Use A Tall Stance To Ski More Efficiently With Less Fatigue

If you want to ski more efficiently with less fatigue then you will want to ski using a tall stance with long legs. This is the opposite of what many skiers do, particularly when faced with challenging mogul and powder terrain.

Common Perceptions About Mogul Skiing Produce Tired Skiers

The common perception about mogul skiing is that it requires athleticism, strength, aggressive movements and ultra-fast reflexes. And, that your knees and back take a pounding. Many skiers feel that it is necessary and safer to be crouched down closer to the snow. In other cases skiers have a perception that you need to use aggressive absorption and extension movements. Often, the degree of crouching or absorption/extension movements increase in amplitude corresponding to the skier’s terrain anxiety.

These perceptions about what you need to do in order to ski moguls produce fatigue. If you crouch you will bend your knees, increase your speed, shift your center of mass backwards and find your quadriceps muscles talking back to you. And, if you use aggressive absorption/extension movements you will be burning lots of calories.

A Tall Stance Will Enable You To Ski Moguls Without Fatigue

There is a more efficient way to ski moguls that will result in minimal or no fatigue.

We suggest a slower, more-controlled and lower fatigue approach that is more appropriate for Baby Boomers or any other recreational skier who prefers to be less aggressive and has little interest in using high performance skiing techniques in the bumps.

Rather than skiing fast, crouching and/or using aggressive absorption and extension movements in the bumps you can efficiently and slowly flow through the bumps with low impact using a tall stance by keeping your legs long using a combination of (1) flexing your ankles (rather than bending your knees) to absorb pressure and (2) using low edge angles between your skis and the snow to drift your turns and “feather” your edges for precise speed control.

This technique reduces the need for crouching and/or substantial absorption or extension movements which means that you will experience much less fatigue when skiing moguls. Keeping your legs long enables your skeleton, rather than your quadricep muscles, to support your body weight. And if you avoid excessive bending of your knees it will keep you out of the “back seat” and won’t tire your quadricep muscles.

Using this technique BUMPS FOR BOOMERS mogul skiing clinic participants consistently tell us that they are able to ski with noticeably less fatigue even after multiple consecutive days of skiing mogul runs.