"gr" wrote in message


Picking up from some of the discussion later in this thread, I was
wondering if some of the std turns and techniques will apply to snow
blades.
I am an xc skier (classic, touring, hiking trails and such )and can
wedge turn and sort of get the second ski around for something that I
might believe is a parallel turn on my xc skis. This year I am trying
snowblades (thanks for the previous advice!) and have a pair of 120cm
(with releasable bindings!!).
Questions;
Do the same turn techniques apply that you are discussing, or are
snowblades just to far different?

No, snowblades allow you to do things that take a while to
learn on longer skis almost immediately. The king of all short
skis, Cliff Taylor, taught students to do the "twist" (the old
dance) in order to turn. Shoulders go one way, hips and
skis go the other. Back and forth, maybe a little flexion and
extension, then you're turning.

Short skis are a fairly effective way of learning direct to parallel.
Now, being able to pick up the tail of a ski and leave the tip on
the snow applies on blades as well, but, aside of learning body
position, you don't need to do it, you can just steer the shorter
skis in parallel anyway.

It wouldn't *hurt* to play around with the wedge a bit on
blades, as I've said, sooner or later, anyone will need a wedge.

I am guessing that if I learn the reasonably proper technique on the
short skis, I may someday want longer ones and want to be using the
proper technique.

No question. The shorties have limitations. But they are a kick
as well....

While you're still on the blades, you can learn things like
rotation/counter rotation, angulation, and some others. These
will translate directly to longer skis.

Is a hockey stop still reasonable?

Yes, learn to sideslip on them as well, and slip your turns. All
these things are well possible on blades, it's just that you can't
go as deep, fast, or forward on the shorter skis. Cut up snow
will beat you to death at speed.

From an old book on short short skis I gather that making a parallel
turn is almost automatic, but does that induce bad habits?

There's no such thing as a bad habit. : ). There's only what
you know how to do now, and what you can add to it. Don't
ever let anyone put you into a box. I don't think there's
*anything* "bad" you can do on a pair of skis.

Also, seems
like the parallel is getting a lot of flak as being old fashioned (I
guess in favor of carver turns).

People are dreaming. And kidding themselves. Skidded turns
are at least half of skiing. On extremely steep terrain, if you
carve, you'll accellerate right off a cliff. You have to slip the
skis. Same thing in moguls. Slipping the skis is important. Not
only that, but a pure carve is mostly a goal, not a possiblility.
You can't carve much below a certain radius depending on
the cut of the skis and the length. If you bend the front of the
ski you can shorten the turn up some and still carve, but there's
always a limit.

The turns I need to do to get further certified as an instructor
are basically skidded turns. Carving is mostly a racing thing,
done on a predictable, set course designed to be carved.
When you need to take the mountain the way it comes at you,
you need to be able to slip as well as carve.

thanks!
GR

Stay in touch.