Here’s a little video that was made at Big White about balancing on both feet simultaneously through the turn.
Balancing on both feet enables us to steer the inside ski more effectively.
The big difference between Telemark skiing and Alpine skiing is that in Alpine skiing you need to have your weight balanced on the outside ski all the way through the turn. In Telemark skiing we like to have our weight equally distributed between both of our feet, giving ourselves the ability to steer that inside ski all the time.
One way we can determine if we’re equally balanced on both our feet is to give ourselves a little hop. We can take off and land on both feet at the same time, giving one sound with the ski’s.
Telemark skiing with our weight on the outside ski, results in the inside ski doing things we really don’t want it to do. It becomes ‘squirrelly’ and acts as if it has a mind of it’s own. Being balanced on both feet means we can take charge of the inside ski and actively steer it where we want it to go.
While the hop is a really good static exercise (it’s quite challenging when moving), an easier way to equally distribute our weight while we’re moving is to shuffle our feet underneath us, back and forth, while we’re going across the hill. It is really hard to favour one foot over the other during this exercise.
I hope this helps you out with your Telemarking and let’s go out and enjoy the snow!
Skiing Chad-ventures 