“Pelvic-thrust” ski turns?

Initiating turns in difficult terrain is always a challenge, even so subtle, for the very best skiers. We're all in search of the perfect spot to turn, especially when we're just a tiny bit out of timing in the search of the best spot for turning.

The end result is that we keep on going, turn farther away than we would have liked to, or scramble to make the skis turn when we run out of options and are unprepared to launch the turn as efficiently as we should.

To counter that, I have always favored the so-called “anticipation” advocated by Georges Joubert, in which the torso separated itself in advance from the legs and feet in the direction of the next turn. While not intuitive, this works quite well when a skier thinks about it.

In more recent years, with the advent of the Ted Ligety's GS turns, the focus shifted down onto the hips alone, and as took the time to look into that, I discovered that the real “motor” was found in a slightly upward pelvic thrust that combined all the virtues of anticipation, added a bit of unweighting that always comes in handy in difficult terrain and conditions.

If I've made myself clear enough, just try it for yourself and you'll discover the difference it makes!