SKI TECHNIQUE WITH
Amy Twigge
Get porpoising!
Master the airborne edge change and make light work of crud. Instructor Amy Twigge is on hand to explain how…
Soon you’ll feel just like a dolphin jumping through the waves…
If you can change edges in the air, you can make crud easy and powder downright divine! The concept–and execution–is relatively straightforward. You ‘porpoise’, building pressure by spring-loading the skis under the snow. You then use the release of that pressure to lift you up and unweight the skis. While the skis are weightless, initiate your edge change from uphill to downhill edge.
Land, driving the skis back into the snow, and rebuilding the pressure to go again. A lot of skiers will be doing this already on firmer snow–searching for little moguls, bumps or rolls help to provide a natural unweighting to aid the initiation of the turn. Here, we are basically looking to amplify that feeling; a moment of suspension in between the edge change.
GETTING STARTED
SET A PENDULUM-LIKE RHYTHM
Look for a pendulum-like rhythm as you are linking your turns. This will help maintain a constant building and releasing, flexion and extension. As your turn completes and you are loading and bending the skis, begin looking for your take-off point. It could be a little bump, firmer bit of snow or anything that is enough of a marker for you to release that pressure.
SPRING!
Reach your mark. Flatten your skis. Plant your pole. Spring up, as you would if jumping statically, and simultaneously start looking down the fall-line towards the arc you are about to create. Simply looking for the next turn will mean your knees automatically roll across as they would during a normal turn. Try to feel a ‘lightness’ in your skis–edge changes have never been so agile!
RECONNECT WITH THE SNOW
Don't worry too much about the landing–you won’t necessarily be too far off the ground. Try to keep your weight central, or a little forward, and your stance neutral as it reconnects with the snow. Your skis and lightly bent knees are ready to re-engage with the surface of the snow. Flex your legs just enough to absorb the landing–this will help to manage the pressure and maintain momentum. Focus on the second half of this turn by pre-empting the build-up of pressure as the edges grip again
LOCK AND RELEASE
The skis should lock into the turn as they grip and will begin to flex under your weight. As the skis re-bound, energy builds to a climax and they will be looking to send you forwards and back out of the snow–so don’t hang around! Release the skis, allow them to drive through the snow and start moving towards your next airborne edge change.
THE NEXT STEPS
LOOK AT THE LINE
Airborne edge changes are energetic–especially when you’re working on perfecting them–so linking several in a row is a great challenge. Try and link as many as you can and see if you can leave a track in the powder with gaps in between the turns. The final picture should be a sequence of unlinked crescents. Unlinked tracks confirm you’re not just unweighting, you’re flying between the turns!
DOLPHIN TURNS
Practise the accuracy of airborne edge changes on-piste using dolphin turns. They can be slightly more challenging as you’re having to create some of the ‘pop’ rather than relying on the terrain. Load up the energy in the tails of your skis by rocking backwards and pop into the all-line. Change your edges in the air and move your weight forward again to land on the inside edges of the tips of your skis. The airborne part of the ski should move from the tip, along the waist to the tail. Imagine replicating the movement of cycling backwards but with both feet moving simultaneously. The final picture should look like a dolphin jumping through waves... but on snow!
FACTFILE
Amy Twigge is a ski instructor for New Generation ski school in Tignes. ‘New Gen’ will help you develop technique, build confidence and have fun in 16 resorts throughout the Alps, from Tignes and Les Arcs to St Anton and Lech. See skinewgen.com.
