Parallel Turn - Basic Action

Basic Action

The parallel turn relies on two dynamics: turning the ski up on its edge and bending it at its center to create an arc.

The skier initiates the turn by moving their knees laterally in the direction of the desired turn. The motion of knees is translated through the calf to the high cuffs on the ski boots, through the boots to the bindings, and then to the skis. This causes the skis to rotate up on their edges, with the skier's weight and the force they put upon them bending the skis at their center into the arc that turns them. To stop the turn the knee is rotated back to the neutral position. While both skis take part, in practice the ski on the outside of the turn is dominant.

Moving the legs to the side shifts the center of gravity, compensated for by moving the hips in the opposite direction. The effect is to keep the skier's upper body upright while the lower torso and legs shift side-to-side. The skier pressures the front of their skis to keep the fore-and-aft center of gravity of the skier's mass over their toes.

The parallel turn can be improved through dynamic "weighting". Turns are often linked in a series of continual arcs, one direction then the other. Lifting the body through the middle of the switch partially releases the skis arcs, easing the transition to the opposite direction.