How?
Heavy drug use, NO, just kidding.
YES skiing with bad knees is possible and loads of fun. How do I know? Because that's what I have been doing for years.
Start by getting yourself in shape by exercising regularly, i.e. progressive resistant exercise plus aerobics. My way, weights and a Bowflex (two to three times a week, all year long), riding a bicycle (four to seven days a week, off season).
If you are still reading after that statement let's get into technique.
Modern shaped skis are designed to turn by simply putting them on edge. Start in a basic athletic stance, knees slightly bent*, feet shoulder width apart, weight on the balls of you feet, and arms bent with your hands out in front of your body.
*Bending sore knees is painful so I am not asking you to bend your knees like those "kids" in a racing program you see zooming down the mountain. You are going to ski as upright as possible to protect your knees. To compensate for this upright position you should consciously lean slightly forward to ensure your weight is moving forward down the hill.
Start the turn by pressing down on the balls of your feet and tipping the ski on the edge in the direction of the turn.
Shaped skis are meant to be skied "two-footed" but you will have more weight on the, "outside ski." This is the ski on the opposite foot of the direction of the turn. i.e. a right turn will have more weight on the left foot and vise-versa. This is aided by centrifugal force. "We are all familiar with the effects of centrifugal force, we experience it for example every time we are in a car and take a bend - we feel a force pushing us to the outside of the curve. If, for example, you have placed your sunglasses on the seat next to you it would come as no surprise if, when taking a sharp bend at speed, they slide across the seat." Isaac Newton in his three Laws of Motion explained this force;
"I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. (This is sometimes referred to as The Law of Inertia)
II. The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma.
III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
Forgive me, I digress but isn't it nice to know you have scientific law on your side when skiing. I forgot to mention gravity another Newtonian ahhh... never mind.
A terrific skier and a foot surgeon from Ottawa told me a few years ago, "ski with your feet." For those of us with bad knees this is welcome advice. I cannot empisize this enough, "SKI WITH YOUR FEET." When I was a young man a Norwegian Gold Medal winner and Ski Instructor used to "scream" at his students, "The Knees, The Knees." Today following the advise of my Canadian female foot surgeon mentor I scream, "The Feet, The Feet."
You want to angle your knees in the direction of the turn. This is called angulation and we want to limit it because it HURTS. To aid in transferring this angulation to the skis it is important to have boots that fit correctly and transfer the energy and pressure to the ski with as little movement as possible. I ski with thin ski socks and buckle the top of my boot very tight to make sure my shin is in contact with the front of my boot. Booster Straps can help tighten the top of your boot to your shin. It is very important to have your shins in constant contact with the front of your boots. This is key to transferring energy to the skis and in directing them down the mountain.
You can put the ski on edge by rolling your ankles, saving your knees. You also want to limit hip movement "swinging" which will change your center of gravity and put you out of balance. You want your hips and center of gravity over your skis. Staying centered and in balance is important to advanced skiing. It will also prevent severe skidding when you hit ice and hard snow, a very common occurrence in eastern US skiing and at my home mountain (Whiteface).
"Put your right foot forward, Put your left foot out, Do the Bunny Hop, Hop, hop, hop! - 1956" WHAT?
Skiing is a dance down the mountain. We turn and move our feet in our decent. If you are traversing across the mountain toward the left side of the slope your right foot (downhill ski) will be slightly behind your left foot (uphill ski). As you initiate your right turn (pressing down on your ski tips and angling your skis to the right edges) push your right ski forward as the turn progresses, This will result in the turn ending with the right ski (now the uphill ski) being ahead of the left ski (now the downhill ski). On the next turn (a left turn) push the left foot forward as you go through the turn. There you go, you are "Bunny Hopping" down the hill, oh yeah forget the, "put your left foot out part." You don't need that.
Practice skidding. Stand upright, skis across the fall line (slope). Your edges are engaged holding you in place. Release the edges by tipping the ski flat. You will start sliding down the mountain. Engage the edges and stop. Now repeat and twist your skis a little pointing the tips down hill. Return the skis across the fall line by twisting them in the other direction. Do all this by rotating you feet at the ankles. Yes you are again skiing with your feet. Let your skis run a little backwards when the ski tips are down the hill, return the skis across the fall line, point the tips down the hill, return, rock back and forth. Get the feeling of flattening the skis than engaging the edges as you twist them back and forth tip to tail moving down the hill. This is a drill all about edge pressure and control and can be done with you knees straight. It requires very little energy and yet you are moving down the hill while in total control. How's that for easy skiing and no wear and tear on the "sore old" knees.
Also practice old school ski technique on intermediate terrain. i.e. Start with knees slightly bent, jump up and quickly transfer you weight from your down hill to your up hill ski, tip the ski on edge and complete the turn.
Another trick during a turn is on groomed and hard surfaces as the skis complete the turn transfer your weight from the balls of you feet to the heal. Don't move your body back, just move the pressure from the ball of your foot to the heel. This will keep the ski from skidding as you complete the turn.
Another drill is to stand at the top of a slope and draw an imaginary straight line down it. Turn your skis every time you cross the line taking the terrain as it comes. Adjust your turn and technique according to the terrain. Carve a turn, skid one, unweight one, they all work. The more type turns you have in your arsenal the better. Pick an un-crowded trail and practice 360s, these are all about edge control and balance.
Avoid bumps, heavy powder, and ice. These all stress your knees to their limit.
I do start a ski day with some Nsaids, i.e. Ibuprofen combined with Tylenol. You can take these in combination but avoid alcohol when doing so. Combining Tylenol and alcohol can stop your liver from functioning and that will not help your skiing one bit. At lunch break I give myself a booster dose and finish the day letting how I feel dictate where and how hard I ski.
Below is a bit of my back round that relates to skiing:
Age: 72
Years Skiing: 51
Knees:
Right; Torn meniscus, arthritis, cyst, surgery (arthroscopic) February 2006.
Left: Torn meniscus, arthritis, surgery (arthroscopic) October 2011.
Physical make up and condition: 6'2" tall, weight 205 to 220 lbs. depending on time of year and exercise routine.
Exercise routine:
Weight lifting i.e. Bowflex use one to three times a week depending on season.
Riding a road bike (A Cannondale not a Harley) 1000 miles per year.
Down hill skiing: 50 to 100 times a season.
Home Ski Mountain: Whiteface Mountain, Wilmington, NY.
Ski History:
Places:
Eastern U.S.
NY
Whiteface Mountain, Gore Mountain, Hunter Mountain, Catskill Ski Center, Plattekill, Belleayre Mountain, Davos, Mount Cathalia, Catamount, Titus Mountain, Big Tupper, Mount Peter
NJ
Vernon Valley, Great Gorge, Hidden Valley
VT
Mad River Glen, Killington, Mount Snow, Stratton, Sugarbush North and South, Stowe, Jay Peak
Maine: Sugarloaf, Saddleback
PA: Camelback
Colorado
Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Snowmass,Telluride
Wyoming: Jackson Hole
Montana: Big Sky
California/Nevada:
Heavenly, Squaw Valley, Alpine Meadows, Kirkwood, Snow Bowl, Northstar
Utah: Park City, The Canyons, Alta
Canada: Whistler/Blackcomb, Mont Tremblant
Europe
Italy: The Dolomites
Austria: Kitzbuhel, Arlberg, Stubai Glacier , Ischgl, and an area whose name I can't recall.
I have never had a bad ski trip, there have some problems along the way and always a way to deal with them. The mountains, ski areas, and fellow skiers met along the way have been a highlight in my life and I am grateful for them all. The more miles you log on the mountain, the easier and more fun skiing becomes so go as often as you can and, "just ski."
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