Stem Christie

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Skiing technique
Stem Snowplough turn Stem Christie Parallel turn Carve turn Telemark turn Pivot turn

The Stem Christie in skiing is a development of the stem technique, where prior to the turn the uphill ski is stemmed or pushed out from being parallel with the downhill ski to form a V shape.

The turn was named after Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, where the name Kristianiasving was used for the parallel turn, differentiating it from the Telemark turn.

The technique was introduced to central Europe in 1910 by the Austrian ski guide Johannes Schneider. Along with the other two stem techniques, it formed the basis of his Arlberg technique and instruction method.

[edit] Terminology

Uphill ski refers to the ski that is in a position higher up the hill.

Downhill ski refers to the ski that is in a position farther down the hill.

The outside ski is the ski farthest away from the center of the circle the skier is turning about.

The inside ski is the ski closest to the center of the circle the skier is turning about.

[edit] The technique

Having brought the skis into the V shape mentioned above, more pressure is applied to the uphill right hand ski, so causing the skis to start to turn to the left.

Once the turn has commenced, the now uphill ski is stepped parallel with the stemmed ski as the turn is made so that at the end of the turn both skis are parallel and pointing in the desired direction of travel.