A glass of Wine with the Ski Dad ep. 1 - The biases that are holding us back

There were some technical glitches early in the stream, if you stick with it, by 4 min in it is good to go. Thankyou to everyone who tuned in tonight. Ill try to get better at these in the future.

Well - you simply can’t “cleanly carve” the top of the turn always, especially at steeper terrain. There is a scenario for every situation. I see redirection as a form of speed control, combined with a prolonged ride phase across the hill. Trying to cleanly carve the entire turn will just get you more and more speed until you need to “take a dump”. Great video, as always!

Glad that you are skiing Pomerelle in Idaho. It actually has the most snow in Idaho (note Targhee is in Wyoming). We need to support medium sized ski areas like Pomerelle.

Maybe I am the one who was talking about "moving forward your COM".
To sum up:
1/ you start moving forward at completion (or not going backward) while you have some ground support BEFORE the float-linear-ballistic phase,
2/ when in the "float-linear-ballistic phase" it is too late,
3/ "moving forward your COM" is the fore aft part of the weight transfer: it is like giving some longitudinal added to lateral direction of the weight transfer,
4/ your goal is to to gain some centimeters(COM wrt feet) forward at apex: there you are looking for some vertical external thigh,
5/ you use essentially your abs (contraction) and some lower part of muscles like going forward from sat in a chair,
6/ when your turn is a performance one with some retraction in the transition, you start moving forward before retraction: like optraken.

Thanks for this! Really inspiring to hear someone so passionate dive deep on these topics and loved what you said about carving and ski type. The biggest jump in my carving (and skiing) ability came a couple of winters ago when I hired some Brahma 88s instead of race-style skis for the week, which is the go-to here in Europe. Immediately, I found it easier to hold an edge and the size, strength and weight of the skis gave me more confidence - would 100% recommend for anyone looking to move from intermediate to advanced skiing

That balance is the window Nyman talked about; stay in the window and good things happen..

Ouch! Ski dad.... You don't have to live like this. You're under the weather so you've been vanquished to under the stairs? You deserve better. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the fact that you're going to be getting your kids out onto the slopes at a young age. I did the same with four myself. This is how I learned to ski backwards, really really, really well. Two of them had not quite understood their science lessons regarding gravity. So I found that if I ski backwards and look straight into their eyes and tell them... Don't worry, you're not going to fly off the face of the Earth. Gravity's got you. I'm here too... That they were okay. Great times! Once you get them past the point of getting them dressed and their boots on and all of that stuff only have them look at you and say.... Dad, I have to go poo. 😭
Good luck!!

I can attest to the Brahma replacement / Anomaly 88 - that ski rips. I’ve achieved my personal best Carv scores with them (155). Phenomenal ski

I like how people r quick to criticize in comments, yet have nothing to show themselves 😂

Joe, you have awesome teaching videos and analysis

Could you please post your email again at one point

Feel better bro

Headed to Snowmass in two weeks! Intermediate/advanced skier. 5"8", 155 lbs. What skis do you recommend for me? Usually go 158-160 length. What particular performance ski should I rent? Don't want the ski to hinder my turns.

Fortunately for anyone who knows anything about skiing, you’re obviously an expert. And skiing is a constantly changing process, that what makes it perpetually enjoyable.

After spending literally years to make perfect railroad tracks in the snow I find it hard to slide the top of the turn and i have to practice the slide or the stivot more than the carving.

Easier to carve on wider skis really resonates. I think one thing is that they tip over more slowly, compensating for my impatience. That in turn seems to result in good edge grip throughout, I think. Thanks for the work you’re putting into this

You're not wrong.

Here’s what I would like to see: A ski contest on a 300 yard 25% slope where the goal is to accumulate the most acceleration and accumulate the most g forces. I don’t know if carv would measure that but I think that would be the most thrilling way to ski. What do you think? Might take tons of energy but it’s an objective test for who’s the best skier separate from World Cup racing.

I think the "best" ski to carve on really depends on the snow you've got to work with. In west coast snow sure an 85-95mm carver is great... on east coast hard pack I'll take my 68mm every time.

When it comes to learning to "carve", I always thought a narrower ski was "easier" to get edge to edge. Deb Armstrong said a beginner will slow their progress down trying to learn on "wide" skis. I think both can be true at the same time. A too narrow(~70mm?), stiff, heavy slalom ski will probably be "too much" for a beginner to bend and manipulate. A wide(>90mm) ski that is more on the softer side may feel easier to tip edge to edge compared to that slalom ski. But is the skier able to do that edging with their ankles and knees? Or, are they, perhaps, using their upper body and hips to get that ski to turn fast? An all-purpose 80-ish waist ski could be the sweet spot to learn and get better on. Less mass, less swing weight, and, potentially, easier to go edge to edge with the feet, ankles, and knees? That 80mm ski may be a better choice in the bumps, too.
You have me thinking, though, as I took out my 184 Stormrider 88's the other day and thought they were more "fun" than I expected after skiing on 180 Montero AR's(84mm) for a week. But I didn't compare them in the bumps...

There is no need to stivot. You should only ski gentle slopes, use 12 meter sidecut skis, or don't make tight turns.

People like to inflate their own ego. That is the crux of the matter. Keep teaching what you teach. It works. Also, there is a fine line that separates “the top of the turn” and the “transition”.

Hi Joe, What ski camp are you referring to?

Joe - you absolutely rip, and I’ll take your instruction and advice over any keyboard warrior over at SkiTalk. Keep doing what you’re doing!

If I carve the top of a turn on steeps, my speed gets too fast for me to hold the pressure in the apex after a half dozen turns.

Great video! So true what Joe says about learning to carve on race skis. I have been trying to learn on FIS SL skis. What do you think of Ligety's new skis? Would those be good for learning? Should I get the 174 length? Thanks

Bro most of those dudes on ski talk can’t demonstrate what they’re talking about g about Tell noodle to post a demo video

I think it is interesting that there are some people out there who now seem to believe that carving is the same as skiing. To me carving is just one tool in the toolbox that can be used more or less depending on what I want to achieve. And I use it when it is suitable. Skiing on the other hand is about getting from top to bottom having fun, using the terrain, playing with speed, the shifting angles,hitting a small jump, skiing bumps or powder, skidding, smearing etc. Carving is not skiing, because skiing is so much more. It all depends on the mountain, pist/slope, grooming, weather conditions,type of situation, feeling of the day etc. A really good skier can transition from on type of terrain into another seamlessly and with flow.
Great channel! Keep up the good videos and discussions.

Turn shape should be conceptualized as Apex and transition. Turn feel should be conceptualized as float and sting.

People who think carving the top of the turn is actually hard, and shows more skill than making a turn appropriate for the hill are such a bizarre collection of internet warriors.

Joe is too nice, so I'll just translate what he's saying, borrowing from Good Will Hunting:
"Do you know how easy this is for me? Do you have any idea how f** easy this is? This is a f** joke. And I'm sorry you can't do this. I really am. Because I wouldn't have to sit here and watch you fumble around and f*** it up."

People with inferior skills saying their basic way of carving, which they somehow believe is a refined art form known only to a handful of aficionados, is better and requires more skill than people with demonstrably better skills and proven track records that are just trying to help everyone else ski better, is... well, it's something.

Dude is on here talking Calculus 4 and people on a forum are like "yeah, but can you even DO algebra, man?"...

Hate to tell all you ski instructors and clean carve humpers this, but there are a lot of people who could take a mid 90s underfoot wet noodle with a hybrid boot and Switch bindings and ski circles around you on hardpack, even if you all have the FIS SL skis you don't need and can't properly ski. 

But then you'd just come up with some other excuse as to why your skiing is more pure, or more analytically correct, or more aesthetically pleasing. It's like Harold Harb and the like spawned an entire colony of knock-off disciples to explain endlessly how World Cup skiers aren't technically better than them.

There is a massive bias in America for carving the top of the turn.