How should you take care of your downhill skis?

Answer 1

Downhill ski poles...oh how they are often misused in skiing. The purpose of your ski poles is to help provide balance. However, you don't lean on the them or rely on them too much. Ski balance should originate from your core abdominal muscles, buttocks, and legs. How you place your shoulders while skiing makes a difference as well. You want to keep your shoulders square to the hill or in other words, facing the bottom of the hill. You plant your ski pole as you are initiating a turn. You plant one ski pole at a time. For example, you plant your left ski pole as you are turning to the left. And vice versa - you plant your right ski pole as you are turning to the right. Do not lift your ski pole high in the air. This is a waste of time and energy. Instead quickly and smoothly plant it into the ground and remove it at the completion of your turn.

Answer 2

You always want to strive to keep the bottom of your skis as smooth as possible. Therefore, do NOT ski over rocks, dirt, or any debris. Never, never, never ski on or walk in your skis on pavement. You will get so many scratches and nicks on the bottom of your skis that you will practically ruin them. Skiing over rocks can create huge divots that are detrimental to your ski. You can fill this with a special carbon compound, but do not do this unless you are experienced at tuning your skis. Have a ski professional do it for you. You also want to keep your edges free from burrs (nicks) and free from rust. It is CRITICAL to wipe your skis off when you are done skiing. You don't want to put them away went or your edges will rust. This is very, very, very bad. (I can't stress this enough.) Rusted edges will become dull and you will slide all over the hill. Take a towel or cloth and rub your skis down when you come inside. Make sure to remove snow and moisture from every part of your ski including the bindings. Also when you carry your skis don't let them scrape together. Use a Velcro ski wrapper that palces a soft pad between the two skis. You can find these at your local ski shop.

Answer 3

ski poles were first invented in WW2 for the mountain troops. but for skiing now they're meant for helping you to shape you turn. they are also very useful for helping you keep your balance.

more question e-mail me at charles.anderson@ncps-k12.org