The Beauty of a Traverse

by Adam Walker, Big Mountain Snowsports Center, PSIA Alpine level III, DCE - IT

The traverse trail can be a wonderful and yet simultaneously dreaded path to take. On one hand, they lead us either in or out of the promised-land; to and fro the stashes; access to the goods that many people will not take the time to deal with. On the other, we often ski great lines only to have to deal with a long, bumpy, body-pounding traverse to get back to the lifts. Then add the fact that the path and the bumps in the trail morph gradually throughout the season so you never quite know what to expect.

Many of us tend to just think about surviving the traverse and getting off the trail as soon as possible, as it can be rough on the ankles, knees, and spine. We often switch on cruise control as our skis go up and down the bumps, anticipating the groomer to follow. However, there are many skills to learn and practice on a traverse trail and can be an extremely valuable teaching tool, particularly when related to moguls.

In many of my bump lessons I find that my clients have the rotary skills necessary to navigate a line but get thrown around and lose their balance because they lack the skills needed to absorb the bumps effectively. For these types of skiers, I will often take clients to an area where a traverse trail is mandatory, allowing them to work on absorbsion techniques without having to make turns. Going straight in a defined path without having to change directions is a wonderful bonus which allows the student to concentrate on the task and skills at hand without having to worry about turning. This boosts confidence and increases the rate of success.

I introduce the segment by asking clients to visualize or 'pretend' they are skiing in a tunnel. The roof of the tunnel is an inch above their head. If they do not absorb the bump with their ankles, knees, hips and spine, their whole body will move upward and their head will hit the ceiling. Instead they must keep their core and center of mass quiet while using their legs underneath like pistons, maintaining ski to snow contact. This visualization sets the stage to introduce the idea of retraction.

First, I have them practice retraction in the vertical plane. I have them pull their feet up toward the hips with the feet remaining directly in line under the hips throughout the move. The goal is to have minimal fore/ aft movement. I would demonstrate this move in a static position with one leg. I would also have them do it statically and point out how the abdominals, quadriceps, and ankle dorsiflexors will fire simultaneously to perform this move. This creates bending, or flexion in the joints, as the skis come up a bump. On the downside of the bump, the feet are extended away but still underneath the hips, with an emphasis on maintaining ski to snow contact and a quiet upper body. When there are multiple bumps in the trail consecutively, it may help to use the analogy referring to the legs as shocks on a car, moving up and down over bumps wile the upper body (just like the car) remains level and steady. Once this idea is felt and understood, I introduce different variations of this retraction move.

In this variation, when they reach the crest of the bumps, their feet are pulled back underneath and slightly behind the hips. Then the feet are pushed forward and slightly ahead of the hips down the backside and into the trough of the bumps. I first have them practice this move in a static position. When pulling the feet back, the glutes, hamstring, and ankle dorsiflexors will work together. Now the ankle is forced to flex, increasing shin pressure on the tongue of the boot and consequently applying pressure to the front of the ski. This is key for maintaining ski to snow contact because it forces the front of the ski to dive down the backside of the bump and into the trough. Throughout the trough the feet must be extended as in the first retraction move practiced, only this time plantar flexion of the ankle will be used to push the feet slightly ahead of the hips to be ready for the next bump. It can be described as feeling pressure go from the tips to tails or the toes to heels, which is quite effective in keeping the skis on the snow. This is a fore/ aft pressure control move.

I check for understanding and make sure they felt a distinct difference between the two variations of retraction. I then ask them to combine the two and tell me what they think. The result is a move where we pull the feet up toward and slightly behind the hips as we reach the crest of the bump, combining effective absorbsion and much needed pressure on the front of the boot and skis as you begin to head down the backside of the bump. The feet are then extended away from the hips and back under, slightly ahead of the hips to prepare for the upslope of another bump in the path. If performed correctly, the clients should feel the most success absorbing and maintaining ski to snow contact using a combination of both types of retraction.

Once the skis can stay on the snow at all times while skiing "in the tunnel," I dial it up by having the clients try the exact same thing on the downhill ski only. Once achieved, switch to the uphill ski only - same concept, a little more difficult. If success can be reached while only on one ski at a time using each foot, balance can really be dialed in when both skis get back on the snow and work together. You'll find your clients will then have much better balance when these concepts are applied to mogul skiing.

For many clients, the progression would end there. However, for the really advanced clients who had no trouble with any of it, I would dial it up even more after the single ski task. The concept is now going from one foot to the other. This foot to foot movement shouldn't be performed at random spots in the trail, but rather right before the crest of a bump. As you approach a bump on one ski, start to absorb it and then right before the crest, hop over to the other foot down the backside of the bump. There will actually be a point during the move when neither ski is on the snow, as you hop the crest to the down-slope on the other foot. It will feel like you are always walking downhill, or like pedaling a bicycle backwards. The closer the bumps are together, the quicker the foot to foot movement will be. By hopping over or skipping the crest of the bump, speed will increase but it will be easier on the body, as there will be less jarring from trying to absorb the whole bump. If the client is off balance while attempting this move, they will get instantaneous feedback.

Before attempting to teach this dynamic and precise foot to foot move on a bumpy and inconsistent traverse trail, I suggest lots of practice so you know what you are getting into. It is an extremely difficult task that can only improve balance and stability in bumpy, unpredictable terrain. I've had great success with this progression for improving mogul skiing technique.

By developing a quiet upper body along with the appropriate absorbsion techniques, we can keep our center of mass stable and thereby isolating our movements to our feet and legs. This will help our clients become more effective bump skiers and instill greater confidence off-piste in general. So next time you are skiing on a bumpy traverse trail, get out of cruise control and see what these techniques can do for your skiing. Then do what any good teacher would do: enlighten your clients by passing on the information so they too can discover the beauty of a traverse.