Q: Can you provide instruction on mastering downhill turns (e.g., best lines to take with varying types of turns [acute vs obtuse], proper tuck position, best times to decelerate/accelerate in/out of turn, etc.).
Tag DOWNHILLS
Featherweight Downhiller
Q: I am tired of being passed on the downhills during races after crushing many people on the uphills! As a lightweight person, I cannot maintain my speed and all the skiers I passed on the uphills end up passing me on the downhills. Since I do not have body weight to my advantage, how can I get faster on the downhills to be competitive? I try skating, use the classic track, and double pole with all of my force but everyone passes me! Do you have any advice? Thanks!
A: I have not seen you ski so I do not know exactly what you are doing. Remember all objects in a vacuum fall at the same rate. So we need to get you downhilling like you are in a vacuum.
First of all, use your small size as an advantage, so get small and aero.
Secondly, I see many people on gradual downhills skate like crazy, but very ineffectively. Try pushing harder and longer on your skate motions but less frequently. Do not just skate for the sake of skating.
Thirdly, Make sure you are riding flat skis and you have your weight on youR heels and not your toes when you are tucking.
Practice makes perfect. Practice downhills behind a faster downhill skier. Tuck in behind them and see if staying in their draft will allow you to keep up.
Make sure you are on skis fit to your weight. A ski matched to your weight will allow you to skim across the snow when larger people are plowing through.
There are snow conditions where a downhill glide resistance will be effected by skier’s mass. If the tracks are nicely groomed corduroy, skier’s size should not affect glide much if at all.
In some rougher track conditions with hard under-layer a larger skier can plow through the snow and maintain speed better than a lighter skier. In other deep snow conditions the lighter skier could float through the snow better than the larger skiers.
Stay relaxed and think about glide.
– Andy at SkiPost.com
***
I read with interest your reply to the skier who felt that her light weight was holding her back with respect to down hill glide. You made a lot of good points — flat skis glide faster; get into a tuck, don’t skate ineffectively. But there is one key that I think you overlooked: one’s speed downhill is directly related to how fast you are going when you start gliding. I have passed many skiers on the downhills of the Birkie. Frequently, I watch them as they pull away from me on the uphill portion. Then when they reach the top, they stop skiing, let their shoulders slump, and glide downhill standing up straight. I try to conserve my energy while climbing, then when I reach the top, V2 aggressively in an attempt to sprint to top speed before getting into a tuck for a fast descent. I’ve found that a tuck is usually faster than the relaxed skating that a lot of skiers seem to favor.
– Skier
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How to go fast downhill? Pointers for proper body position, pressure on the foot, etc.
Q: Here in the east we have had very limited snow and have been racing at Alpine areas. The descents have been quite difficult. How to go fast downhill? Talking about situations in which skiers are essentially on alpine grades at very high rates of speed.
A: As a whole, Midwest skiers suffer from these same problems due to a lack of terrain. There is a very simple answer- go ski some downhills.
The best downhill skiers (on cross country skis) aren’t masters technicians, they are simply more comfortable on their skis. This part of skiing can certainly be learned, but it can’t really be taught.
Our suggestion would be to go to an alpine area with your cross country skis and simply ski for a day. Take the lift up the mountain, ski down (but stick to the easier trails). You will certainly get some odd looks (and maybe a few black and blues) but by the end of the day you will have gained a very important trait, confidence.
General downhill technique reminders include bent and supple knees, staying forward on your feet (towards the balls), and using your arms to generate balance and flow.
Without getting too into physics, drag is affected by many things — the fluid you’re going through (air), how the fluid is approaching the object, friction between the object and the ground, length of the object, frontal surface area of the object, shape of the object, velocity and probably some other things.
You can’t really change the fluid, but you can change other things. Getting out of an aerodynamic tuck changes your body shape, and generally increases the frontal surface area and body length — which should slow you down. A snowplow will increase friction and decrease velocity as well. So, those are things to consider — getting more upright will slow things down.
On a more practical (and maybe less “yeah, no kidding” note), keeping your body and mind relaxed helps greatly on sketchy terrain. Definitely keeping the legs supple and relaxed is very important. Though it sounds stupid, while mountain biking, someone once told me that if you whistled to yourself when you’re tense, you’d relax — you can’t do it when your jaws are clenched, and if you’re grinding your teeth, you’re probably tight in your legs. Whatever the reason why it works, I’ve used it to good effect on descents. If you keep your knees and ankles relaxed, and your weight slightly on the ball of your feet (basic athletic position), you usually are able to react when things get out of control.
Practice breeds success. Good luck!
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