Trails
Around The Great Sacandaga Lake
Adirondack
Skiing
Lapland
Lake
Nordic Vacation Center
139 Lapland Lake Road
Northville, NY | 12134
518-863-4974
Oak
Mountain Ski Center
Oak Mountain Road
Speculator
518-548-3606
Royal
Mountain Ski Area
3072 Stae Highway 10
Caroga Lake
518-835-6445
Tree
Haven Trails
1227
West Galway Rd
Hagaman, NY 12086
518-882-9455
Technique
Tips
There are a few basic ideas
that will help almost everybody ski better, whether you are skating
or striding.
Skiing is a one ski at a
time sport. The single hardest thing in skiing is to shift your weight
and balance fully on the gliding ski. If you find yourself waddling
along while skating, unable to generate momentum and getting very tired,
you are not effectively shifting your bodyweight completely from ski
to ski. Do your skis "slap" the snow when striding? Guess
what, you are not shifting from ski to ski fully. This is particularly
subtle when striding because you can still move along OK but by not
fully committing to each ski, you are working harder than necessary.
How do you correct this? Throw those poles away! Find a flat section
of the trail, like the start / finish area or the back side of the
West Overlook loop and ski without poles. This will teach you balance
and proper technique, as it is very difficult to go anywhere without
poles unless you shift your weight. Another method is to try and exaggerate
the glide phase while skiing. Take careful note of what position your
body must be in to successfully balance for an extended period of time
and then try to achieve that position when you ski. Just a few minutes
with these two drills every time you ski and you will notice improvement
in a short period of time.
In both skating and striding,
you need to have good forward lean. Having your body leaning strongly
forward generates momentum down the trail, resulting in free glide.
To get the feeling of proper forward lean, stand on both feet, flex
your knees comfortably and lean forward by flexing at your ankles (keep
your heels down!) until your knees block sight of your toes when you
look down. When you feel like you are going to tip over, you have reached
the proper forward leaning position. Very important: do not achieve
forward lean by bending at the waist and sticking your rear backwards
or by squatting like you are sitting in a chair. Since your hips and
buttocks contain much of your bodyweight, it is critical to make sure
you do not move your rear end back while trying to lean forward. Always
remember: "don't leave your behind, behind". Lean forward
from the ankles!
Skiing is mostly a flat
footed sport. In both classic and skate skiing you want to "kick" with
your whole foot, keeping your heel down as long as possible. This gives
you the greatest possible force onto the snow. When kicking in classic
technique, kick down enough to set the wax but make sure you are propelling
yourself mostly forward, after all that is the direction you want to
go - not up. For skating, the kick is going to be mostly to the side,
not back.
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