how to take care of yourself almost like a truck driver hauling a
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 187
heavy load down a steep mountain pass. I want to warn you about
something ignorant pervading too much of the intermediate and
beginner communities, which may even be caused some by some of
the best skiers in the world who really have no business teaching
skiing. There was a book written some time in the '80s by some
Olympic gold medalists who didn't have much mileage on the pen:
the title of the book, No Hill Too Fast---while the Mahre twins meant
well, the problem I have with that title is that it implies the skier is
not in control of circumstances or their own speed control. It is a
common misconception, even among stagnated advanced skiers,
that, the steeper the hill, the faster we ski----No! No! No! No! No!
the steeper the hill, the slower we must ski, as the prerequisite for
skiing fast is skiing slow, and you can bet the fastest skier on the
mountain may also be the slowest skier on the mountain, because
of the skill involved. In contrast, there was a book written longer
ago that recommended its racers shouldn't ski anything too steep
that would require them to turn their feet and ski slow---there's
probably still a lot of truth to that, especially for young racers who
are striving to learn how to manufacture their own speed without
any help from the mountain. In the olden days, the fastest and the
slowest were likely one and the same; but, in modern times with
more and more specialists, it would be difficult for an extreme skier
to beat many racers. It wouldn't take much, though, for a real racer
to mingle with the extreme skiers, should he want to; but, then
again, he might not be the first one down alive in their territory.
This is why, for all-around recreational skiing, I care more about
people being able to go from fast to slow, or from big turns to tight-
n-finished, . . . than I do about winning races or being the first one
to the bottom on any run. It doesn't do an extreme skier any good
to be the first to bottom . . . if he's dead when he gets there. ---Not
that our advanced terrain will be that dangerous, but I want to im-
press upon you that our speed is always in our own control, and
we'll start out skiing advanced terrain a bit slower than many of the
things we've already done on intermediate and even beginner
slopes.
---Advanced Skiing---
Maybe you've figured out by now that this learning to ski is
just always a variation on the same old theme: not just "how to
turn," but when-n-where-n-why to go steeper or deeper or tighter,
and so on. I'm not going to get too complicated in the advanced
techniques; if you have enough heart, the right equipment, and
188 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
some sense of a good schedule or time-frame that works for you,
ski technique is not too hard to come by really. There is a reciproc-
ity between instructor and student: a first-day beginner is vulner-
able and sometimes heavily dependent on the instructor, but the
advanced ski student must exhibit responsibility for his own pro-
gress---he must most-certainly be proactive, else he stagnate. Any-
how, the beginner is restricted in what slope and what snow and
what turns he can ski, but the advanced student will hopefully
make a decision to ski most of the mountain and its variable snow
conditions as best as he can---you only get out of a turn what you
put into it, as . . . you ski what you sow.
Up on an open black-diamond slope, where there's often more
weather, you should make an effort to pick a time when it's not too
different from regular hard-pack, like days-old crud maybe; but it's
highly likely for the snow to be a bit more bumpy or cruddy or
powdery, so we give you a real easy task for awhile: old medium
stem turns similar to your first time up on intermediate steepness.
We must have respect for the steeper terrain and not necessarily the
easiest snows, . . . but snows we've hopefully already gotten our-
selves familiar with as an intermediate, . . . and possibly fog or flat
light. So we take it slow at first: use an uphill stem-step to get a
head start on the turn; have patience through the middle, or down-
hill phase, of the turn; and then finish the turn with a thorough
turning of the feet almost to a stop, and probably a counter-turning
of the upper body via a real assertive inside hand over the downhill
ski tips. One good turn, probably medium-radius, and you don't
have any business starting a new turn until you've finished the turn
you are in.
Remember, these stem turns can be tailored to the situation at
foot. Safe and practical, stem turns are fairly necessary when we
lack sufficient momentum, which is certainly likely your first time
on advanced steepness; a stem tends to go away with an earlier
weight transfer to the uphill ski, more experienced edge control,
steering of the inside foot seemingly first, and more fluid move-
ment all the way around because of increased confidence and mo-
mentum, which takes time. When you come from intermediate
steepness to do stem turns in variable snows on black-diamond
steepness, don't get the negative impression you're regressing---
you're being proactive skiing in control doing what you can at your
still-innocent level, to prevent bad habits and to keep your progres-
sive schedule alive. Hey, wasn't one of the world's greatest ski rac-
ers of all time Ingemar Stem-mark?
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 189
(As I mentioned in the Intermediate segment, PSIA has pretty
much eliminated stem turns from their program in recent years---
they want everything to be parallel as soon as you graduate from
the basic beginner wedge christies, but I think this is a big mistake.
They've practically made it a crime to do any stemming, especially
at the advanced level.)
Remember, if the black-diamond slope has extra tricky snow
on it, or if you want to exert yourself less by having fewer turns to
do at this point, you might want to do some traverse-slips between
your stem turns. Go across the hill in an edged traverse, but side-
slip below the difficult spots, like bumps or piles. Do a stem turn
when you can, but don't be embarrassed to do a kick-turn if you
need to to get facing the other way.
When any traversing at all starts to feel less and less necessary,
go ahead and try to do linked stem turns. Instead of looking at the
whole run, think about doing three or four linked turns at a time
with light at the end of the tunnel---if they come easy, keep going
for a few more linked turns. Be proactive, and you have permis-
sion to do whatever size turn is necessary to pick and choose the
easiest places to turn---more turns might be with standard up-stem
initiations, others might have the more scrappy down-stem fin-
ishes. Think about getting a flow going without being overly wor-
ried about rhythm or having all your turns be the same size-n-
shape. The basic pole-swings should be somewhat second nature
by now, and you'll notice minor trouble, like a turn not getting
started, if say a chunk of snow deflects your pole-swing from get-
ting planted. When it comes to pole-planting, you reap what you
sow.
Hey, I just thought of another nuance for my whole ski-
boy/ski-ranching mythology. Besides skiing in order to pack snow
for summer irrigation, ski season is like planting season, for plant-
ing your poles, just like planting alfalfa or something. (Sow what?)
After your momentum and confidence start building, you
might start skiing more parallel without really realizing it. One
thing is for sure though, once you start skiing more parallel on a
steep black-diamond slope: the first turn is often the hardest, be-
cause, without a stem, starting a turn from scratch is not as easy as
using energy from the old turn. But there is a way, in parallel-
mode, to simulate a turn before your first turn: make a parallel pre-
turn with a pole plant. From a traverse, make a skidded pre-turn
"up-the-hill" slightly to check your speed and get a little spring for
the start of your first turn. A pre-turn means nothing more than
190 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
reiterating a turn-finish you might not have been able to take ad-
vantage of, and it shows you how the end of the last turn touches
the start of the new turn below---it's the finishing phase of a turn
before a turn. A pre-turn is like having some hot coals in the
morning left in your wood-stove from the night before: all you
have to do for the new turn is put another log on the skier; the old
stem-step turn initiation is more like having to get out your kin-
dling and some newspapers and some matches to get things going.
A pre-turn here on advanced terrain reminds me of the christy
down-stems we used at the beginning of your intermediate stint;
only, with a pre-turn, you're allowed a traverse to get ready, and
you're using simultaneous-leg action instead of independent-leg
action. And the neat thing about a pre-turn is you can practice it
over and over again in a traverse, like a garland. Whereas, in
scrappy christy down-stems, you're almost working more for
quantity than quality, . . . in pre-turns, you are working for quality.
Do it without a pole-plant if you want, but you should find it easier
to do with a pole plant, especially if you been diligent about doing
the previous pole-plant assignments.
Remember, you don't have to do all these things in one day---
you might go a couple of days skiing without worrying about the
next task on the list, getting good mileage and relaxing without
feeling like you have to learn everything all at once. The pre-turn
exercise is to become a conditioned reflex that can be done without
any traversing eventually---its goal is to help you link your parallel
turns without forcing you. Over the years, I've seen a lot of stag-
nant ski instructors with a dead-spot between most of their turns,
as they think to much about perfecting every turn for the boss or
the people or whoever, and somehow they never learn that each
turn affects the turns below---my Gawd! if nothing else, a pre-turn
helps us see how important a turn finish is for a new turn to start.
Eventually, you will feel like you want to ski more straight
down the black-diamond terrain. When the snow is extra nice, like
soft crud, and the slope is pretty steep, you can do regular parallel
skiing in the form of linked J-stops---but this is also a safe-n-wise
choice for unexpected icy conditions, and then don't worry about
being parallel. Finish every turn with almost a complete stop, rise
up tall to disengage the edges and start drifting downhill, have
patience through the middle downhill phase, and finish with a
stop. These are real pleasant safe parallel turns, and the steepness
actually makes them easy---you're finally seeing one good turn and
high-level turn linkage almost in the same exercise. Keep those
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 191
hands assertive down the mountain, and think about spraying lots
of snow down the mountain and showing the base the bottoms of
your skis. You can increase the tempo and/or speed as much as
you want. In these linked J-stops, you are working for quality for
sure, not quantity. It doesn't matter so much how far down the
mountain you go with each turn, but you don't want to trickle
across the mountain at all---no traversing whatsoever. I don't want
to talk about snugging these turns up just yet into short-radius par-
allel turns---there will be plenty of time for that later.
. . . The advanced skier will again find himself in intermediate
blue-square territory, for sure, moderate terrain where you can ski
powder, crud, bumps, or ice with relative ease after being on ad-
vanced terrain, but don't think you've mastered everything yet.
Check your edging and pressuring skills in a steep roller-
coaster carve on a concave intermediate slope in crud or on
groomed hard-pack. Without any steering, you should be able to
angle and bend that stable outside ski and make a definite high-
speed arc down the run for a few yards and then up the side of the
run, a quarter-circle reminiscent of the slower train-track carves
you did as an intermediate on the bunny-hill, only faster.
Back to regular skiing, you'd like some elegant gliding pa-
tience turns long on intermediate hard-pack, mild ice, or a little bit
of crud. In a narrower stance if you want, start low and edged on
the downhill ski in a traverse; touch the pole lightly as you rise up
and forward to release the edge and let your mass go to the new
outside ski as the neutral skis naturally seek the downhill phase;
steer the feet to taste, and gradually increase the new edge; and
sink down on a strong edge at the finish---now you're low and
edged to do the same thing on the other side. (Some instructors
might see these patient turns being related to PSIA's 'White Pass
Turn,' in that the inside ski might start the turn with some weight
on it more than usual---we're letting the weight fly to the outside
ski, rather than forcing it right away,---but my version is a relaxed
turn, not an aggressive intimidating racing mode.) These patience
turns, not quite carved because of the steepness, are big and fast in
the middle phase compared to linked side-slips coming later, but
both are finesse maneuvers using simultaneous-leg action.
(An interesting note here about parallel patience turns on inter-
mediate steepness. In the old days, in the 'straight ski' era of the
'70s, '80s, and early '90s, a lot of turns were made that all the ex-
perts patted each other on the back for being 'carved'---but proba-
bly most of these turns were in-fact not carved but skidded. Now,
192 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
in 2010 and since the late '90s, more of these turns could be pure
carves, but many of them still won't be, as it all depends on the ski
and the skier and how fast you're willing to risk going. My old
friend Kent Lundel used to tell me of a great teacher he used to
know who would often ask his fellow instructors, "Can you steer an
edged ski?" It's a kind of a trick question; but basically it means
that, if your ski is edged a whole bunch, you can still steer it by
leveraging more tip pressure than tail pressure, which is what hap-
pens in most steep powder turns in order to brush off excess speed.
So, now with the easier carving 'shaped skis,' there should be more
carving going on in a lot more turns; but, again, even most experts I
know are still going to want to add do some skidding on the
steeper parts of intermediate terrain in order to not terrorize the
mountain with excess speed---about the only advanced-intermedi-
ate place where carve, carve, carve can be safe and legal anytime is
in a closed-off race course. I just think it's funny that a lot of
'carved' turns in the old days were never really carved.
(That reminds me of a wreck I almost had with my friend and
fellow ski instructor Rob Green at Park City about 1983. At 8:30 in
the morning, we instructors were allowed to go up the lift before
the public to get a quick run in---it was one of the few times we
could really go fast without killing innocent civilians. As I was
cruising along making some huge carved turns at about 45mph, I
noticed out of the corner of my eye . . . Rob Green was a mirror
image of me doing the exact same thing off to my right. Each in the
downhill phase of our turn, the high-angled bottom of his left ski
came within a fraction of an inch from the high-angled bottom of
my right ski, and we screamed in horror at each other as we both
realized we would each need more edge angle yet in order to avoid
a collision. Our faces were but a few inches apart as we angled out
over our outside skis---I'm better looking than Rob, but he was my
mirror image in that instant, and he's also bigger than me. I'm sure,
if we hadn't been expert skiers at the time, our reactions would
have been different: each of us would have lost our edge, and we
would have drifted closer and collided in a split second---it could
have been embarrassing. I'm sure, if I ever see him again, that will
be one of the times we have a big laugh about.)
Anyway, whether carved when feasible . . . or skidded when
necessary, you want your patience turns to be long and round.
Your first few might be one turn at a time, but it doesn't take long
to feel how they are linked together. If you lounge around at all, it
should be in the patient downhill phase, not so much in the finish-
Who&WhatTurn, When&Where&Why---Not Just How! --- 193
ing phase---you want to feel the finishing phase set you up for an
easy beginning phase. Pole swings in this case are hardly neces-
sary, and any pole plants at all should be your lightest ever. The
main thing to watch out for in your big-round patience turns: you
don't want to fool yourself by doing medium-radius turns with
traverses in between---that would be stagnant skiing, and that's
what makes a patch of ice or a pile of snow more difficult to get
through.
So, whereas patience turns are sort of big and passive, cruise
control, medium parallel turns take a little more work on your part.
In a way, the more turns you make, the more enjoyment you are
getting out of your lift ticket price---you might certainly feel this
way if you had to hike up for your turns. It's kind of like golf: the
fewer shots you make, the less you are getting your money's worth.
So, a more deliberate task for the advanced skier on intermedi-
ate hard-pack might be medium-radius parallel-step turns, using
independent-leg action---in fact, the medium turns might be easier
because they don't require as much patience. Witness, in this task,
your pole will want to swing at the right place at the right time just
from the turning force, meaning your hands can stay relaxed and
quiet. After the pole swing, we deliberately stand tall with our leg
extended on the uphill ski early to start a good parallel-step turn;
when you're low-n-edged against the ski done with one turn, you
step uphill tall onto the new outside ski. This exercise is related to
the very first side-stepping of a first-day beginner---the only differ-
ence is we've got momentum and some rebound, and there's a turn
above the step and a turn below the step: one full step is actually
the finish of one turn and the initiation of the next. If for nothing
else, parallel-step turns wake up the feet and teach you to really
drive your skis---if you look around, too many advanced skiers act
like they are going for a ride on a pair of skis almost the same as
they would ride a toboggan or a Greyhound Bus.
Now let's go to the finesse side a bit more with some linked
side-slips, one of the most-neglected and underappreciated exer-
cises in upper-level skiing. You don't want to do these in too soft of
snow, and it helps if you have some steepness to work with. A
difficult rotary and edge-finesse exercise, linked side-slips were a
turning point in my own skiing, and they've made a big difference
for thousands of my students. This is one exercise that teaches you
how to ski the steep-n-narrow, to ski down the mountain and not
across it. It's like, yes, anyone can side-slip; but who can get from
one side-slip to the other without skiing out of the corridor?
194 --- Heinsian DOWNHILL SKIING
Linked side-slips take a refined edge, proper weight distribution
fore-n-aft and side-to-side, and certainly an upper body looking
downhill for a new turn---you'll notice that not much can happen
until you make a commitment to your uphill ski, a sort of step up-
hill that no one can see, but you can feel it if you pay attention.
Linked side-slips on intermediate hard-pack or ice are a stepping
stone to skiing steep narrow chutes. Again: side-slipping might be
considered too easy and whimpy, but linking side-slips is very dif-
ficult if you haven't done some homework. You might not want to
do these all day as an exercise; but, when you round them out just a
bit, this is the pay-off, as you are doing bona-fide regular skiing.
Linked side-slips really help the desperate tough guy who
can't keep his speed under control. There are hoards of aggressive
skiers who don't have a clue as to why they get going too fast after
three or four turns---they can't stop to think long enough that
maybe their skis aren't being turned-n-skidded far enough. In a
side-slip, your skis are turned the full ninety-degrees, or one-hun-
dred percent---you can't do a better job of getting them turned.
When they are turned one-hundred percent, it's impossible to go
too fast; in fact, you could have a silly race to see who can go the
fastest while side-slipping. Imagine that! When you give an out-
of-control skier an exercise where the steep runs get tamed in a
hurry, and he sees a mode where it's impossible to go too fast, it
opens up all kinds of new vistas for him and makes him feel silly
for having a speed problem in the first place. You learn linked