BEST kick turn tips EVER!!! You get 5 stars from an Austrian mountain guide !!! living in Montana. I preach this every time I go out with people. You are my hero!
Very well presented. But you forgot my old failsafe: When in doubt, Fall Crawl, and Turtle. Once on my back, I'm able to point my skis where I want them, crawl and wriggle back upright, and continue on my new course. If you have ever followed by track and seen the mysterious markings on the ground, well now you know (I was there).
Every time I've tried this I end up with my first ski covering my other ski which makes it nearly impossible to pull back out of the snow. My skis are 188 cm so that could have something to do with it. But your video makes it look much easier than what I seem to be doing so I'll give it a shot!
It can be done with any length ski. I have 188s and 192s and it works fine. I find it way easier to pivot my downslope ski rather than the upslope, but to each their own
Practice, practice, practice!!! Despite it might feel like the ski is loose and that we cannot control it, if you move/flex your ankle up and down you'll notice you can make the ski move in this direction
My dad used to practice fast skin removal (without removing the ski) on the living room carpet until my mom had enough of it and told him to practice outside. His fast skin removal technique has been on point since then. I kinda manage to do it but it looks way sketchier.
Longer skis definitely harder to kick turn with. Another thing I've noticed is binding position. I have a slightly more forward mount on mine which is generally fine, but effectively making the tails longer makes kick turns a pain in the ass. It's definitely partly because I'm not very good at kick turns, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't help matters
@@ianholmquist8492 obviously it's possible, just pointing out all other things equal, longer skis will likely be harder. Binding position may be more of the issue for me.
Yeah me too. On steep terrain where it's important to keep the skis across the fall line it can be difficult when your hips don't allow you to point your toes 180 degrees in opposite directions. I'm afraid that at 62 I'm not getting any more flexible!
@@steelonius why do you need a video, it's just easier, trust me. I just stand on the up-slope ski and swing the other around. I know what the point of a kick turn is lol.
@@ianholmquist8492 I guess a video because I'm spatially challenged. You're saying you spin 180 so that you face downhill as you come around? Or you go the same direction as everyone in the video but bring you down slope ski around in front of you. If it's the former, I've just never seen anybody do that on the climb, only when skiing. And was surprised to read it.
I agree with Ian to some degree. I usually turn uphill like everyone else but when the slope becomes very steep and also, the snow is deep and soft, I take the extra time to level up my skis, and face downhill as I come around.
