Skate Skiing

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Past clinics have focused on instruction of basic skating technique for novice to  intermediate skate skiers and covered the following topics:

Equipment and Principles
After a brief discussion about skate ski equipment and the principles of skate ski technique, the group heads onto the snow for the following topics:

Intro to V skating – edging, weight transfer and learning to glide
The basic V skate starts with a skier standing in a slight V position without poles (this aids in developing balance). The basic technique is to lay one ski on its inside edge and to simultaneous push off that ski while driving out onto the other ski. Repeat the other direction.  The object is to learn to transfer ALL of your weight onto a flat ski and glide.  It helps to think of a pendulum, try to develop a relaxed rhythmic rock from gliding ski to gliding ski.  This will take lots of practice.  Once you’ve got V-skating figured out, you are ready to add poles.

V2 Alternate (Open Field Skate
In the V2 Alternate, the skier uses a double pole arm motion on one side of the V skate and an arm recovery swing on the other side. Thus, the skier pushes on one side with the upper body and glides on the other side.  This is basic Skating technique involving arms for beginners to master.  Learn the “push and glide” rhythm. “Push” comes on the double pole AND skate side; “and” refers to the quick weight transfer motion to the other leg; “glide” means you drive (transfer), all of your weight unto the glide side while recovering your poles to restart the sequence.

V1 (Offset Skate)
The offset skate is used primarily for skating up long grades and hills in order to  maintain momentum.  In the V1 the skier uses a slightly off-set double poling motion starting out almost identical to the V2 Alternate. The skier starts to compress over their poles, as in the V2 Alternate, but instead of quickly completely a double pole motion the skier continues the poling motion until the torso and trunk has shifted the drive onto the other ski.  Then comes a quick pole recovery and drive shift back to the original side of emphasis. The off-set poling motion and the continuation of the poling motion are the primary differences between the V2 Alternate and the V1

Stacking is a term used to describe the change in body posture that occurs as a grade turns into a hill.  The weight shifts back, the butt drops into a semi squat and the skier looks up the hill to the horizon.  This is accompanied by a widening of the V and an increase in tempo of both the skate and the poling.  Stacking keeps the skierscenter of gravity back over the ski bindings and skis and decreases the effort required to maintain momentum up the hill as it gets steeper.

Diagonal V Skate
Occasionally, conditions or individual fitness or just a wicked steep uphill will make the V-1 impossible. On these steep sections you can either use the classic Herringbone technique or you can use a combination of the classic Diagonal Stride and a basic V-skate.

Diagonal V-Skate simply involves V-skating with your legs while using a single opposite arm-opposite leg motion with the upper body. Think of a “one-one-one” verbal rhythm as you combine upper and lower body motions.  This is a really easy technique and a great way to get over just about any size hill.

Downhill technique
Skiing in control, nordic snow plow, skating step turns, double pole and an introduction to Christie and telemark turns, turning, and stopping.

Using the terrain: Learning to use the terrain to your advantage to be an efficient skier (i.e. which technique for which terrain).