really crucial to make the movement and to be stable.
When it gets steeper, icier and especially above exposure
it's good to remember that you can take off your board and boot pack
and if you have a pair of crampons and an ice axe, even better, because you're gonna be as safe as you can be.
When you feel it's getting steeper and icier you can also throw your knives on your split board
you're going to feel a lot more comfortable.
Hey guys remember that this is a technique that is really specific to split boarding
and thanks to our short tails we can save a ton of energy and be a lot safer into the mountains.
So now it's time for you to get out there practice on easy terrain and then step it up
and you're gonna quickly feel much more comfortable
and you're gonna widen your range of action.
Time to go riding.