Boot Adjustment

Question
I recently bought new boots and am not sure of the adjustment I should make.  Being an intermediate skiier, I have two choices. Either an asymetric position for carving or a symetric position for cruising ( choosing a stiff flex or more flex).

Which adjustment do you think I need to make?

Thanks
Mary

Answer
Hi Mary,

One of the most important equipment choices a skier makes in terms of affecting their performance and fun on snow is their boots. This is the essential link that either allows or inhibits good balance and as a result the performance of the skis. The steps to properly assessing this are as follows:

1)The first question is whether it is the proper category (and this includes the flex of the boot) for the skier. Often skiers are spending a lot of money on products that are too stiff for them to flex the ankle through a relatively broad range of movement and as a result balance and make fine adjustments at the ankle joint. The higher the performance of the boot the stiffer it is generally made but this does not take into account indiviudal differences in skier size and strength (which dramatically have an impact on the ability fo the skier to use the boot). The question I always ask is is it possible to stand in the boot when it is cold and bend the boot cuff towards the toe of the boot so that the skier's knee approximately reaches to the end of the boot? This is with the cuff buckled up, completely enclosing the shin and calf of the skier. In other words does the whole cuff move with the skier's lower leg or does it block this movement in some way.
2) Is the boot the proper length (usually about 1 cm of space in the boot shell lengthwise between your foot and the inside of the shell)?
3) Does the boot provide comfort and warmth under most of the conditions that you ski in? If the boot is not able to keep your foot comfortable (not loose but snug without severe constriction particularly on the top of the foot) and warm then you lose approximately 80% of your ability to balance on the foot. In extreme conditions the boot may require boot heaters but if your feet are cold all the time (and you do not have a medical condition predisposing you to this) then this may require custome fitting, etc or a new boot.
4) What kind of insole is in the liner? This is critical to good balance and is a complex subject. Suffice to say that the insole (often referred to as the footbed) provided with the boot is rarely adequate. Unless the ankle joint can allow the foot to roll inwards (towards the arch) and lengthways (towards the ball of the foot by the big toe) in a biomechanically appropriate fashion then it is very difficut to apply pressure and balance against the forces involved in carving.

Honestly in terms of the adjustment features that you describe by far the majority of skiers make the mistake of making their boots too stiff for their body to balance or buying boots that are too stiff in the wrong planes in the first place. This is clear at all levels of skiing. This year some members of the Canadian Alpine Ski Team did some on hill training in boots that were totally devoid of a cuff (the upper of the boot)in order to realign their points of reference for balance and practise balancing on their feet instead of leaning on their boots. In other words they trained with zero stiffness around their lower leg to improve their balance and to rediscover awareness of their foot on the ski!

My suggestion is that you try skiing with the boot at all times in the softest position possible to acheive better balance and to allow you to move your momentum (center of mass, roughly your body) down the hill to the inside of the turn once your skis have reached the fallline and you are starting to carve the turn (grip the snow with the edge rather than skid the skis on the edge and base). Ask a friend who is capable to ski beside you and watch whether you bend the ankle and the knee almost equally at the start of the turn. In other words (depending upon your speed) is your hip over the heel of the bindng when your knee is over the toe of the binding or are you sitting back more (greater bend at the knee than at the ankle)? I hope that this has offered some guidelines.

Short of this information the best thing a skier can do for their longterm enjoyment is find a good custome boot fitter. If you live in Western Canada I can make some recommendations.

Glenn Allen