Arlberg technique

The Arlberg technique is a progressive system that takes the skier from the snowplough turn to the parallel christie through measured stages of improvement.

Modern ski equipment is also capable of a more efficient turning style known as carving that uses entirely different techniques and movements.

Some ski schools have started moving students directly from the snowplough to carving as early as possible, avoiding learning stemming habits that may be difficult to un-learn.

During World War I he used the technique to train the Austria's alpine troops, and fought with the Austrian army in Russia and on the Italian front.

In 1920 the German filmmaker Arnold Fanck visited Arlberg and produced an early instructional ski film, Das Wunder des Schneeschuhs [de].

He then wrote to the German Minister of Finance, Hjalmar Schacht, requesting that Schneider be freed to take the now-vacant lead instructor position.

Stemming is based on creating turning forces by skidding the edge of the ski over the snow at an angle to the forward movement of the skier.

The snowplough is typically introduced to beginners by having them move their legs to produce a "pizza slice" shape, tips together and tails apart.

As the skier gains confidence and can increase their speed, the angle of the snowplough is reduced until it devolves into the skis lying parallel to each other.

Christy turning is essentially a technique for easily stemming, an active method that involves motion of the upper body, hips and knees.

The only forces that could be transmitted were those that were parallel to the top of the ski (or more specifically, the bottom of the boot), namely rotating the toe in or out, or pushing the entire foot to one side or the other.

Early versions of the parallel turn can be taught as modifications of the stem Christy, and this became a popular addition to the Arlberg technique through the 1960s and especially in the 1970s.

Modern skis make carving turns so simple that the Arlberg technique of gradual progression is no longer universal.