Dirty Heel Pusher - what does it mean?

[Tytlynz64]

I have seen posters use this term. What does it mean? And How do you know if you are one? Is it terminal?

 

[scott43]

Not terminal usually. Do you push on your heel to initiate turns?

 

[Tytlynz64]

Uhm...not really more like pressuring the big toe before I roll the ankles.

 

[Tytlynz64]

Although like you I have a hockey background so I tend to lean forward and set the edge like turning sharply on skates.

 

[scott43]

You're good to go. The only thing I think is cool that I can do while skiing is the one foot hockey stop on the inside foot. Just like picture day in peewee!

 

[Josh Matta]

Heel pushing is out lined in this video as negative defensive skiing.

 

[Tony S]

Heel pushing is out lined in this video as negative defensive skiing.

That was the lamest attempt at demonstrating bad skiing I've ever seen.

 

[Monique]

What Josh said - negative, defensive skiing. If my experience is accurate, you can't have a nice rounded turn shape if you push your heels, and you will likely find yourself either putting way too much energy into skiing slowly, or skiing faster than you'd actually like just to avoid having to brake so hard. Heel pushing also causes lost traction on ice and will turn a run on breakable crust or sastrugi from "challenging" to "impossible."

Or so I hear ;-)

 

[Monique]

Oh, also - this is independent of smearing. Smearing does not necessitate heel pushing (a question I was only able to articulate last weekend to get an answer).

 

[Tytlynz64]

Picture day was always fun. That video was a bit confusing.

 

[KingGrump]

Picture day was always fun. That video was a bit confusing.

look at the segment starting at 5:40.

 

[CalG]

Rocker skis promote skidding, sliding, smearing and pushing.

 

[David]

I see a lot of skiers turning by swinging their butts and skidding their tails back & forth to change direction. I think I tend to do this sometimes when my legs get trashed.

 

[Josh Matta]

I see a lot of skiers turning by swinging their butts and skidding their tails back & forth to change direction. I think I tend to do this sometimes when my legs get trashed.

Or your legs are getting trashed because you ski that way.....

Another Note is "Dirty" is the word that the person describing themselves came up with.....its just an add on.

What it comes down is most people do not care enough to learn how to do things efficiently and with less impact. I also would say rocker ski dont promote skdding its just they accept it a ton better. I am certain I can ski a rounder turn in 3d conditions than I can ski on narrowor less rockered ski, so there is that.

 

[AmyPJ]

Or your legs are getting trashed because you ski that way.....

Another Note is "Dirty" is the word that the person describing themselves came up with.....its just an add on.

What it comes down is most people do not care enough to learn how to do things efficiently and with less impact. I also would say rocker ski promote skddingis just they accept it a ton better. I am certain I can ski a rounder turn in 3d conditions than I can ski on narrowor less rockered ski, so there is that.

QFT. That, and there is this "need for speed" and somehow in non-instructor minds, speed=skill. I am currently working on erasing the lack of skills I obtained from chasing fast skiers from day 1. It's so hard! I have spent hours and hours on the bunny hill, skiing as slowly as possible. It's starting to pay off. Skiing with an L3 regularly (lucky me!) has really helped me. Skiing as slowly as I can, making as round of turns as possible, on the bunny hill is NOT easy. That's the drill...over and over and over. I'm much more aware of sensations coming from the feet all the way to the shoulders. I am much more aware of when I'm starting to push the heel, and I now have an instantaneous cue I use (pull that leg back, and keep your hands down the hill) that is working wonders. I'm also very aware of when I get tired and start falling into the backseat, because my quads tell me, very loudly. So, they are also a really good cue for me to STAND TALLER!

I've also been advised (by @Tricia and also my favorite L3) to stick with one pair of skis for the season. I will probably still drag out the wider skis for deeper days (hey, I get to play on those days) but for the most part, I am sticking with my Black Pearls. The big question now is, do I drop down a size from a 166 to a 159? Hoping to demo some 159s for a run or two this weekend. Now that I'm skiing more slowly, it seems a shorter, turnier ski might help me a lot. I'm not sure that some of us developing intermediates haven't been encouraged to ski on longer skis than are appropriate.

Maybe it's the artful equestrian in me (there is nothing in this world that is more beautiful to me than a highly skilled rider.) But, I want to take that gracefulness to my skiing.

 

[Mike King]

A very large portion of skiers push the ski away from their body (center of mass) rather than engaging the ski by tipping it on edge and bending it, allowing the ski to deform and push their body across the hill. There are a lot of mechanisms that lead to pushing the ski, but the result is usually that the maximum pressure comes late in the turn and is a braking action. Aligning the body parts and movements to get the ski to move along its length and control speed and direction by allowing the ski to push the body across the hill requires a lot of precision in alignment of the body parts, as well as the duration, intensity, rate and timing of movements.

Mike

 

[Michael Kane]

Your maybe a carving king or a dirty heel pusher, but sooner or later you got to dance with the Reaper.
Get down with it.

 

[apache]

A very large portion of skiers push the ski away from their body (center of mass) rather than engaging the ski by tipping it on edge and bending it, allowing the ski to deform and push their body across the hill. There are a lot of mechanisms that lead to pushing the ski, but the result is usually that the maximum pressure comes late in the turn and is a braking action. Aligning the body parts and movements to get the ski to move along its length and control speed and direction by allowing the ski to push the body across the hill requires a lot of precision in alignment of the body parts, as well as the duration, intensity, rate and timing of movements.

Mike

Are you describing both extension and transfer here? Sounds like you are describing the two versus one or the other.

 

[Philpug]

I push my tails from time to time and am not afraid to admit it.

 

[Crank]

It's OK Phil, I think we all do from time to time.

I've never heard "dirty" heel pusher though. Makes it sound worse than it is. It's just a less than expert technique that works for a lot of skiers.