The method on skis

Until the early 2000s, I believed that body movement on skis had very little in common with climbing movements. This was actually a common misconception or, more precisely, an involuntary cultural automatism induced by the beliefs of professionals in the field. Western rational mentality tends to divide and specialize in the details of individual disciplines, risking losing sight of the overall picture. In reality, the development of the Method has demonstrated not only that there is no conflict between an overall vision and specialization, but that there is a way to connect these seemingly antithetical or different aspects to arrive at new perspectives and knowledge. The theory of the Focal Point is perhaps the most important example in this regard.

Observing how ski mountaineering and off-piste skiing courses are usually conducted, the analogy with climbing courses of the past becomes immediately evident: a lot of theory, many beacon drills, many trips, but… how do you ski on untracked snow? And above all, what is taught about the movement to be performed according to different types of snow? What are the exercises and techniques that allow one to learn to manage body weight to handle the skis well in all circumstances? When these questions are asked, the technical and didactic void becomes immediately apparent. Many people I have met who wanted to truly learn have told me: I have taken several specific courses, learned everything except… how to ski!

In reality, many instructors unconsciously rely on the belief that once the technique of piste skiing is learned thanks to FISI ski schools, off-piste skiing can be learned on one’s own simply through experience… However, just as in climbing, there is the concept of making the body “intelligent” by learning the technique of movement to adapt optimally to all situations, so too on skis, knowing the general principles of movement and the techniques that best suit the different conditions of the snow cover allows one to vary their skiing to adapt to the changing off-piste conditions