Hip Angulation
Your parallel turns will suddenly feel locked-in and powerful instead of slipping out at high speeds.
Tilting the hips toward the hill while keeping the upper body facing downhill — the secret to carving short-radius turns on steep blues.
Watch & Learn
Key Moments
Bending at the hip joint, not just the ankles
Think 'hip into the hill' not 'lean into the hill'
Upper body faces downhill while lower body carves
More angulation needed as speed increases
What It Should Feel Like
- ✓Like your hips are pulling toward the snow on the uphill side
- ✓Your inside knee is driving into the turn
- ✓A Z-shape in your body from the side — head out, hips in, feet out
Common Mistakes & Fixes
Banking (whole body leaning) instead of angulating
Think hip-in, not body-in
Upper body rotating downhill with hips
Counter-rotate — shoulders stay square to the fall line
Only angulating at the waist
Angulation should come from the hip joint
Practice Drills
Hip-in traverse: ski across the slope and consciously push your hip toward the snow on the uphill side — feel the Z-shape
Thousand steps drill: take tiny skating steps across the fall line — each step forces weight to shift and hip to follow
Javelin turns: lift your inside ski tip off the snow to force hip angulation — if you can't do it, you're not angulating enough
Prerequisites
Level Up Next
Your Progression
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Pole Planting
Level 4
Current
Hip Angulation
Level 5
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Upper-Lower Body Separation
Level 5