Skiing with good balance is a trait of all world-class skiers!
We’ve all heard the "you need to lean further forward" tip, however, there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to maintaining good stance and balance.
In this lesson, Tom Gellie shares his expert knowledge with 3 actionable tips to help you ski steeper slopes, and short turns with better balance.
These tips should help you ski with more confidence on steeps, prevent your skis washing out at the end of your short turns and keep you focused on small fore-aft movement shifts that make a big difference.
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For more how to ski content make sure to check out our other ski improvement videos:
- How to ski in tough terrain:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDFaq...
- How to ski on ice:
• HOW TO SKI ON ICE | 4 ...
- How to ski with flow:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK6SC...
- Carving with early edge angles:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElOhJ...
- 4 Advanced skiing mistakes and how to fix them:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=04lRa...
- How to increase your edge angle:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPxH...
Timecodes
0:00 - Epic skiing in Aspen
0:30 - Introduction to Tom Gellie
1:41 - The Diagnosis: The importance of Fore Aft balance
3:16 - Tip 1: Pushing vs Pulling
4:55 - Tip 2: Posture adjustment
7:10 - Tip 3: Foot pressure
9:48 - Lesson recap
10:21 - More awesome ski content
10:31 - Want more instructional ski content?
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Skier: Tom Gellie - Level 4 APSI Ski Instructor | Owner of bigpictureskiing.com | IG:@bigpictureskiing
Ski resort: Aspen Highlands, Colorado, USA
Music Licensed by Music Bed: MB01HI9HENMDGDL
Do you find these balance tips useful❓ Please write a comment and let us know ⬇️
I want to order!!
Had loads of lessons, this is first time it's made sense.
Excellently explained! Cheers!
The advice to move the feet forward seems "unnecessary" given how weight & gravity works on skis. When gravity via the hill pushes against the boots/heels, it naturally pushes the feet forward (against your weight stacked on top), and if anything an efficient skier is modulating how much they resist (ie push back) against that force. You can see in action very clearly in Marcel Hirscher's free skiing, where he seems backseat, but not at the moment before the fall-line, where he shoves his feet back strongly and then resists at an angle against hill pushing him forward, to create the redirection he needs.
2nd viewing - THIS VIDEO information, worth it's weight in GOLD...Something definitely to be worked on , 'Pulling' feet forward during 2nd half of the turn on a steeper slope for shorts turns. It's what i've been missing for years and years...some people say i ski awesome as well! If i get this right, maybe i'll be even more awesome! haha. Beautifully explained Tom. I've paid for privates lessons specifically on this subject ( control in steeps ) before and never EVER had it so well explained as i've just heard. Tom's an excellant teacher. Just want to add, last year i've been working on 'feeling the heel' whilst still some( but varying) tongue pressure all the way through turns ( so never loosing the 'heel' ) - for sure i felt more POWERFUL / balanced AND controlled. Thanks Tom and Carv. The 'Pulling forward' action ( quads / calves and core) applies a moment ( turning force ) to the ski - you can see the ski tails momentarily bend ( adding load and pressure to ski tails, gripping the snow ), that ski bend ( spring) then quickly unloads and slightly impels ( Tom said ' Pop' ) the skier forward - unlike the 'Pushing Forward' which doesn't really bend the ski at all. This is more important than it initially seems...it's a GOLD Tip everyone! Edit: 'Pulling' requires ankle dorsiflexion ( turning foot upwards ) , toes go up automatically as well. Lower adominals must contract to do this.
This is the best ski instruction I’ve ever received. Was able to try this out on the slopes yesterday, and it completely leveled up my skiing. This is what I was missing for years
Thank you. This was very enlightening. I tried it yesterday and it worked. Been struggling with upper body rotation for years and I think excessive tail wash was the cause. This is my fiftieth season....it’s never too late!
Awesome, we love this type of feedback 👌 Yep, it's never too late, keep it up! ⛷
Thanks for this! I think one issue is that the idea of adding downward force to the tail of the skis as you transition to the exit is counter-intuitive to most people. BUT we know via physics, that increased pressure will cause more grip (if the ski is appropriately using the edge). It's the same issue with why drivers spin a car in the rain when in a turn and experiencing an issue: the human tendency is to lift off the accelerator or apply brake. This decelerates the car putting more force on the front tires and causing them to grip more, while the rear tires have less downforce and therefore grip less. Then the tail of the car starts to lose grip and the car initiates a spin. Will try adding force to the rear via pulling up next time I'm out there. Great lesson. Thank you.
That first tip about adjusting weight on the turn is exactly what I needed! I was always falling on black diamonds because I gained too much speed while turning with a forward lean. Thank you!!
I find this is a common error many skiers do not know how to correct. Hopefully this goes some way to making your skiing more enjoyable on the steeps
That was totally me at 6:15 with the tails washing out with the weight forward all the time. Too many instructors say "get to the front of the boot" and "lean forward." While that advice was fine on greens and blues, once I hit steeper slopes, I didn't feel nearly as in control. This totally helped to modulate that front and back pressure and get those tails to grip. Why didn't any other instructor say this? It totally makes sense once explained. Thanks!!!!
I love you’re toppling concept. It describes the sensation very well. I used to call it falling into the turn, but it’s the same idea. Agree it sounds counterintuitive but it feels great when you get it. My tip has to do with your toes and ankles. People would be surprised that your toes and ankles are important to early initiation. In the beginning of the season I do easy flat runs and turning literally just by concentrating on lifting say my right daddy toe and pushing on ball of my left foot and letting my ankles and knees follow for a right turn and do the opposite for left turn. It helps me concentrate early initiation and gets my ankles and knees engaged. You’d be amazed that you can turn that way on flat terrain.
Hi Nathaniel, glad you liked the video! Thanks for the insightful comment, I'm sure that others will take value from it 👌
Lifelong east coast skier and first time instructor this year - this video was great! Thanks so much!
Amazing communication skills and ability to identify the things that are most important. This video combined with the early edge angles video, and the how to ski difficult terrain video took me from being an intermediate to advanced level skier!
Really great illustration and explanation of the fore aft movement. I've never seen it described this way. I can really relate to the difference in feeling with and without the fore-aft shift, when you do it right it feels like your popping from turn to turn , when not it feels like the end of the turn is washing out and slipping downslope especially noticeable on steeper slopes. Now I know how to correct for it. Thanks!
Really good stuff. Interestingly, I was working on carving with my ski coach and as she encouraged me to keep the edge platform right through the turn, I had felt that I was somewhat in the back seat at that point. She reassured me I was doing fine and I think this explains that I had intuitively been doing the right thing with fore/aft balance.
I'm a double diamond skier that always wants to improve. I find that while I ski with ease, I'm nowhere near perfect and this video was a fantastic guide to improving it. Will look into purchasing Carv.
So glad it was helpful. Let us know if you've got any questions
A good start - you encapsulated my skiing plateau. Then delivered an answer that totally makes sense. I can feel it. I somehow lacked the confidence/ initiative to actively do it with all my turns - maybe I was doing it playfully on gentle slopes. I can see that rhythm helps. Im visualising swooping my feet fore and aft through the curve as it progresses. I'll try it this weekend. Thanks!
Thank you for your time & dedication!! Watching you ski is so satisfying!! You have an awesome way of making those of us who want to ski better relate to see the picture!! Like a great story teller help people to relate & understand!! New subscriber!!
Probably one of the best explanations, really understandable
Thanks Esben this is great to hear
I’ve very keen to try this technique out, next month on the slopes. I’ve struggled for years with wash out from leaning too far forward , this is the first ski clip I’ve seen addressing fore and aft balance. Thanks to the instructor.
Thanks again Tom yes we all have heard keep leaning forward throughout the turn. Great explanation and demo of where your COM needs to be throughout the turn so thanks for the video. Keep them coming.
Thanks for the feedback Patrick! We'll be starting next season with a bang so stay posted 👍
An excellent video. You understanding of the mechanics of carving is on a high level! Much better than usual! However there are other very important elements you do not talk about. One is the boot-tongue pressure. Moving your COM backwards and forwards over the skis is very well explained by you. But the boot-tongue pressure is even more important. Moving your COM forwards to the direction of the ski-tips creates a boot tongue pressure, increasing the your ankle flexion, but when your COM moves backwards, just before the edge change you need to press your toes and ankles upwards (dorsal flexion of the ankle). If you do not use a forceful dorsal flex of your ankles at this point, you will feel much less safe and you can even lose balance, by pushing your skis ahead of your COM. This CARV sensor does not sense the boot-tongue pressures!
Hi Janos - i understand your observation - Tom demonstrated and talked about ' Pulling' and not 'Pushing' and the difference between them. By 'Pulling' i believe that will automatically dorsal flex ankles and that's almost impossible to do without curling upwards the toes. Thanks for noting that it needs to be forceful - that's got me even more thinking about it...
One of the best ski videos I've seen! I really liked how you broke the turn down into small segments. I'm almost looking forward to skiing a groomer.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback Craig! Tom did an awesome job breaking this lesson down into bite-sized pieces. That's one of our goals! To get people looking forward to skiing groomers haha 😅
Just what I needed to sort through. This is the best video of fore and aft balance through a turn I have seen. I really appreciate the depth of detail in the video and the explanations you gave. I really liked the graph you overlaid on your turns as it helped me see how you balance point changed. Awesome job. Tom you are a very good explainer!
Thanks Roland. Tim the cameraman is also great at editing and knowing where to stand to get the shot. It was a pleasure working with him. Thanks for the feedback
Just discovered your channel, Thank you so much for this quality video & explanations ! Can’t wait to try them out. I always struggled to find my balance while carving, obviously because I keep my body forward. This will definitely help to improbe ! Thanks again
No problems at all! We’re always glad to help and especially happy to hear about your improvements. Stay posted as we have lots more content on the way this season ⛷
That was great! I was always so stuck on staying forward because that is what I was taught. But the push-pull makes sense to stay over the different areas of your base of support allowing for better control.
Excellent tutorial. Just what I need. Thank you.
Learned a lot from this video. I will go back and watch it again and again. Thank you
Thanks a lot. I've always had problems with washing out towards the end of my turns, now I know why (pushing, not pulling ;) ). Very well explained and illustrated! Have a great winter season and all the best!
You can do it! Thanks for watching 👌
That explains exactly what is happening to me. Tremendously helpful! Thank you!
I had no idea foot pressure played such a big part in turning. Great video, very helpful.
This is the first video I've watched which clearly demonstrates the back & forth movement of balance on the turn. I learned something today. Excellent 👍😊
Glad it was helpful Peter! We're here to help you ski better, so we love this kind of feedback 👌
I just watched your video on skiing steeper slopes and I'm blown away by how helpful it was! Your tips on maintaining better balance were spot on and will definitely help me feel more confident on the mountain. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us!
Thanks Phillip!
Best detailed explanation I have ever seen. Thanks for the great advice!
We really appreciate this feedback, it keeps us more motivated than ever to keep bring you new ski lessons 👍 Tom did an amazing job with this lesson so I'm sure he'll be stoked to read your comment!
Now I finally understand what the fore/aft movement is about. Great video! Not yet in my fiftieth season, but hope to get there!
This video really helps me a lot in slope turning. You are more than expert, you are superb expert combine genius. Pressure in heel or tail of ski during the end of turn nie become my motto!
Great video, very helpful, just started working on it this week at my local mountain and already see a difference!
Way to go chris. Feeling and seeing a difference in that short a timeframe is what I'm all about. Fast results
Absolutely wicked stuff Tom....my question is should we ultimately be feeling this foot pressure everywhere,always
I'm a beginner and have been watching a lot of videos and THIS is the best explanation.
This is awesome to hear! Tom really is one of the best when it comes to this topic so we hope you see a difference in your skiing once you manage to put these tips into practice ⛷
great skiing Tom! Fore aft stuff is great. You have great upper/lower body separation which is an area you really should touch on for steeper terrain because without it, your tails will wash out even with the fore/aft pressure.
one of the best short turn tutorial videos ever watched
We really appreciate the feedback Lee. Tom really nailed this one 👌
Excellent explanation , demonstration and simple easy to follow drills to make this happen. Would love to see one one transitioning from short to medium and then GS turns on one run - how and when to apply the subtle changes thought the changing arcs sand loads seamlessly. Maybe there is one ? Ralph
Thanks for sharing your expertise. Much appreciated.
Nice reminder of the difference between static and dynamic balance.
This is absolutely fantastic. Best explanations of for fore-aft pressure I've ever heard, and I say that as somebody with a world-class coach who is wonderful at explaining things. Well done!!
Pretty stoked to hear this thanks very much.
I'd like to suggest that forward balance is important. Aft balance is recovery, when you get stuck on your heals or caught on an uphill edge. There should only be a motivation to stay on the front of your foot. Even when walking any sense of being on your heels is immediately countered by the next foot toes touching the ground in front of you.
Awesome lesson 😎 Love that you are showing how to use the entire ski. Great feeling!
Thanks 🙏
2:29 omg this is *exactly* what I’ve been struggling with this whole week! Too bad I’ll have to wait until the next season to put your tips into practice 😭
Excellent explanation and corrective actions to keep the tails from sliding out and simply doing repetitive “hockey stops” on steep and icy slopes. 🙏🏽
Stroking the ski is sometimes used to describe fore/aft balance. Informative video; thanks !
advanced knowledge for intermediate-skilled skiers, thanx a lot.
I found this attention to tail weighting both new and very useful to understand speed control and tightened turns. Thank you very much.
Over turning is my problem for sure, if I correct too much I lose my moment. Will try the pull / shift weight back technique I get on the slopes again. Thanks!
Exactly what I needed. Thank you.
No problems Jacqueline! Glad you found these tips useful 👍
I kept watching this video over and over again. just found my one of problems. The tip 2 helps me the most. Heaps thanks ❤!
Thanks for the comment. I like tip 2 as well and am often focused on it.
That was brilliant! Crystal clear explanations and tech proof. I now realise that I need to focus on the end of the turn more - and now I know how. This is usually neglected in run of the mill ski lessons. Thanks for posting - I have my homework. Cheers!
Great to hear. It’s why i chose the topic its not often covered by many people as people are afraid of talking about moving aft on the skis. Always just forward forward forward.
The pushing and pulling is the single most intelligent bit of advice I have yet to see. Look forward to testing it out in a few weeks.
Thanks! Good luck out there
Can’t wait to go skiing again and work on this!
Thanks for watching Simon, We hope that these tips are useful!
Amazing video, amazing content, thanks!
awesome! the slope getting subjectively more and then less steep and the accompanying weight transfer - this was a revelation!
Thanks for the feedback Viktor! All the best putting this into practice next time you find the perfect slope to test this out on ⛷
thanks a lot for this video. finally, i get what to do in order for the skiing to flow.. i recognized that all the common mistakes you mentioned, i kindof did
Great stuff Tom. Just joined your site and tried some of the techniques. It makes a huge difference, my 160 racetigers never felt and gripped so good. Sometimes find myself in the backseat, but with more practice hopefully this will improve. Unfortunately our ski hill shut down today. If you ever get to Canada, I would love to take lessons from you.
Hi Raymond. Stoked you found the extra info on the site helpful. I do put most of my big ideas and progressions there. Im really keeping my fingers crossed to be able to travel again next winter and come back to canada. Enjoy the rest of your season.
Brilliant, Tom. You nail the one vital ingredient in successful short turns. I'll be focused on developing that for the rest of the season.
Thanks for the feedback Read!
How’s it going now a week in? Any new feelings on snow?
@@Bigpictureskiing I was out yesterday on SLs and hard but edgeable snow. The beginning of the move (that pulling motion) has something of the flavor of a dolphin turn; Deb Armstrong talks about "slicing" the outside ski; J. F. Beaulieu mentions pressure moving from the ball of the foot toward the heel in the belly of the turn, and here is his video that seems to discuss similar ideas: kzhead.info/sun/fMORpauPjmislok/bejne.html All these are familiar to me, but your video had me concentrating a bit more on sensations. I don't lose my tails as a rule, but the new sensation was a more evident digging in - taken to the point at which my tips were coming off the snow. Interesting. It'll take some time to refine that move, but I see a subtle and useful improvement.
Looking forward to giving this a try today at Kirkwood, thank you!
Another great video Tom, your explanations are clear and simple, great technique and demonstrations👍
Glad you enjoyed it Igor! All the best putting these tips into action 👍
Thanks for the concise information, and this explains why I took a nasty fall on a very, very steep slope in Vail last week. It seems counter-intuitive to put weight on the tails of your skis, but in this case it makes sense. I will give this a go next week.
Glad it was helpful Robert! Let us know how you get on trying out these tips 👌
One of the bests videos I saw.Tom is a Master
Cheers for that. I spend a lot of time thinking about how to explain how to change your skiing
Agree !
Great demo . . . well shaped turn vs windshield wiper turns . . . excellent ! If well executed, the skier can definitely feel the difference. A properly tuned ski is paramount to aid in execution at any level Thanks for sharing !
Glad you enjoyed it Arden!
Thank you! I always felt like the tails of my skis were skidding out at the end of turns and could never figure out why I had no grip. This has answered that for me! I'm off to the slopes in 2 days so I'll put this drill into practice!
Update - tested this out along some gentle blue runs and it definitely feels better. I can push more pressure comfortably through my feet now too! (Also the feeling of using aft foot pressure has been a real help when dealing with deep powder that we've had the last 2 days!)
Brillant as usual !
Simply the BEST ever!!!
Brilliantly explained with very good graphics to back up the teaching. Very impressed, thankyou.
Glad it was helpful John! All the best putting these tips into practice 👍
Fantastic video, thank you!
very well explained, one of my (many) flaws and now I know better what to do....thanks!!
Powerful explanation! Now I have the valid mental model of my turn at hand to know what I have to fokus on, when intuitiv skiing fails!:-) I‘m stoked...thanks!
Glad you found it helpful Johann! Stay tuned for more ski content 🎿
Fantastic explanation, very straight forward and plausible, thanks, great job!
Thanks for watching Sándor! We appreciate the feedback and hope that you find these tips useful next time you are out skiing 🎿
Great video and the editing was fantastic with the overlay. It was very educational.
Well done. I’m looking forward to seeing what it feels like. Thanks
Thanks for watching Dave, Don't hesitate to share your progress once you test out the tips. We'd love to hear about it 👍
Amazing video! Watched it twice - will be practicing tomorrow 😀
Thank you for your videos! Tom, your explanations are full and simple! One day I will teach my students as good as you :)
Thanks, already you wanting to teach to a high level speaks to your dedication to your students. Nice to hear 😊
one of the best training videos. Thank you
We very much appreciate this feedback! Thanks for watching 👍
Excellent presentation of fore aft balance - when, how and why we pull our feet back and forward when performing short radius turns!
Thanks for the awesome feedback Bill! We appreciate it 👌
Seen countless videos on doing short turns and continued to struggle. But your method is the one that clicked. Purposefully pulling the feet thru on each turn was the missing ingredient. 🙏💯
Thanks for the feedback! Let us know how you go putting these tips into practice 👍
Thanks Tom. I think I finally got the concept. Great presentation! Looking forward to watching my Balance scores go up.
just found this video and loved it it has answered some questions. thankyou
Glad to hear it helped 👌
That's right, well done!
Thanks for the feedback Anatoliy! We're glad you enjoyed the tips 👍
👍👍👍never saw that foot movement in relation to upper body before, it makes lots of sense, it will be the first thing to practice on my next ski trip, for sure, thanks.
Amazing video. Very helpful and well-illustrated. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! ⛷⛷
Fantastic visual at 4:40 explains the whole process. I never realised this, seems so obvious. Strange that we have always been told to keep forward when it doesn't work. Also loved the explanation of how speed changes during the turn above and below the fall line.
Nobody has time to move forward and backward. World Cup understands this. When you are on your heels you loose the tipping of a ski. When you are on your heels the next short period of time is spent getting your off your heels. When you are on your heels you have lost control of the ski, no other muscles can fix this control problem until you get back over your skis. Stay on the front of your foot and tip the ski it's the best control, the least fighting the quickest and smoothest way down the hill.
Great explanation on foot pressure. Balls of feet to heel. 👍
Glad you liked it Otis! All the best putting these tips into practice 👍
Truly nice metrics for analysing the pressure too. Aspen Colorado slopes look great too!
This must be the most helpful ski tut I've ever recieved. Full of insights!
Thanks!
Thanks a lot! I am now a bit more confident skiing on very steep slope 🙂
Very clear explaination Tom. Thanks 👍
Thanks 🙏
Hello Tom , This is an amazing video and I now understand for the first time how good skiers go down steep runs in such great control. They kind of looked like the heel is skiding but I know thats not the case and you explained it so clearly the movement that is needed to bring the pressure to the back of the skis in a functional manner. Thank you so much !
Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you for the tips! I gained a lot of confidence on black trails today.
Glad you found it useful! Stay tuned for more tip-related content 🎿
Great video and content!! And thanks for showing off the beauty of Aspen Highlands!
Glad you enjoyed it! Aspen Highlands is awesome 👌👌
@@CarvSki I had hte same thoughts about the Highlands.
Great info been struggling with the blacks this season and came to good old youtube for tips to why its definitely tail washing which i don't notice as much doing blues but getting into steeper terrain specially when icy i noticed it alot
This is one of the most helpful videos I've ever seen. Thank you!!
Thanks Jen. It’s the reason I chose this as the first video to do with Carv
This is really informative. Gonna try this next time and report my feelings.
Thank you very much, that helped a lot 👍
This video was incredibly helpful!
Glad it was helpful Courtney! Thanks for watching.
Very impressive explanation... you nailed it!
Thanks mate
Great lesson, simple to implement. Now another reason to jones on getting back out!
Absolutely! Thanks for watching 👍
Can't wait to try it on my own!
Let us know how you get on with the tips when you put them into practice ⛷️. Thanks for watching Greg!