Skiing for pleasure

Gstaad

Skiing without poles accentuates the new carving technique, which uses one’s edges and the upper body to turn. During the 1950s we checked before a bump, planted the pole, unweighted the skis and turned. Then came the Austrian technique of weddle, which involves a shifting of the hips while keeping the body straight on the fall line. The new carving style derives from racing and new technology. One never brakes, while keeping the weight on both skis, using the upper body and almost facing the mountain, a real no-no in the past. Until the new high boots came along, the ankles were the most likely bones to break in a fall. A circular break of the knee was most feared during the slalom, where one tended to hook a ski in between the poles. No longer. The slalom is now laid out using single blue or red poles, and racers brush past them without fear of hooking.