Learn
How skiing works
One picture, one slider, three minutes each.
Technique
- green runWhat happens when you sit backSitting back puts the tail in charge: the tips wander, your quads hold up the whole turn, and the ski will not start the next one.
- blue runAngulation vs inclinationAngulating gets you the same edge angle with less of your body leaning in, so the ski carries less load and keeps more grip in reserve.
- blue runWhy your tails wash outGo too far forward and the tail stops carrying any load, so the edge lets go at the end of the turn and the tails wash out.
Boots
- black runHow a loose boot steals your edgeEight millimetres of play in a loose boot loses nearly half your movement, and the part that does reach the ski arrives late.
- blue runSki boot forward leanMore forward lean in the boot moves you forward, which takes load off your quads and puts more on your calves, so the turn costs your thighs less.
Skis
- blue runStiff vs soft skis under your weightThe same ski loads harder as you get heavier, and a soft, rockered ski runs out of tail grip on firm snow sooner than a stiff cambered one.
- blue runSki camber vs rocker under loadUnder your weight a cambered ski spreads the load along most of its length while a rockered one carries it on a short stretch underfoot.
- green runAll-mountain vs carving skisA carver holds an edge better on hard snow; an all-mountain ski gives a little of that up to float and cope with the rough.
- black runWhat a fresh tune changes on iceIn the lab a tune only ever changes one number, the grip coefficient μ, and on ice that number decides whether your edge holds at 40°.
Tools
- blue runSki sidecut radius calculatorCalculatorSidecut radius is the circle the edge would draw if the ski carved flat, and tipping it onto an edge tightens the turn, to half the radius at 60°.
- blue runWhat boot flex do I need?CalculatorBoot flex depends mostly on how you ski and how much you weigh, but the number on the boot means something different from brand to brand.
- green runSki length by weightCalculatorStart from your weight, not your height: about 160 cm at 60 kg and half a centimetre more for each extra kilo, then adjust for ability and snow.