Technique and technical.

To this point this year I can't say I have been happy with my skiing although it is early and there are a couple of excuses I have. First of all getting used to new ski boots has been a bit of an issue although they are now starting to feel better and it is nice to have warm comfortable feet. Secondly my skis feel a bit foreign to me because they are relatively new to me as well and I keep forgetting that they will never be as quick edge to edge as my Atomic SX9's. I loved those Atomics and now regret selling them. It would be fun to once in a while break them out and have a slalom like day.
As it stands the Dynastars are a fantastic ski as well. I was not skiing them well the first couple of times out because of poor technique caused by laziness more than anything else. Watching some racers yesterday made it abundantly clear that I simply wasn't working the ski properly. The racers were really using their legs, pressuring and then releasing the edge to do quick carved turns. There was no scraping, no sliding of the ski laterally. When I took my snowboard instructors course it was called flexion and extension, the act of straightening at the knees to release the edge followed by bending at the knees to set and hold the edge. It's no different in skiing.
One reason I wasn't flexing and extending properly was the new boots. They were a bit too stiff for me which my friend Steve mentioned might be one reasons for my turning woes. He suggested removing one or possibly both of the allen bolts at the back of the boots. Take the top one out gives a bit more flex, the bottom one even more and both removed would afford a lot of flex. I removed the top one and gave it a go. What a difference. Without a doubt the Lange RX120's were a bit too stiff. I was now able to flex the boot on my turns which resulted in a better edge and more controlled turns. Sometimes the simplest thing can make a big difference.
I must admit there is one small problem with my skiing down the hill at high speed doing nice controlled turns. How the hell is anyone going to know it's me?