#theelanexperience

Up till now the smallest skis and boots for children have been stiffer, making it tough for our youngest skiers who lack the weight, muscle power and fine motor skills to bend their boots and skis, and utilize ski design while they're creating turns.

Why does restricting our ability to bend boots and skis make learning to ski harder? If we can’t bend our boots or skis because they are stiff, we require: more strength, weight or momentum to influence the ski bending, and be able to take advantage of the skis shape and design.

Anyone learning to ski builds upon learned skills to gain confidence in utilizing more strength, speed or fine motor skills. Young children developmentally have yet to cultivate fine motor skills. For say three or six year olds to have boots where they are able to easily access ankle bend, positive skiing movements are promoted. These easily achieved movements start to bend the front of the skis.

For any of us on modern shaped skis: when the combination of our body weight, gravity and muscles firing, allows our skis to bend at the start of a turn, then the skis shaped design can assist and will further turn our skis. This is particularly impactful for children where shorter ski lengths and the need for durable plastics in boots have meant their skis and boots have been less flexible. This is why U-Flex technology is changing the way children can learn to ski.

Children learn by doing. Skilled instructors set up an environment where budding young skiers in the making are encouraged to make movements on skis that result in them feeling what the ski can do for them, no matter how small they are, with their own power! Now instructors can focus on fun games and activities that stimulate children’s interest with body movements that will help them turn the skis.

Shaped skis have allowed us mere mortals (meaning those of us that aren’t world cup ski racers!) to feel the wonderful forces created in a ski turn when we maintain the ski riding more on edge throughout the arc.

What is needed; preferably having some miles of sliding on skis under your belt, good ability to promote your body to stay balanced over the moving platform of skis, a forgiving ski, smart terrain choices and willingness to learn different movements and experiment with them - accelerated by an instructor who can manage your learning experience based on what you bring and how you learn. The art of carving, usually becomes a realistic goal for skiers once they have skills that make them confident to explore steeper groomed terrain and can balance on top of their skis on this terrain without feeling like they are doing hundreds of squats at the gym! If your legs are already exhausted why add more forces to your already tired muscles?

Sliding gives us a smooth and gentle ride. The ski is generally less tipped on edge and this is what allows us to guide and glide the ski throughout a turn. As soon as we tip a ski up onto a higher edge angle, we can expect speed to increase. We will need to manage greater forces pushing back into our body from the ski that slides sideways less as it is moving forwards over the snow. This is something skiers find exhilarating and exciting. It creates feelings of energy and speed that are addictive and adds to our skills as skiers. These skills help us in many different parts of the mountain. Did I mention how much fun carving is?

Ski design can help or hinder us in learning how to apply different movement blends to get different results from our tools in the snow. A carefully selected ski will compliment learning to carve. I prefer starting such learning on a ski that comfortably performs with both more or less edge. A ski that is stiffer and designed for aggressive edge engagement, expects more precise movements to have it successfully slide through a turn. As sliding is the fallback skill blend learners are able to resort to what they know already as needed, and confidence and carving ability can be built more swiftly.

Terrain choice should be selected and managed as we learn to ski on more edged skis. As we feel the effects of edge engagement and commit to maintaining positive body movement into and throughout the turn, learning to carve is easiest on; quieter, wider, flatter and groomed terrain - less likelihood to lose our efforts to promote continually balancing over the moving platform of the skis (remember the reference to tired leg muscles!)

This photo is an example of skis carving at a high edge angle. The shot is on flatter terrain where speed and understanding of how to manage higher forces in pressure allows me to create higher edge angles.

On steeper terrain although the slope can contribute to a higher edge angle it takes more commitment, trust, familiarity with speed and managing the resulting forces in pressure, to maintain higher edge angles throughout the turn.