Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ghost 
Are you so sure you can instantly tighten the turn? I think there is a limit there too if you want to avoid a high side.
I dont know what a "high side" is but yes, offcourse there is a limit to everything. Let me try once again to explain why I think its easier to tighten the turn. When we ski and want to turn we need to do basicly threee things:
- tip our skis on edge
- offset our CoM into the turn
- balance
If we are carving then that is about it but if we are skidding then some form of movement is needed for creating a skidd angle. Anyway, in both cases we need to offset our CoM into the turn and this is what fuels the turn. For simplicity lets look at carving and lets stick to the lateral plane. The more we offset our CoM into the turn the more our skis will tip on edge. The more our skis are tipped on edge in combination with CoM shifting inside the turn the more pressure is created under our skis. The more pressure the more ski bend. The more ski bend the tighter the turn radius. The tighter the turn radius the stronger the turning forces. So if you want to turn tíghter what do you do? Yes, you need somehow to bend your ski more and how do you do that? By increasing edge angle and shifting the CoM even further inside the turn. Its important to understand that this is not a static position. It has been suggested that offsetting the CoM deeply into the turn would create a static "position". This is not ture. Offsetting the CoM into the turn is progressive and an ongoing movement that overcomes the turning forces. Even if our lateral movement was stable there would be balancing movements the same way as if we stand on the floor or walk straight forward. The progressive offsetting of the CoM into the turn that overcomes the turning forces and makes us "fall to the inside of the turn" ends with the turning forces "taking overhand and pulling us to the outside". What makes the turning forces take overhand? Why cant we make that happen earlier in the turn? There are several things that change as we come throug apex. First of all gravity pulls us in a slightly different direction, more downhill. This effect is enchansed when pitch of slope gets steeper. Then we have speed. As we come through apex we accellerate. Actually we accellerate all the way through the high C. This effect is enchansed when pitch of slope gets steeper. Our edge angles increase due to the pitch of the slope swinging arround from the skis perspective. When our skis bend more there is more friction as the skis start to brake away from the clean arcs they are cutting eralier in the turn (its easy to spot as you follow the taxs from the sitlift on your way back up the hill). The result is more speed, higher edge angle, stronger pressure, more ski bend, more firction and less gravity pulling you into the turn. Now we can try to figure out if any of this can take place earlier in the turn. I think that turning needs to be planned ahead and is consisting of three major components: environment, intent and performance. Something like that. You need to plan ahead according to the reigning conditions and you need to perform it accordingly. This because once we commit to the turn we cannot all of a sudden reverse the CoM offset and the progressive inclination that follows because there is no sufficient BoS available. It will only be available later on in the turn after apex.
I think that I can with certainty say that after our CoM is shifted outside our stationary BoS and we start to balance against a dynamic BoS with turn forces involved we are committed and we cannot suddenly lift ourself up and reverse CoM projection. This is especially true for snowboards. One thing that sets us apart from snowboards is that we dont have our legs aligned in the fore aft plane. We can use them in the sideways lateral plane. We can easily tip by flexing one leg. The wider our feet are apart the greater is our CoM offset and the quicker is our tipping. Im looking at pressure charts from skiers running gates and can conclude that there is a lot of (centripetal?)force on the inside foot as well. Up to 1000N. While on the outside there is only up to 1200N. This suggests that we can shift the pressure between both skis and slant the CoM eather way over our BoS. If our inside foot that carries little or some pressure is located far inside the turn and weight is transfered opon it the dynamic BoS moves inside the turn the moment we ease pressure on the outside foot. As a result the turn forces stop working and we can stand up on the inside foot and continue at a much larger turn radius. Think double turning in GS. However, as the pressure charts incicate: lots of pressure on the inside foot. The more we have pressure on the inside foot the more we can suddenly incline inside the turn by flexing the inside foot and transfering the weight to the outside ski. If the CoM doesent align inside the BoS when weight is shifted to the inside ski we will fall to the inside. The CoM doesent under any circumstances align over the BoS when weight is shifted to the outside ski. As a result we will fall to the inside and if our turnforces and ski bend doesent keep us off the snow then we can crank the skis inot a skidd or pivot our skis and shift the turning forces more downhill in that same instance. My guess is that we can tighten a turn by half by doing such a recovery or emergency move.
Now that much BS I havent written in a while
) but about the discussion. The communication. Some people might change their minds and some may become more sertain what they think is correct. I also need to use a little provocing, something Im entiteld to as the OP. Lets hear your options! And yes, I freeze up and I do lots of bad stuff. But lets stick to the topic and not me 
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