Roll the Inside Leg
Shiffrin/Photo Agency Sri/Alamy
Overview
Movement 4: Roll your inside leg away from your outside leg to make your shins parallel, increasing the edge angle and pressure on your outside ski.
This description is the fourth of eight modules included in the Ski Technique module, describing how elite skiers and racers carve turns.
Activating the inside leg changes the pressure, edge angle, and turning radius of the outside ski.
Ted Ligety, former U.S. Ski Team member and Olympian, explained that, “The outside leg is the driver and the inside leg is the decider”.
Rolling your inside ankle and knee downhill will activate the inside leg, as explained by Paul Lorenz in his video.
Video by Projected Productions Inc
Shiffrin rolling her inside leg.
Shiffrin/Photo Agency Sri/Alamy/Graphics by ARM
Watch Mikaela Shiffrin ski with parallel shins in the following video.
Video by Brandon Dysterhouse
Marco Odermatt roll’s his inside ankle and knee inward to increase the edge angle of his outside ski.
Odermatt/Iage by IPA Srl/Alamy
Drill for Parallel Shins
An effective drill to learn how to ski with shins parallel is to remove your poles and place your hands on the outside of your knees.
As you flex your ankle forward to apply pressure to the new outside ski, press the inside knee outwards against your hand. Your shins will be parallel as demonstrated in this video.
Video by TDK Ski Racing
Preventing Tip Splay
When you start rolling the inside leg inwards your ski tips may diverge or splay, meaning they move in different directions.
By activating the inside foot you can prevent tip splay as demonstrated by Tom Gellie.
Video by Big Picture Skiing
Key Takeaways
To increase edge angle, focus on two simultaneous movements: roll the outside stacked leg towards the inside of the turn an roll the inside ankle and knee down the hill.
To practice skiing with parallel shins remove your poles and place your hands on the outside of your knees. As you flex your ankle forward to apply pressure to the new outside ski, press the inside knee outwards against your hand to maintain parallel shins. To prevent Tip Splay, activate your inside foot.
Suggested Learning Modules
Go to Ski Technique 5. Stack, Separate and Press
Return to Ski Technique
Important Message: Skiing and ski racing involve inherent risks. It’s essential to ski responsibly and stay within your skill level and personal comfort limits.