Two essential movements to get a spectacular edge angle while carve skiing
Carve like a pro and amaze everyone!
How do I get my skis more on their edges? This question is one that often comes back to haunt skiers who want to develop an athletic carving style. And rightfully so, it's still a spectacular sight to see someone aggressively carving downhill, with a huge edge angle and their hip almost touching the slope.
But how do you achieve a larger edge angle? Let me frame this in the simplest way possible. To increase the edge angle of a ski, we simply have to get it to sit more on the side.
These two movements are therefore essential:
Roll the ankles
Flex the inside leg, leaving the outer leg extended
To get the skis on edge, it is foremost essential that they are tilted to the side as quickly as possible when entering a turn so that we develop early edge grip. Steering or twisting movements are then OUT of the question. Never actively push the skis to the side, as this wastes valuable time. Before you have edge grip, the turn is long over. Instead, apply ankle rolling…
Ankle rolling is one of the basic movements in modern carving. They are active movements which we perform to exert pressure on the sides of our ski boots so that they can begin to lean from one side to the other. And what is attached to those boots? Right, your skis... (well, hopefully...)
Again, it's important not to actively push on the skis. You simply want to lift the skis from one side to the other. By rolling the skis from side to side with your feet, you efficiently develop a larger edge angle and edge grip.
Increase your edge angle by rolling your ankles.
The second essential movement is the flexing of the inside leg. Simply rolling the skis over from the ankles is not enough if we aim to maximize the edge angle. Flexing the inside leg while balancing with focus against our outside ski with a stretched outside leg makes your body centre of gravity move towards the centre of the turn, which also makes your hip move lower to the ground. The displacement of the body's centre of gravity inwards then lifts the skis even more to the side.
Increase your edge angle even more by flexing the inside leg.
These two movements are not only essential, but also reinforce each other. After all, at the start of each new turn, the preceding inner leg repeatedly becomes the outer leg. The new outside leg can only extend with edge grip under the foot if the skis are first actively rolled over on the side from the feet. The body thus first moves inwards as a result of these ankle rolling movements, and can subsequently move further inwards as a result of the flexing of the inner leg, while we balance on the outside ski with an extended outer leg.
Combine rolling your ankles & flexing the inside leg for maximum edge angles.
Happy experimenting! Let's unleash those HUGE edge angles.
