In the article 'A Little Bit about the Ski' there is some stuff about reverse camber where I mention that the ski is designed as a spring. Depending on its construction, a ski can be bent to produce a substantial arc of reverse camber. For example, if a racer is making tight turns on ice through slalom gates, he will want the skis to be bent to their maximum to carve an arc round the gate with the minimum of sliding.

On the easy gates near the finish, where the turns are little more than wiggles, a ski racer will just set the skis on their edges, with minimum reverse camber. Edging is just setting the ski on its edge, whilst carving is applying the sort of pressure to make the ski bend more than the minimum reverse camber.

To achieve maximum reverse camber a skier does not just apply his weight to the middle of the ski, but sometimes to the front of it, by moving slightly forward at the start of a turn. This tends to bend the front of the ski first, and the bending process is amplified and transmitted back along the ski.

Having said this I know that today's new skis have a much deeper sidecut on them to produce a tighter radius turn with them just on their edge, but they should still have the potential for an even tigher radius if reverse camber is brought into play.

This is a good time to expand on something else I mentioned in the section on reverse camber. If a ski is put on its edge then it will have more spring in it than if the ski remains flat on its sole. It will also have the potential for added reverse camber and therefore more spring. A ski flat on the snow has no potential for any reverse camber at all and that means there will be no spring to help you into the next turn.

An edged ski will also make a much more controlled turn than a flat ski could ever do. Just imagine that you are on ice. Will your control in the turn be better on a flat ski or on one where the edge cuts in? The answer is obvious.

Simon Dewhurst has taught downhill skiing in North America, Scandinavia and the European Alps for 35 years. He currently runs a ski chalet agency in the French Alps. His book "Secrets of Better Skiing" can be found at http://www.ski-jungle.com. If you have any comments about the above article, he will be happy to answer them.