critiqued by a ski instructor...wigglers unite!

[tmcc71]

I was skiing with a ski instructor friend the other day at a small local mountain (Wachusett).
I have been skiing for 25 years or so. I am approaching 40 years old. I ski about 100 days a year and consider myself a modest advanced skiier. I can ski most terrain except moguls and huge powder. My technique is decidedly old school, especially for a modern ski. I currently use Head Monster 72's (waist). I like to carve tight turns as i ski. I do this not to show off, but because it is great fun and good exercise. I like the feeling of the edges changing effortlessly on a good ski.
well, last Saturday the ski instructor i was hanging out with kind of tore apart my style. She went as far as making fun of my style and calling me a "Wachusett Wiggler", She told me to widen my stance shoulder width and pointed out people doing it correctly and people who were doing what i do (wiggling). I pointed out the people with the wider stance looked ok, but the people with the narrower stance looked to have more control and skill. I was trying to be objective and asked people riding the lifts with me the rest of the day to observe people and tell me who they thought had the greater skill level. It wasn't even close, the "wigglers" won hands down. Most people I asked cleary identified the older style (more parallel) skiiers were the more skilled out of the two. I tried the other stance and I felt I had plenty of control, but it was not even close to as fun. So, my long winded conclusion.....I am going to ski the way i enjoy. I wonder how many people like me are secretly made fun of by the new wave of ski instructors because of an old school style? I think i'll continue to wiggle my way down the mountain with pride. Maybe i'll start a wigglers 12 step program. Hi, my name is Tim and i'm a wiggler....

 

[BushMogulMaster]

I'm a mogul skier. I ski short-radius mogul turns on the flats. I'm on basically straight skis (92-66-82). I get made fun of all the time. I don't even care. What usually pisses the people off who make fun of me is that I'm perfectly capable of ripping a GS turn on my mogul skis.

 

[kingslug]

Wigglers usualy do better in the bumps and trees, therefore IMHO they are better. The minute I started to put my feet closer together, moguls got a hell of a lot easier. Glen Plake said it best: " if you want to find the best skiers on the mountain, you might want to look in the bumps".

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

Given the new twist on the term "wide stance" (thanks to the congessman from Idaho), I might prefer to "wiggle" too!

I've generally opened up over the years (mostly as I've gone to more agressively cut skis). My stance varies with the terrain, conditions, speed and radius of turn. All that said, I ski ugly. I get down just about anything and don't fall much.

 

[campgottagopee]

Given the new twist on the term "wide stance" (thanks to the congessman from Idaho), I might prefer to "wiggle" too!

I've generally opened up over the years (mostly as I've gone to more agressively cut skis). My stance varies with the terrain, conditions, speed and radius of turn. All that said, I ski ugly. I get down just about anything and don't fall much.

Basher here too---I ski with a bunch of "pretty boys" who call me the bull in the china shop once they catch up to me

 

[Skier75]

I found that when I emulated a good friend of mine skiing, I did much better. I copied everything about him when I followed him and I could ski faster and in more control. Did this for a few years, before I realized what it was. Feet closer together! Guess I'm a wiggler, and a hppy one at that. When I realized this last year, skiing got to be sooooo much more fun than it already was. I used to ski Like Bode, feet way apart. Nowadays, they are pretty close together.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

That sounds like the Pocono shuffle..with wider shaped skis..I have a much wider stance than I used to on straight skis. Skiing old school style on modern skis is a liability..a wider stance will give you more angulation and you can push your skis to the max..It's always nice to get free advice. I've gotten plenty from racer friends.

 

[wa-loaf]

You should tailor your stance to what you are doing. There's no catch-all position. If you are making short turns, skiing bumps or the trees you need a tight stance. Medium to long radius turns are better done with a wider stance. Mix it up, don't be a one trick pony.

 

[bigbog]

...

I think there's often a need for a little rotary here & there....but I think(my $.02) the increased sidecut skis offers the skier even more tools, particularly in exploring off-piste uneven terrain. With your experience Tim...try mixing it up a little. Wa-Loaf said it....mix it up... Particularly with some of the more exciting dimensions...it really seems to open up new & fun territory...

 

[2knees]

Bvibert and i had this exact kind of conversation at mt snow on wednesday. I just cant ski with me feet apart like that. right or wrong, i just stick to what i know.

 

[campgottagopee]

Bvibert and i had this exact kind of conversation at mt snow on wednesday. I just cant ski with me feet apart like that. right or wrong, i just stick to what i know.

Something about an old dog and new tricks???

 

[Sky]

As for "how it looks" and "who looks more skilled"...I ski with two guys who are very good, one with each style.

The wide stance guys is a master's level racer. Wide stance. He looks very skilled.

The other guy varies his stance. He just two years ago dropped the long skinny skis and loves his new shaped skis. He races well (gold) in the night league and has a relatively wide stance in the course...bt when he free skis, he frequently opts back to teh "parallel" look and is very graceful about it.

I like the look of the "wigglers" I guess. I'm just happy to be a skier, regardless of the style.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

I've found that the PSIA teaching style is much about "their way", and less about really functional skiing. Ask a PSIA instructor about how to ski bumps, they don't have an answer. Ask about crud, or pow. Prolly same deal. How to rip corduroy on shaped skis? They have the answer.

I didn't quite realize just how narrow the PSIA aproach is until talking with several instructors and then taking a lesson at a non-PSIA ski school (Snow King, WY).

PSIA is not the only way.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Bvibert and i had this exact kind of conversation at mt snow on wednesday. I just cant ski with me feet apart like that. right or wrong, i just stick to what i know.

What about when you make a sharp turn, like cutting a corner? Tomorrow when I ski groomers, crud, and bumps....I'll be paying extra attention to my stance..I really haven't thought about it much..except when I see Gregs videos where he skis like there're bumps even when there aren't any. I sometimes do that and see if I can make 100 turns on a mile long trail..I think my best is around 115 turns..but that's complete turns so 115..right(wiggles) and 115 left(wiggles)..that's how your legs get hella solid and ready for Jackson Hole...

 

[Mildcat]

Given the new twist on the term "wide stance" (thanks to the congessman from Idaho), I might prefer to "wiggle" too!

Too funny. :lol:

 

[snoseek]

Ski however you ski and don't let anyone tell you its wrong. There is no right/wrong, skiing (or boarding)is such a personal experience that others really don't matter. If you want to take it to a different level, than find an instructor that feels this way too.

 

[millerm277]

Personally, I just go with whatever comes naturally...whether I look good while skiing or not, I have no idea, but I do know that my way results in me not falling much, and being able to safely and quickly ski everything I've encountered so far.

 

[2knees]

Personally, I just go with whatever comes naturally...whether I look good while skiing or not, I have no idea, but I do know that my way results in me not falling much, and being able to safely and quickly ski everything I've encountered so far.

lol well i cant say my style prevents me from falling alot.

Campgottagopee, i think you hit the nail on the head. :smile:

 

[Greg]

It's my impression that the newer ski technology let's folks ski more fluidly and smoother with a wider stance. My stance was pretty wide up until last year when I made a concerted effort to tighten it up, mostly to help in the bumps. Now I hear my skis clanging together all the time and the tips on my Cabrawlers (bump skis) are already starting to wear, after only 2 days on them. The tighter stance helps me in the powder as well. I normally make quick short radius turns, and very rarely carve so I like to keep the feet pretty close together.

 

[snoseek]

I personally try to adjust the way i ski to the conditions. bumps and powder close together, groomers and speed a wider stance. My everday ski has very less sidecut than most, I think maybe a deep sidecut kind of forces a wide stance (i'm probably wrong about this). More often than not i really don't care because i'm just not very analytical and a bit lazy.