Learn the Carving Technique in Skiing

Carving is a skiing technique that is used in reference to a turn that shifts the ski on its edges. In the case of carving, the ski will turn itself and it is propelled by the side cut geometry, without loosing speed. The edges that are cut by the skis should be so expertly executed so that the skis will not slide sideways. Professional skiers execute carving all the time, given that it is the fastest way to get down the mountain and preserve as much speed as possible.

Bending the Skis

Skis are wider at the back and front than they are in the middle and the edges are curved inwards and go back out again. Due to their shape, when the skier leans over, bending has to take place for the edge to perfectly sit in the snow on the length of the ski. The more a skier leans over on the ski, the more it has to bend.
That means the edge of the skis is along a curved path at all times when they push into the snow and the more the skier leans over, the more precise the curve will be. Carving uses this curved path and the level of curvature decides how small or big the turn will be. A huge difference is made by the radius of the skis because even though all contemporary carving skis have the capacity to manage a number of different radii, typically they will still stay closer to the stated radius that is on the skis. As a result, for bigger turns, super-g or giant slalom skis are better and slalom skis are better for smaller turns.

For carving, the position of the body also differs from regular parallel turns because the shoulders are carried flat to the skis. This makes the direction of travel straight along the skis and it is reflected by the shoulders becoming flat to this direction and better enables the skier to see where he or she is going.

Initiate Carving

To begin carving, the technique has to be initiated. The best time to get this done is when the skier is pointing straight down the slope. This is achieved by rolling the knees over in order that the edges of the ski dig into the snow so that the skis will be steered across the slope. When learning to carve, skiers commonly make the mistake of not sufficiently rolling the knees over and the skiers really do need to lean over to make sure that the edges will not slide. As soon as the edges are implanted in the snow and the skiers are traveling along the length of their skis, the skis will begin to turn and the skier will have the ability to slightly push up against them and further lean into the inside of the turn. The faster the rate of speed while carving, the more the skier will be able to lean into the turn.

The Carving Position

In order to achieve proper carving position and be able to lean into the turn, the weight body should be transferred to the center of the outside ski. Additionally, the body should be kept in a more upright position than the legs, as this will enable the edges of the ski to be implanted into the snow as deeply as possible and this also eases the process of switching between turns because the body is not required to move very far.

It is not possible to carve all the time; to achieve this technique, the right conditions and equipment are required.