A term to never use,,,,on slope and off slope!!

Just read a post about a "snowplow queen" !

That term "snowplow" causes shivers up my spine!

That term should be banished from all skiing literature. In fact that "practice" ( notice I did not use that technique) should never be taught !

Why ?

Just watch a child or rank beginner learning to ski,,,,,the snow plow is exactly what you are NOT supposed to do when skiing!

That position is never used for effective skiing! It is the torture position and worst after several months skiers have difficulty to change to "modern" style !

I have taught young 5 year old with NO snow plow ! Really !

With modern skis no one should snow plow. It hurts thighs, makes you a tentative skier and worst it teaches you to lean back when speed picks up!

Please all beginners, learn on a easy easy soft long slope how to carve /turn your skis! You will progress so much more. You will not have skiing mistakes which will linger on!

It is like driving a car with brakes on.

Learn to use the slope to slow you down with soft easy carving turns uphill!

Hope this helps you!

Pavel

Totally agree Pav - it is the worst way to start your skiing career. :thumbup:

I'm proud to be a snowplow queen. I go on skiing holidays, not skiing!

I am afraid that I do not agree with you Pavel. I too have taught people straight into parallel turns, ~ and that was on long and straight skis! But the circumstances were perfect, great soft snow, exactly the right slope, and one on one. The advent of modern shape and shorter skis does change the game by a fair bit.

Even now, my view is the odds are still in favour of starting with snow plough. This is for reason of control. Once the beginner feels they can always be in control, they can move to the next stage.

I started teaching at the tail end of the period when stem christie was still taught, prior to moving to a parallel turn. This was to enable the learning of rear edge contol, a device that was needed to move on ~ purely because of ski length and shape.

The Austrian and French systems then changed to learning downward unweighting, also called Grundschwung, and Avalamont. This moved quickly from snowplough, (which needs no unweighting) to a parallel turn. The system lasted only two years.

After that, the system went direct from snowplough to parallel ~ technique plus the use of terrain ~ the problem with this was that as soon as the people tried to ski out of class, they did not understand terrain, and got into trouble.

It really was not until the advance of ski shapes and length that teaching could move forwards. That still does not do away with the need to establish early control mechanism.

It is not every resort that would have a good graded and gradual range of slopes.

The personal weight difference between different class members can vary by 2.5/1 ~ that will result in different speeds on the same slope.

Here is an 11 month tinytot, look at the second phase, where the child aligns his own skis ~ into a slight plough.


Here is an 11 month being towed ~ and naturally forms a snowplough~ no thoughts of ski shape:


Having said all of that, the person that learned the quickest at my hands went straight to parallel, did everything he was told, first time, I brought him down the mountain after 4 hours. He was autistic.

I think somewhere in between is a good starting place - modified direct to parallel. The turn can be initiated with the inside ski, leading easily to full parallel turns, but prevents reliance on the wedge to control speed. Speed should be controlled by making turns, and choosing appropriate turn shape from day one.

In Europe a strong snowplough is used by the Bloodwagon rescue teams to control the sled.

I think the snowplough is invaluable throughout ones skiing career whether or not there is aspiration to become a great skier or simply to enjoy the activity as a great winter holiday as so many do.
I use the snow plough on a daily basis (when skiing - not gardening!), so useful when you come up behind some slower people on a narrow run, joining a lift line, anywhere where a way to dribble to a halt is needed ...

I lived in Les Arcs for 3 years - the home to ski evolutif. I saw some hundreds of beginners go through the non snowplough at all graduated ski length technique and, for the most part, the progress during the first weeks skiing was quite remarkable when compared with a more traditional way to learn to ski.
I never understood why "everyone" didn't teach this way.
But .....
The problem was for 2nd week skiers going to a different resort, they were pretty much back to square one because of no snow plough.
During week 2 of a ski evolutif course the snow plough was taught - once learners had graduated from 1m, through 1.2m and 1.5m skis onto something more height appropriate they were then taught to snow plough and when and where it was useful.

This Austrian approach in Vimeo best explains my point.http://vimeo.com/7571404

A gradual introduction to effective skiing is in my view better that using snow plow approach.

Yes Dave Mac you can "widden the stance during a turn ( called stem christie,,in my day ),,but you ask the student to return to skis in a parallel position! Soon the widden skis during turn will become more fluid, more parallel and integrated into skiing motion!

Yes plow is used to rescue skier. The back skier , whose function is to be the brake man and slow down sled! Used this approach often in steep terrain when there is a 200lbs man in sled ! Specific context,,specific skill! I was speaking in the teaching context Bandit!

My point is that teaching plowing will cause later issues to intermediate level skiers, Just watch this winter as an intermediate skier approaches a "stressful" section ! Back to snow plow !!!!

Rather that effect a better technique such are riding out ice patch, or turn out of harm's way !

Just watch and you will see the results of teaching snowplow !

Just my opinion !