CaptainPolution

so cross country skiing is fun, except its hard to turn cause of the fact you really arent connected tot he skis. Anybody have tips on how to turn with xc skis? cause i sure as hell cant do it


and this is turning going down, not just putting around

EatSkiSleep

Have you ever XC skied even?

I haven't but I would like to someday. Looks like it would be pretty tough though.

CaptainPolution

yea i can XC ski pretty good but i havent been able to learn how turn by leaning into it, uh paralell turns?, cause my heels slip off all the time

so basicaly im lookin for tips on how to stay on the skis. :blah:

Public_Enemy

Ever watched tele skiers ski? Thats how. I believe you should be lifting the heel of the foot on the outside of the turn.

Captain Cogset

Even though your heels aren't connected to the ski, it should turn when you turn your foot. The toes are connected pretty good unless you have a really old set-up. There isn't much of an edge on the skiis though so I usually pick up my feet a little as I am turning, kind of like skating.

CaptainPolution

its so fun to watch those dudes rip it hella fast like

Public_Enemy

Yeah watchin a reaaalllly good teli skier is a lot of fun. I watched one ski straight down the mountain through the park and throw a backflip off a big kicker while all the snowboarders were sitting around talking about hitting it.

altagirl

It's the opposite. Your inside knee drops/heel lifts. The outside (downhill) leg bends, but the heel stays down.

Doing it the other direction is an edging drill generally called a "reverse-a-mark". It's a lot harder.

Problem with XC gear is that you don't have metal edges and therefore it's even harder. I've only XC skied a few times, but I feel like I have more control if I'm balanced on the ball of my foot - otherwise, like you said my heel slips off. You can still edge - it just doesn't dig in like a metal edge would. We should really be asking someone who knows how to XC ski well though...

Public_Enemy

Cool I couldn't remember which leg it was.

littleg

I'm assuming you're talking about turning when you're not IN the track?

While a tele-turn will work, it's pretty tough on xc ski bindings. There are two 'proper' ways to turn on xc skis:

The first is snowplow. Just like you do on downhill skis. Use the skis' inside edges, weight the ski to turn. Except you don't have metal edges so it's harder work.

The second is much more difficult and involves many small steps around a corner, lowering your body weight and turning shoulders in to the corner. It's pretty hard to explain in writing. Go to any xc website or google search xc step turns or xc ski turn technique and there should be info. there.

Good luck.