what's you gap?

[Savemeasammy]

I think a lot depends on the width of your skis as well. But as SMS said, it depends on terrain, conditions, and skiing style. I honestly have no idea how much of a gap there usually is between my skis. Never thought to look.

FYI, your tips are usually an inch or two apart while your tails are a good 3 feet apart. I thought you might want to know!


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[Brad J]

Shoulder width the vast majority of the time!

The wider stance is more stable and easy to roll onto the inside edge and generate some nice edge angles on most snow surfaces. Even on my full rocker powder skis shoulder width is easy to pivot/swivel for me and far more stable (hence easier to recover from if an inside edge slips out) than the old style tips + knees locked together
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The great Jean Claude Killy was the first to ski with feet apart, I believe in the late 70's it was taught a independent leg action. It certainty works works with todays equipment,

 

[MadMadWorld]

fyi, your tips are usually an inch or two apart while your tails are a good 3 feet apart. I thought you might want to know!


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pizza!!!!

 

[BenedictGomez]

The distance apart really all depends what sort of skiing I'm doing at that moment. But I'm definitely more far apart now than I was on straight skis.

 

[mister moose]

Yea they preached that bs to me all through instructor training. It's a good gage to find your own balance point. But where the test fails is someone's point of balance is completely different based on things I mentioned like terrain, condition, and even the equipment your using. It's not a one size fits all test.

It's more than balance, although less balance generally means feet farther apart. Feet closer together feels more like a bicycle, farther apart feels more like a quad.

it is a starting point, that's all. like where should your weight be? forward? but in powder you want it a little back.

A litttle off topic, but saying your weight should be back in powder is misleading, and not always necessary.

Groomers - varies but generally 6 inches. Tuna speed - about two feet apart. Powder - 2 to 4 inches for float (need fatter skis or skinnier me.) Trees - all over.

First time I've seen someone mention this, but yes, this is true! Next time you have the time and terrain on a powder day, start out from a stop on a gentle slope and let the skis run straight. Feet shoulder width apart. At a slow speed when you aren't getting much float, slowly bring your feet together. You should notice as they get within a few inches, the float will noticeably increase. This is due to interupted boundary flow around the skis as they get close enough. It is the same thing as ground effect in flying, ie flying within 1 wing span of the ground.

"Feet locked together" is misleading. The steepness of the hill determines the separation of the feet in the vertical* plane. The inside foot is the uphill foot, and is higher. As you angulate the hips in a sharper turn, this effect becomes more pronounced. So the feet are not locked, they move independently in the vertical plane. Look at the photo:



Look at the green line. It is the center of the skier's legs, and goes through the center of his hips. Notice both knees are touching the green line. His skiis are apart due to the angulation, but his knees are lined up, or in other words, his thighs are touching. He has a narrow stance. Now look at the diagram:

The only difference between a narrow and a wide stance is the position of the inside foot. The outside foot is in the same place in both cases.

Skiers I know that can ski well with their feet close chose to do so when it suits them. For me it's mogul troughs, powder, and quick linked turns. If I'm carving with the skiis leaving railroad tracks, or if it's icy, then my feet are shoulder width, or even a little wider.

As in all things skiing, the more tools you have at your disposal the better you will be. No good tool ever goes out of style.


*Vertical, meaning parallel with the legs, which is vertical when standing. Obviously this plane changes, and leans from true vertical in a turn. I use the term vertical to distinguish between that and the horizontal distance separating the feet from this 'vertical' axis.

 

[MadMadWorld]

It's more than balance, although less balance generally means feet farther apart. Feet closer together feels more like a bicycle, farther apart feels more like a quad.

You have me a little confused. Do you agree with me or disagree? The test that was being described is strictly a balance test to get an idea of where that skier feels the most stabile. And is also an opportunity to compare the difference between how they landed on their feet and the stance they use when they are skiing.

 

[Tin]

Next to nothing. The inside edges of my tips have no paint left on them. Maybe 2-3" in fresh snow.

 

[mister moose]

You have me a little confused. Do you agree with me or disagree? The test that was being described is strictly a balance test to get an idea of where that skier feels the most stabile. And is also an opportunity to compare the difference between how they landed on their feet and the stance they use when they are skiing.

I'm familiar with the technique you describe, and I think it is a good teaching tool. Not only do you land well balanced side to side, but you land well balanced, and consequently well positioned, fore and aft. As you say, from there it is a starting point. I didn't disagree, I took it further. I was saying foot position is not just about balance. It can be about maneuverability, float, or terrain.

 

[MadMadWorld]

I'm familiar with the technique you describe, and I think it is a good teaching tool. Not only do you land well balanced side to side, but you land well balanced, and consequently well positioned, fore and aft. As you say, from there it is a starting point. I didn't disagree, I took it further. I was saying foot position is not just about balance. It can be about maneuverability, float, or terrain.

Ah okay. Nice post you made. Lots of good information and explanation for the differences.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I try to keep my tips crossed at all times.

 

[Tin]

I try to keep my tips crossed at all times.

You're gonna have a bad time.

 

[Smellytele]

Well a few times I have had my right ski on the left side of my left ski or visa versa. In other words my bent lowering knee uphill ski gets stuck and ends up going behind and around my down hill ski. So I end up with a negative number or maybe it is a square root of a negative number resulting in a imaginary number. Anyway I have recovered from it a few times but usually end up crashing.

 

[Cannonball]

Wasn't it a "wide stance" that got Larry Craig in trouble?

 

[Puck it]

Wasn't it a "wide stance" that got Larry Craig in trouble?

Wasn't it a hand under the stall?

 

[wa-loaf]

Wasn't it a hand under the stall?

Tapping the other guys foot.

 

[mattchuck2]

Watch the Olympic moguls, and see if that changes your opinions.

I generally keep my skis about where I land when I do the jump test, but when I'm skiing bumps, I glue them together pretty tight. I like to have both skis in the same place at the same time (so I don't have one on top of a bump and one in a trough).

Same thing with powder. I keep them closer together, not for the tiny flotation benefit, but more because I want them to experience the same snow conditions at the same time (so one isn't in untracked pow while the other is on cut up chunky stuff).

 

[jrmagic]

If I'm ripping big turns at speed I'm probably about shoulder width apart. In powder they are probably half that and in bps and the trees they are very tight. Shoulder width in moguls would be interesting for balance since you're skis would almost never be in the same horizontal plane.

 

[MadMadWorld]

This has me definitely wanting to check out my stance next time I'm out even if Savemeasammy says I snow plow the whole time!