Today I was filming a video of my board and noticed that when turning left, the left board clearly forms an inverted V-shape. After practicing all day, it gets a bit better if I pay attention, but there’s still a hint of it. Is the outside edge causing the issue?

End of the ski season, my personal summary

The V-shaped stance (inverted V) and A-shaped stance (inward V) are commonly encountered in parallel skiing. Based on my experience, here’s a summary:

Inward V (pigeon-toed stance):
  1. The inside leg lacks the sensation of following during edge transitions. This mostly occurs on gentler slopes.

    Cause: Basic parallel skiing requires the skis and the body’s forward direction to align. Skiers often focus only on the outside leg during turns while neglecting the inside leg’s movement. Since the inside leg isn’t actively following, an inward V forms. It could also be said that the inside leg bears too much pressure and lacks flexibility.

    Solution: During diagonal skiing, maintain parallel skis. Increase the uphill lean during turns, and mentally reinforce the need for both skis to stay parallel afterward—this can quickly resolve the issue. Lifting and bringing the skis together is not recommended, though it can be practiced; it’s best to move past this stage as soon as possible. Completely lifting the inside leg during turns is different (as in Javalin turns) and should be treated separately.

  2. Coming from the snowplough stance, the feeling of edge transition hasn’t been grasped yet. This mostly occurs on steeper slopes.

    Cause: In my understanding, edge transition isn’t completed during the diagonal phase but rather during the turn—it begins upon entering the turn and finishes upon exiting. Normally, edge transition should be completed before entering the next turn, though that’s more challenging.

    Solution: Subjectively, you may feel the outside leg is bearing the weight, but it hasn’t actually been achieved yet. By increasing counter-rotation (a slight angle between the legs and upper body), shifting the hips, and leaning inward, you can redistribute your center of gravity. Enhancing control over your center of gravity helps the outside ski bear more weight. Additionally, greater counter-rotation reduces the angle between the inside leg and the snow surface, naturally guiding the skis toward parallel alignment—just ensure the front-rear ski difference isn’t too large.

Outward V: Many experts here have already explained it, but I’ll share my own experience.

  1. The center of gravity is too far back during the turn.

  Assuming edge transition is complete before entering the turn and the skis are parallel at turn entry, a backward center of gravity naturally shifts weight to the tail of the skis. At this point, it’s quite difficult to fully bear weight on the outside leg (I feel many movements become uncoordinated when the center of gravity is too far back). As a result, the inside leg bears weight. Since the inside leg travels a shorter distance than the outside ski, an inverted V-shape naturally forms. This becomes a positive feedback loop—the more V-shaped the stance, the more weight the legs bear, and the more pronounced the V becomes...

  2. Excessive weight on the inside leg.

  Even with the center of gravity forward, too much pressure on the inside leg can still cause an inverted V. I think this can be addressed by controlling the rotation of the inside ski to maintain parallel alignment, or simply by having the outside leg bear all the weight.