Skidded turns anyone?

When you read any current article on skiing technique, carving seems to appear as being the holly grail of my favorite sport. 

Not so fast! Thanks to Vail Resorts total incompetence in terms of mountain management and trail grooming, we had moguls all over Park City as we’ve never seen before. Not just moguls, but bumps or all sizes and shapes visible on most runs that telegraph their out-of-sync presence to our legs. 

Now, if you’ve never tried it before, try to “carve” on such surfaces, be my guest and good luck! This is where the unsung, but so critical element of skiing technique comes into play: skidding. 

The skidded turn, even more so than carving, is the foundational technique of skiing with its cortege of side-slipping technique in all possible forms and intensity imaginable. If modern skiers doesn’t master those, they won’t fare too well on bumpy, icy, or cruddy snows. 

Just take the time to observe a pair of ski used by freestyle “bump skiers” and you’ll catch my rift in a hurry… I know what I’m talking about, I have to skis these almost daily!