Are you a level headed skier?

[So_I_Ski]

I spend an inordinate amount of time watching video clips of the pros and something I started noticing years ago was that virtually every pro skier keeps his head either perfectly level or very close to it from the edge change right thru the turn phase regardless of whether their shoulders are level such as when they are on very short line and getting closer to the water at the completion of the turn, particularly on their off side. So I have a couple of questions. Do you focus on keeping your head level when you ski and if so what do you think are the benefits and what are the consequences when you don't? And if you have never tried levelling your head is it because nobody ever mentioned it or you don't think there would be any benefit from it? Comments please.

[Chef23]

I think about it when I free ski but I am not usually able to remember it in the course. I do know that I have a tendency for my head to drop to the inside on my onside turn. I don't seem to ha

Ve the same problem on my offside.

[RazorRoss3]

I think about it every time I hit the water. It greatly improves your balance at the buoy, it shortens your turn radius for tighter turns, and it helps pull you on to the top and front of you ski for a more consistent pre turn. It really gets married off with handle control as well, if you don't control your handle, good luck staying level. Staying level also means you will be in a more efficient pulling position because you won't drop your shoulder down in the pull which creates excess load and slows your ski so you'll be faster in and out of the ball, with better balance, and less physical effort.

[Than_Bogan]

I am one of the world's worst at this -- my head naturally remains aligned to my body and keeping it level is extremely challenging. A few years ago, I spent a few weeks working on nothing but that and made almost no progress at all.

 

However, I saw a tiny improvement in head position when I focused on getting up on the front of the ski in the preturn. For some reason, this seems to put my balance point somewhere that I could turn my ski "around my head" the way all the best skiers do.

 

But anyhow I think it's very helpful, and I recommend getting your head level ASAP so you never get to the point where you are deeply ingrained in doing it wrong!

[RazorRoss3]

@Than_Bogan, staying on front of your ski is super important from a balance perspective and makes it easier. Have you ever tried thinking about your handle and inside shoulder in the reach? I try to think about keeping my inside (reaching) shoulder up and to keep my handle about 6 inches in front of me in the reach. That's not to say I reach forward, my reach is still largely "in" towards the boat but rather than the handle being "in" and directly beside me, I try to have it track about 6 inches in front as well so I have room to come in behind it without having to fall back to it as I hook up.

[Than_Bogan]

Inside shoulder up certainly sounds like a worthwhile thing to try to think about!

[ski6jones]

Level headed? No, I'm pretty irrational most of the time.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Here's some good stuff from the bowels of the BOS archives.

Link 1Link 2

[Razorskier1]

nothing like the bowels

[dropski]

Focusing on keeping my head and shoulders level has helped me to carve better turns, finish my turns in better position, and ski smoother and more consistent passes

[Horton]

@Bruce_Butterfield LONG LINKS!

 

http://media.tumblr.com/fe497dd337d9af8479bb6398b9565d16/tumblr_inline_mg6n5ltl6X1rxe4lt.gif

 

[Horton]

There is no question that head up and eyes level is important to smooth skiing

[Skoot1123]

I think about it every pass. If I don't and I will drop my shoulder in the turn and end up in the drink. A side benefit to focusing on your head being level is that you keep your vision up. This is beneficial in both the cut through the wakes and in the turn.

[Orlando76]

I'm always told look at the back of the boat when crossing the wake. This will help keep shoulders level etc. It'll give great direction through the wake. For some reason when I yell hit it, all this advice gets left at the 55's and muscle memory takes over.

[So_I_Ski]

In Razor's post he began by saying that it greatly improves your balance at the buoy which is exactly what I experienced the first time I was able to actually keep my head level at the apex of the turn. I have since read a comment from Marcus Brown about maintaining equilibrium when your head is level. Since the average human brain weighs 3 pounds (notable exceptions would be the Trumpster whose brain weight could not possibly exceed 3 ounces) and the overall weight of the head is 10 to 11 pounds, it stands to reason that as we let our heads tilt off the level position and the g forces are applied in the turn, it becomes much more difficult to keep the entire upper body from dropping towards the water. Does that make sense??

[Razorskier1]

@solski -- keeping your head level can help you to stay on top of your ski in the preturn rather than tipping down and in, so the two are related. For a while this summer I tried to achieve this by thinking not about lifting my inside shoulder, but by pushing my outside shoulder down (same thing, different way to think about it). While this "fixed" something at the ball, I was working on a symptom, not the problem.

 

What I have found is that my posture in the preturn and the turn is a direct result of things that happen waaay before! In simple terms, the more height I carry at the turn in to the gate, the more level/on top of my ski I will be through the preturn and turn. Hmmm. This got me wondering, why?

 

I believe gate height, pull duration, and handle control are all part of one big cluster of things where one done right leads to another done right.

 

My theory: pull duration tends to be about the same for all of us regardless of where we start pulling. Therefore, if I start from wide, my pull duration might be from turn in to CL, whereas if I turn in from narrow, my pull duration might need carry from turn in to the second whitewash. Same pull length, but very different in terms of relationship to the path of the handle.

 

This leads to point number two. If I start high on the boat, I'm done pulling by CL and am then able to follow the path of the handle with minimal back arm pressure -- this means I can stay on top of the ski instead of having the boat yank me to the inside.

 

Finally, if I can ride into the buoy on top of my ski, my head is up and it becomes much easier to stay up and level through and out of the turn. So . . . it all starts with the start. I honestly haven't thought about much of anything for a month other than get high on the boat, turn in, and ski. It seems that is enough to solve the level shoulders/heads up at the ball issue (for me).

[jimbrake]

I just got back from taking a quick mid-day set and the one pass I screwed up was where I let my head "fall to the inside" during the edge change going to 1 ball. I am always trying to keep my head and shoulders vertical/level and the way I accomplish it is by staying connected through and beyond the edge change. If I let my upper body fall inside as my lower body is moving under - head tilt (aggghhhh!). I am constantly amazed at the head tilters that can still run good scores. Everyone is wired differently, but for me a head tilt is a major mistake. The head tilters that are skiing lower scores, just learning, etc. usually look like they are trying to lead their way through a turn by leaning their head in. That ain't what turns the ski, but to each his own (balance).

 

Vertical head/level shoulders has other great benefits at the end of the turn, too. You can manage some pretty insane angle with tolerable load if your head and shoulders are up at the end of the turn. @horton - please post that awesome onside pic of Nat from a year or two ago at the California Pro Am. You know...that one.

[Wish]

This guy sure is....

 

[So_I_Ski]

Fantastic pic of MB. For me that shot best illustrates not only the most efficient way to make a great onside turn by utilizing the lower body to edge the ski in the manner of a snow skier while keeping the upper torso well off the water but also differentiates the new style (west coast or whatever you want to call it) from the old style that was taught until about 20 years ago where the skier's entire body remained straight throughout the turn. An old style skier like Mike Kjellander would had to have his elbow buried in the water up to his armpit to attain that much edge with his ski. Only Nate does this as well or better than Marcus which I am inclined to believe gives him the edge (no pun intended) over his competitors.

[6balls]

That's a wicked pic coming from an elbow in the water guy (me). My spine wasn't that flexible prior to 3 surgeries...certainly isn't now. Props to those who can do it.

[bigskieridaho]

I am pretty level headed. If I don't I tend to dip my shoulder and crash.

 

[jimbrake]

@wish - yeah, that is a good one, too, and exactly what I'm referring to about lots of angle, but not too much load.

[Texas6]

Man that pic of Marcus is excellent. Not sure what that says about my upper body somehow tilting exactly the opposite direction of his? Hey at least my head is up!

 

[pumpinpete]

probably the best tip I got from ski paradise was" look at the boat "

Shoulders and head all squared up- suddenly way better balance and turn -no more dropping my shoulder and crashing

[ski6jones]

@Texas6, showoff!

[Texas6]

@ski6jones - it's one moment in time, I'm sure the next pass looked just like your avatar.

[oldmanskier]

Here In Tenn you know if you have a level headed wife or girl friend. Dipping Snuff runs out both sides of their mouth.

Taken from the words of an old song called Snuff Dipper.

oldmanskier

[SkiJay]

Eyes high and ahead with your head perpendicular to the water are huge for balance around the ball. And there's one more thing to further improve this balance; it's WHEN you look ahead to where you like to look—BEFORE you start turning at the ball. If you move gaze from one place to another while turning, it's not good for the inner ear. If you move your gaze and fixate on your next visual cue before you start going around the ball, you'll have better balance.

[UWSkier]

Head does what the eyes tell it. If I don't look way down the lake, I tend to dip my head and shoulders in. When I played football, the rule was always to keep the head and eyes up. Body goes where the head goes.

 

But then you have skiers like April who will whip her head around mid-turn to spot her next vector.