technique is wrong or ski size is wrong: could you please help?

I am a beginner of XC skiing, so appreciate if you could help. When I
weight on one ski (say, my left one), and push/kick my right leg, many
times I feel that the left one won't grip the snow. In stead, it slips
backwards. It happens even in the flat field. I am using a pair of
mid-size Fischer. I am about 6 feet with slightly below average
weight. The skis are just a little bit longer than my height and seem
quite narrow. Do you think there is anything obvious wrong with either
my technique or the skis based on my description. Thank you!

SS

Your description is a little confusing; it doesn't seem to say what should
be;
your whole weight is on the ski you are kicking with.
But if that is not the problem, a ski that is too stiff will still kick ok
if you kick down hard enough, but it is quite tiring.
Are you using wax or waxless type skis?
When kicking down, imagine that you need to drive a nail straight down into
the snow with your heel.
With the cold weather you may have dry powder snow, which does not grip
waxless skis very well if it is not compacted, so that may be part of it.
gr
"S. S." wrote in message
om...
I am a beginner of XC skiing, so appreciate if you could help. When I
weight on one ski (say, my left one), and push/kick my right leg, many
times I feel that the left one won't grip the snow. In stead, it slips
backwards. It happens even in the flat field. I am using a pair of
mid-size Fischer. I am about 6 feet with slightly below average
weight. The skis are just a little bit longer than my height and seem
quite narrow. Do you think there is anything obvious wrong with either
my technique or the skis based on my description. Thank you!

SS

"S. S." wrote:

I am a beginner of XC skiing, so appreciate if you could help. When I
weight on one ski (say, my left one), and push/kick my right leg, many
times I feel that the left one won't grip the snow. In stead, it slips
backwards. It happens even in the flat field. I am using a pair of
mid-size Fischer. I am about 6 feet with slightly below average
weight. The skis are just a little bit longer than my height and seem
quite narrow. Do you think there is anything obvious wrong with either
my technique or the skis based on my description. Thank you!

Slow down the tempo so you are shure that you have tranfered your
weight to either side and by that ensure that you have grip when kicking.
Don't use your poles to make you stand up right, use them to propel
your self forward. Hard for the balance but it comes with training.

--

Forward in all directions

Janne G

(S. S.) wrote in message . com...

I am a beginner of XC skiing, so appreciate if you could help. When I
weight on one ski (say, my left one), and push/kick my right leg, many
times I feel that the left one won't grip the snow. In stead, it slips
backwards. It happens even in the flat field.

It could be that I´m picking up on something in your
*description* of what you do rather than what you
really do, but if you "shift weight to gliding foot,
then kick on the other foot", you end up without
enough weight on the kick foot, or the kick foot
is then likely to be *behind* the glide foot, which´ll
make your kick weightless/forceless and you end up
with a backward slip of the ski rather than a proper
kick.

You could think: kick *first*, then shift weight on
gliding foot, then bring the first kick foot (which
is now behind you) forwards (in the air rather than
gliding it alongside the proper glide ski) and kick
(firmly down) with the weighted glide foot *when both
feet are again on the level* - and repeat cycle over
and over.

If you try and practise that without poles - which I
do every season - you get the hang of it pretty soon.
The slower the tempo, the better.


The other possibility is that the problem lies with
your equipment:-)



Anders