Below is a post I made in another discussion ("where does speed come from") that applies here. I had just spent 3 days with Adam Caldwell at Trophy lakes and shared my thoughts
I am not nearly a good enough skier to contribute to this discussion in terms of knowledge or advice. My engineering background does help me understand the physics and technical parts of this topic. Even so, I agree it is sometimes difficult to grasp all the concepts when described in writing without visual aids. Well, this week, I had the privilege to spend 3 days with @adamhcaldwell at Trophy Lakes. You can tell just by how well he's able to describe his concepts in writing, how much he knows this "stuff". But 3 days of drawing diagrams, showing videos, discussing the physics with 3-D visuals, watching him ski (practicing what he preaches...), seeing some of his ski/fin technology development, etc. was a real treat. If I can only put in practice some of what I learned...
Thank you @adamhcaldwell
So, @cragginshred my first advice is yes, if you can, go ski with Adam. His 9-point advice above will come into focus. I know that I will not be able to incorporate all I learned and understood into my skiing. BUT, I also know that my gates will be better than ever before because I understood it, saw it done (Adam skied everyday when i was there) and was able to focus and FEEL it myself. His point #6 may make you think you'll miss the gates (if your current approach is anything like mine). No worries, it works! One more thing...if you go, "order" warmer weather, than I did, haha...