Overcoming Pigeon Toe
 

I'm new to shaped skis ( Ive returned to skiing after 17 year layoff due to acl blowout ) ... I previously skied from 1977 to 1989 on old fashioned straight skis and I don't remember having the problem Im having now. My dilema is - my left foot turns in and my left ski winds up getting yanked around when I hit denser snow( usually my heel kicks out and the "pigeon toe" is exaggerated). I also have trouble initiating left turns ( no problem with right turns) . I purchased new boots with custom footbeds which seemed to help somewhat. Should I further pursue the orthotic boot fitting route?... or are there any suggestions anyone might have as far as a technique to overcome this. I think it would be better if both my feet were pigeon toed:-)
Anyway, any advice from skiers who also have this anatomical problem would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

skidj70 wrote:
I'm new to shaped skis ( Ive returned to skiing after 17 year layoff due
to acl blowout ) ... I previously skied from 1977 to 1989 on old
fashioned straight skis and I don't remember having the problem Im
having now. My dilema is - my left foot turns in and my left ski winds
up getting yanked around when I hit denser snow( usually my heel kicks
out and the "pigeon toe" is exaggerated). I also have trouble
initiating left turns ( no problem with right turns) . I purchased new
boots with custom footbeds which seemed to help somewhat. Should I
further pursue the orthotic boot fitting route?... or are there any
suggestions anyone might have as far as a technique to overcome this. I
think it would be better if both my feet were pigeon toed:-)
Anyway, any advice from skiers who also have this anatomical problem
would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

Canting. Your problem is probably canting. NOT canting adjustable with
some boot mounted doohickey (which only adjusts shaft angle) but actual
boot to binding to ski canting. See a real specialist. He'll also check
that your "custom" footbed was properly made.

If you tell us where you ski we can maybe suggest a name/shop.

having now. My dilema is - my left foot turns in and my left ski winds
up getting yanked around when I hit denser snow( usually my heel kicks
out and the "pigeon toe" is exaggerated). I also have trouble
initiating left turns ( no problem with right turns) .
Anyway, any advice from skiers who also have this anatomical problem
would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

You are basically skiing in a wedge position with more emphases
on the left foot. Your left foot would seem to be the dominate foot,
your are also placing more weight on this foot thus the ease of
turning on this side. I would recommend taking a private lesson as
you will get more personal attention to aid you in a quicker progression.

In the mean time practice skiing with the holding one foot of the ground
with emphases of the tail being higher than the tip (front of ski). You
can leave the tip touching the snow hold for about 3 - 5 seconds while
going straight then repeat with the other foot. Do this on a gentle slope
so you won't go to fast but fast enough to keep a constant speed. This
will help you to start skiing parallel and break you of holding the wedge
position. You can not go straight if you are holding the wedge position.

Once you can balance yourself on each leg with confidence you can
start practicing your turns, with the left ski off the ground start turning
to
the left keeping the left ski parallel to the right ski (remember to keep
the tail higher than the tip, this will keep you forward and out of the back
seat as you cannot be in the back seat with the tail higher than the tip),
repeat this for both legs. Hint: to turn slightly lean the hip and leg you
are
standing on knee towards the direction you want to turn, do not twist
the foot to turn. Keep the upper body and shoulders facing down hill
at all times. If you do not you will have troubles making the next turn,
especially as you go faster and the terrain becomes steeper.

Make sure you complete the turn by going completely across the fall line.
Once you past the fall line you can gently place the other ski down and
start lifting the down hill ski, raising the tail of the ski higher than the
tip
and repeat for the other leg. Your turns should look like a "S".

I hope this helps, have fun on the slopes.

JQ
Dancing on the edge

Thanks to all for the advice:-)..My local mountain is Hunter NY. I took a lesson there last weekend, and the instructor was great.And although the instructor did note that only one of my feet was turned in , the problems it was causing wasn't evident because the condition were man made hard pack icey and fast! It seems the problem only comes up when I 'm in cream cheese and bumps and it's only the left foot. It is quiet exaggerated(the degree that my foot turns in).I'll continue on with the lessons and also look into a boot specialist. Anyone know any in Hunter NY? Thanks again.

I had this problem. Boot expert said my alignment was good. I fixed
it by adjusting the canting on my boots. Do your boots have cant
adjustments?

My boots do not have a canting adjustment.I guess there are inserts you can get though.My foot only seems to turn in when I'm skiing , so hopefully it is the canting.Seems it would be easier to fix that than an alignment problem. Thanks for the advice!

Keith at the Pro Ski and Ride in Hunter.