How to do The Basic Pole Plant in Skiing

The pole plant is one of the things in skiing that may seem weird, unnecessary and even counterproductive. That's because it is, if you're doing it wrong. If you do it right, it has the potential to take your skiing to a whole new level. In this video I'm going to share with you why a good pole plant is so important and how you can practice to learn a good pole plant. Okay, so what characterizes a good pole plant and what characterizes a poor pole plant? A poor pole plant is working against the other movements in your body and it disturbs your balance. A good pole plant works in unison with the other movements in your body and it supports your balance, especially when you need it the most. That means that by replacing a poor pole plant with a better one potentially has a huge impact on your skiing. The type of pole plant that I will share with you is what I like to call the basic pole plant. So this is a great way if you're first learning the pole plant and it builds a good connection between upper and lower body. The basic pole plant is characterized by the pole being planted right at its change from a steady arm and hand position in front of your body. To master the basic pole plant you must have a good arm and hand position, know which side to plant the pole and you have to get the timing right. I suggest you practice the basic pole plant in longer turns when you're first learning. This will give you time to focus on the new positions and movements. When you're skiing your arms and hands should remain in front of your body and a bit to the side. This position will help you stay centered over your feet, you can easily adjust your balance when you meet challenges in the terrain and your poles will be planted in the right zone in relation to your skis. Keep the arms and hands relaxed and mobile and let your wrists do the pole plant movement. A bit of natural arm movement is totally fine but too much arm movement will cause an undesirable upper body rotation that will throw you onto your inside ski and out of balance. Letting the wrists do the pole plant movement solves this issue. Let's look at a few exercises that will help you achieve a good arm and hand position for the pole plant. To teach your body the right arm and hand position you can hold a pole in front of your body with a slight bend in your arms. Your elbows should be a little wider than your shoulders and your hands should be a little wider than the elbows. This is the position you want to have for the pole plant. The pole will fix your hands in relation to each other and prevent you from swinging your arms. Once your arms and hands have gotten used to this position it is time to give yourself a little challenge. Keep your hands and arms in the same position as before without having the pole to help with fixation. Turn your hands a bit so your thumbs are up. Now use your thumb to push the like button. See if you can let your legs do the work and keep your hands in the right position. With your arm and hand position dialed in you have a good foundation but there are a few more things you need to know before you start planting the poles. I see way too many people plant the wrong pole making the ski performance suffer and the skiing feel weird and disharmonious. So let's get this right from the start. In this graphic you can see that you should plant the pole to the side you're about to turn. Plant the right pole and turn right. Plant the left pole and turn left. Many people think they're supposed to turn around the pole but this may cause their upper body to rotate so they end up with less balance. Remember the pole plant is not a pivot point but more of a support touch in the snow like i'm showing here. Let's go a step further and get the timing of the pole plant right. On the graphic from before you can also see that a basic pole plant should be timed to the moment when you go from one turn to the next. This is where the skis are changing edge and your skis are flat on the snow. You therefore have no grip. Timing the pole plant to this moment will give you a bit of support when you go from one turn to the other and a good start to the turn will make the rest of the turn much better. The first movement to learn when you practice the timing of the basic pole plant is the up and forward move. The up and forward move helps you get out of the old turn and into the new turn. Go check out our video two keys to parallel skiing after you have watched this video if you want a step-by-step progression to learn the up and forward move. If you have the up and forward move dialed in timing the pole plant becomes simple. Just plant the pole when you're fully extended. This is when the edge change happens and your skis are flat on the snow. Once you have achieved a good arm and hand position, the wrist move, awareness of the correct side to plant the pole and the up and forward move you're ready to put it all together and give the full version of the basic pole plant a go. You now shift to a mental focus. The first focus is to plant the pole when you're fully extended. Move up and forward, plant the pole and turn. Up, pole plant and turn. The second focus is to lock your arms and hands in the right position and only move your wrists to make the pole plant. Remember being rigid with the arm and hand position can be great when you practice and first learn, but eventually you should allow your arms and hands to move naturally from this position as long as you manage to keep your upper body stable. As you start to feel confident with your pole plant you can experiment with different turn sizes. With a shorter turn radius you will really feel how the pole plant can help you keep a nice rhythm. It feels awesome and makes it even easier to start the next turn. You can also do the basic pole plant on higher levels of skiing with less extension at each change. And if you're an expert skier mastering the basic pole plant is only the beginning. In our video pole plant types and styles for advanced and expert skiers i share some of my favorite pole plant options so you can try them out in your own skiing. So go check that out once you have practiced and If you like this video please leave a like and subscribe to our channel if you haven't done already. Also let us know in the comments down below if you have any suggestions for future videos that you would like us to do. Have a nice day and see you on the slopes!