In both short turns andmogul medium turns, an important principle is keeping your upper body still. The quality of your turns largely depends on how well you can stabilize your upper body. The most graceful turns by expert skiers are the perfect combination of a rigid upper body and agile lower body. Everyone knows the upper body should stay still, but this statement is too vague — so what exactly does “still” mean? To clarify this, we need to use mathematical language to describe it quantitatively. The joints in the upper body that can move include the head, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. From a geometric perspective, I believe that “keeping the upper body still” should involve8 key aspects, which can be summarized simply as:
Neither leaning forward nor backward,
Neither leaning left nor right.
Head up, shoulders locked,
Wrists lifted, elbows stabilized.
Below, we’ll explore the true meaning of “staying still” and the path to mastering it through specific examples.
1. Neither Forward Nor Backward – Starting with Stance
A correct skiing stance is simple yet crucial. When viewed from the side, it should include3.5 bending movements, from bottom to top: at the ankles, knees, hips, and head. Among these, the head bend is relatively small, so it counts as only0.5 movement.
When discussing keeping the upper body still, the first thing to achieve is “neither leaning forward nor backward.” This has two implications: first, your upper body must remain upright — no hunching or slouching, and no additional chest bend beyond the3.5 existing bends; second, and most importantly, the angle between your upright upper body and the snow surface must remain constant. If your upper body shifts forward or backward during a run, that angle changes, thereby affecting the quality of your skiing. The ideal angle is90 degrees — it’s okay if it’s slightly less, but exceeding this means your upper body is leaning back, causing your overall center of gravity to shift backward, which is a big no-no.
2. Shoulder Lock and Elbow Stabilization – The Reward of “Counter”
In skiing, the relationship between the upper and lower body is like that of the main characters in a romance novel: though their hearts are tightly connected, they must walk in opposite directions — only then can the most captivating story unfold. The aesthetic significance of separating the upper and lower body lies precisely in this.
During continuous turns, the direction of the skis is constantly changing. Without control, the upper body will naturally rotate along with the skis. To stabilize the upper body, you must first inhibit this rotation. The method is simple: apply a counteracting force to turn your upper body in the opposite direction of the skis. Like wringing a towel, where the left and right hands work in opposite directions while the towel remains still — hence the term “counter,” as shown in Figure2.
“Counter” is the intermediate and also the most critical stage in stabilizing the upper body. While correct counter may seem simple, it actually demands high precision in execution, and should at minimum include the following three points: first, your shoulder line and elbow line should be parallel to the slope and perpendicular to the fall line; second, when pole planting, only your forearms and wrists should move — like tapping a nail with a small hammer — your upper arms must not get involved, or else you’re swinging a sledgehammer; lastly, and most often overlooked, you must ski with your head up.
Practicing “counter” should follow the principle of gradual progression. Start by slow, segmented sliding on gentle slopes using traverse technique, as shown in Figure2. Focus on feeling the sense of “twisting” and the positional relationship among your shoulders, elbows, hands, and head. This phase must be slow — find the feeling in the slowness. Going fast leaves your mind blank, making it equivalent to not skiing at all.
Image2: The “counter” movement at slow speed.Demonstration:veve, Photo: Very Command
After becoming proficient in slow sliding, gradually increase your speed while firmly locking the shoulder line and elbow line. In the figure2Chinaveve, the shoulder line (green line) is perpendicular to the fall line but tilted downhill and not parallel to the slope — a common issue that must be corrected. A shoulder line perpendicular to the fall line faces the body downhill, while being parallel to the slope keeps the upper body upright. The requirements for the elbow line are the same as for the shoulder line; a fixed elbow line further restricts the upper body so that only the forearms and wrists can move. In Figure3, the "reverse twist" of Rurouni Kenshin is as textbook-perfect as can be: the shoulder and elbow lines are harmoniously positioned, the forearm and wrist form a hammer-like pole plant, the head is up and looking forward, and the entire movement is standardized and fluid.
Figure3: A standard "reverse twist" movement.Demonstration: Rurouni Kenshin, Photo: Very Command
3. Neither left nor right — Draw your body’s bow to its fullest
Is not moving forward or backward, and not rotating, the entirety of stillness? In a three-dimensional world, the upper body also has a dimension of movement from side to side. In classical carving turns, the upper and lower body tilt as one unit to one side, thus engaging the edge to initiate the turn. In Figure4,Lito Tejada-Floresthe lower body axis (yellow line) and the upper body axis (pink line) are almost aligned, the shoulder and elbow lines are perpendicular to the fall line but not parallel to the slope. The involvement of the upper body makes edge engagement easier, and skiing becomes much more effortless, which is why classical carving turns always appear so graceful and composed. However, at the same time, it also results in relatively slower turn frequency and larger turn radius, making it difficult to handle steeper and more complex slopes.
Figure4: Classical carving turn movement. Demonstration:Lito Tejada-Flores, Photo: *Breakthroughs in Skiing*
Modern carving turns (such as Richie’s6level turns) aim to improve turning efficiency by further requiring the upper body not to tilt sideways. At this point, the upper body is completely immobilized and cannot move in any dimension. With no upper body involvement, the turn is entirely driven by the tilt of the lower body to engage the edges of the skis. The tilted lower body axis and the upright upper body axis form a beautiful angle — this is the "counter-flex," as shown in Figure5.
Figure5: A standard "counter-flex" movement. Demonstration:qt, Photo: Very Command
The "counter-flex" is an advanced stage of fixing the upper body and a technical state that requires long-term accumulation to achieve. The difference between counter-flex and reverse twist lies in the angle between the upper and lower body axes. In Figures2and3, the skiers have also achieved this angle, but the angle is too large, even approaching a straight line, so it still cannot be called a "counter-flex." Only when this angle is reduced to a certain degree can it be considered a true counter-flex.
In Figure5,qt, with a perfect shoulder line and elbow line, a sharp "counter" angle, a wrist-flick pole plant, the entire movement is fluid and graceful, with a slight forward head tilt but still within acceptable limits. Additionally, the snowboard is nearly perpendicular to the fall line, and the large spray of snow kicked up behind proves this was a powerful turn—the very essence of the counter. Although I haven’t seenqt's video, I can imagine hismogulturns must be smooth and deep.
The path to achieving the counter begins with counter-rotation. Continuous practice gradually reduces the angle between the upper and lower body—a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative transformation, though not without shortcuts. Force is transmitted through the bowstring, acting on both ends of the bow to draw it taut. So how do you draw your body’s “bow” taut? The principle is the same. The "counter-torque" of the upper body and the "edge torque" of the lower body form the two essential elements of drawing the bow. The upper body’s counter has been discussed extensively and is relatively simple; the challenge lies in edging. The degree of edge engagement ultimately determines the extent of the counter. So how do you increase edge engagement? I believe the trick lies inmogul. Increasing edge angle on flat terrain isn’t easy, but it becomes simpler onmogul, where every mogul serves as a guide for turning. When both boards are firmly planted on a mogul, you’re edging—and the edge angle equals the mogul’s slope. At this moment, edging requires far less effort than on flat ground because the edges themselves aren’t bearing the load; the entire force is absorbed by the base of the board. Take another close look at the snowboard in5, whereqtis shown. It’s really that simple: the steeper the mogul you navigate, the more likely you are to achieve a graceful counter. J
4. Why shouldn’t the upper body move?
Previously, we’ve discussed how to keep the upper body still, but not why it’s necessary. The answer isn’t complicated, but it does involve some physics. In high school, we all learned about momentum, a physical quantity that describes an object’s motion. Momentum is=mass × velocity (p=mv). The upper body makes up roughly2/3of a person’s weight. If you keep this "lump of meat" still, then under the same momentum, the lower body—which accounts for1/3of the body’s weight—can achieve3times the turning speed (mv=1/3m×3v), meaning higher turn frequency. Alternatively, at the same turn speed, you’d only be using1/3of the original momentum (1/3m×v), meaning more energy-efficient skiing.
Skiing is truly a sport full of science. Behind every elegant movement lies a logical mathematical and physical explanation, which is why the beauty of turning has always been part of the beauty of nature.