Technique and adaptability

The new approach to off-piste skiing technique was born primarily from understanding the relationship between body balance on skis and movement patterns in stride and crossover. All major errors stem from the primordial tendency to exaggerate the stride. For example, the stride stance leads to stiffening the torso, causing the weight to shift back and the body to rotate. To counter this tendency, as in climbing, we can intervene in a targeted manner with the crossover pattern: this pattern promotes weight centrality, the first fundamental characteristic of a good skier. All other exercises, not working on the crossover pattern, are not as effective in achieving true centrality. Moreover, the crossover movement has made it possible to perfect, in skinning, the direction change according to the simultaneous crossover pattern, which becomes fundamental in ski mountaineering as it allows for continuity of movement without interrupting the marching rhythm.

Precise management of body weight in the three positions—center-forward-back—along with the crossover and stride stances, ensures that the skis respond to our movement in the desired manner.

A challenging aspect to focus on—if not theoretically, certainly from a practical point of view—is understanding that the response of the skis depends not only on our weight management but also on the consistency of the snow cover. If these general principles are not understood, it is impossible to transition smoothly from hard snow to powder or wind-crusted snow. Or rather, it might be possible only thanks to a very high and uncommon level of practice. The MC, on the other hand, is aimed at everyone, not just specialists. In fact, the first to benefit are ordinary people who want to optimize their available time to achieve the best results.

The second important characteristic, a prerogative of a complete skier, concerns the ability to manage weight on both skis. Predominant weight on the outer ski, useful and indispensable on icy and steep terrain, is absolutely negative in deep snow or wind-crusted snow.

The third characteristic is the ability to increase or decrease the width of the legs depending on the type of snow and slope.