Plow turning is a slow-turning technique, for rather slow speeds, and suited for slopes up to medium steep. To learn it, you must first master the straight plow:
If you look at the plow position, you'll see that the right ski is already pointing to the left and vice versa. Then, if you make a left turn, just lean on the right ski (and thus unweight the left). And vice versa. Just like this:
Note that the instructor is not initiating the turn by turning his shoulders into the turn. Instead, he's leaning on the (new) outer ski by means of lateral flexion (= leaning to the outside) and is patiently waiting for the turning to happen. You must do the same thing.
It's also important that you can make a wide plow, because that'll give you speed control. And it will make you turn quicker — the wider the plow, the more the (new) outside ski is pre-turned into the turn.
Together, the basic instruction is this:
Plow turning
- Start in a plow.
- For better balance, keep your arms diagonally forward.
- For a turn to your left, put your full weight on the right ski.
- For speed control and sharper turns, make the plow wider.
- Allow some time for the turning to happen.
If between turns your skis want to get together (= plow gets narrower), you have two choices:
- Don't allow it (maintain the plow width). This can require some force but can give you more speed control.
- Let it happen, and widen the plow again before the next turn. You're then actually already doing a partial form of plow & parallel, the next step.
In it's ultimate form, plow turning looks like this, but you don't have to go this fast:
Change log
- V. 1.1: shortened text.
- V. 1.2: rephrased some parts.
Continue to Plow with Parallel →
