Downhill balance exercises for cross country skiers

by Keith and Heather Nicol

Try crossing your skis as you descend a hill

        The Achilles heel for most cross country skiers is balance. I don't think I have ever hear a skier say that they have "too much balance". When I give lessons or CANSI ski instructor courses I tell skiers not to "waste a downhill". By that I mean that instead of just letting your skis run down an easy downhill, try doing some balancing exercises instead. There are all kinds of examples from simply lifting up one foot as you glide down the track to more elaborate drills which will challenge even the best skiers.

        For instance, you can try crossing your ski as shown in the adjacent photo and be sure to alternate feet so that both your right and left leg get to be the "balancing" ski. Do this on easy downhills where the speed you are building up is not intimidating. The following you Tube video shows more examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMrxZn-Eq78
Thanks to Rossignol skis, boots and bindings for their continued support of my skier improvement blog posts and You Tube videos. They can be reached at: http://www.rossignol.com/