What is Boot Balancing?

For years ski boot manufacturers have touted their boot's shaft adjustment features as "Canting adjustments" when in fact they are not canting the boot at all. Boot "balancing" encompasses much more than changing this one feature on a boot. Balancing takes into consideration all lateral and fore/aft planes of the skiers legs. The first adjustment is to equalize leg length by building up with shims under the short leg and/or grinding away material of the foot boards. Once this is achieved the next adjustment is to get the knees tracking straight. This is accomplished primarily with changing the varus/valgus on the foot beds in conjunction with the shaft adjustment. Once the knees are tracking straight the center of the knees are marked and the canting of the boot (which has to happen under the ankle) is checked. To do one step independent of another is missing an important building block in the process.

The canting adjustments will put the center of the knee over the first metatarsal head depending to a slight degree on the curvature of the tibia/fibula and personal preference. Angles to within 1/4 degree can be achieved. The best method for canting the boots is to plane the soles and fill on top of toe and heel shelves with a like material to return boot to D.I.N. specifications. By planing the boots the skier has the option of switching skis left and right or stepping into any ski and being canted correctly. Cant strips can also be installed under the bindings but this method does have some drawbacks. Canting addresses only the lateral planes of the skier and boot. Adjusting the fore and aft plane is also important in achieving a balanced stance. This is difficult to check in a static bench test and is best experimented with on snow by changing the ramp angle of the footboard in the boot. Too little ramp angle relegates the skier to the back seat with thighs burning. Another indication of too flat an angle is the feeling the boots are too stiff which will push the skier back on his/her heels every time they try to flex forward. Conversely, too much ramp angle and the skier's hips are too far forward causing the balance point to be out toward the shovels. Proper fore/aft balance should feel centered where the skier is in balance and the turns feel quick and crisp. A common fallacy is thinking that changing the forward lean on a boot will accomplish what changing ramp angle does. In fact adding more forward lean simply lowers the stance and offers more leverage but it does not move the hips forward on the skis. Only changing the ramp angle can do this. Generally a tall stance aids in quickness from edge to edge but offers weaker turning power, while a more flexed stance offers slower turning movements but with more power.

PAST AND FUTURE
Instructors may become frustrated when a student just can't get out of the back seat, or make a turn without excessive rotation, and so on. It may not be the instructor's lack of tricks or exercises that is the key. These examples are just a few of many, "slap you in the face" indications of boot balancing problems! Yet most times these clues are overlooked and attributed to poor athletic ism, or poor instruction. Just listen to the conversations in the locker room and you will catch instructors relaying their day's frustration to a sympathetic ear. How many have missed the true cause of their student's problem? ... How does the student feel?...
In the perfect world that same instructor might say to their student, "Joe, we have tried different exercises to get you more centered on your skis and it does not seem to be working. I think the problem may be inadequate ramp angle in your boots. Let's try a 1/4" lift in your boots and see what happens!" or "Sue, I noticed you are making very nice turn transitions to your left but are having difficulty with the right. It looks to me that you may be over canted on your left boot causing you to rotate your hips too much in order to flatten that left ski. I would like to recommend that you visit our staff specialist (or Joe the boot balancer at Zut Capri ski shop in town) for a boot balance evaluation. I believe this will solve your problem and make your turns symmetrical! Then come back to see me and we will continue with your skill development! " I'll bet there are motivated staff members who would be enthusiastic to learn more about boot balancing and become trained to perform evaluations. It is not that difficult. The actual work could be done by an outside shop. This situation is already happening between one of Kirkwood Ski School's instructors and my shop.

Ski Schools should find a way to incorporate boot balancing and ski tuning inspections into their lesson plans, especially ski week programs. Many times it is taking away the impediments to progress that help more than bequeathing all ones knowledge about ski technique. I am not advocating that instructors begin messing with irreversible adjustments to their client's equipment, but that they educate themselves in the cause and effect relationship of problems associated with mis alignments in boots and poorly tuned skis. The best case scenario would be to have an expert on staff located where instructors on the hill could send their students inside for more in depth evaluation by a trained staff member(s).

THE BIG "L"
Ski areas and ski shops have not been willing to take the liability risk of this relatively unknown art of boot balancing. They do not want to wade into the legally untested waters of boot balancing. However; The bottom line is, properly balanced boots and properly tuned skis will dramatically improve skier performance and safety (ask a world cup athlete). Ski shops tune skis without worrying about liability why should tuning boots be any different?... By balancing boots we are actually making the skier safer from the standpoint of putting them in a more advantageous and powerful position over their skis. Also, after boots are planed and brought back to D. 1. N. norms they are better than new in many cases. (Pick a new boot up sometime and set it on a level surface. Now rock it back and forth from left to right and notice if it sits level or rocks from one plane to another? Many boots soles are warped by being pulled from the molds during manufacturing then curing in a twisted state. Imagine how this effects the interface with your bindings, not to mention the performance effects?)
Most skiers do not understand boot balancing. Many ski shop employees when asked about boot balancing mutter something like, "Oh, you mean canting? ... we do that here at our shop. Let me loosen this shaft "cant adjustment" on your boot and have you flex around a little, tighten it, and you're canted!" ... BULLony!! This should be your signal to grab your boots and head for the door! More and more shops however are taking an interest in this process. The problem is lack of training at this point. Sales reps from manufacturers of ski boots clinic shop salespeople about their products features and benefits. Reps from ski tuning equipment companies clinic technicians on the use of their machines and tools. Who travels around to shops training shop employees to assess and balance boots?... No one at this point. Boot balancing is not a product, it is a service not offered by these sales reps. Therefore, shop managers have to search out courses offered and pay fees for their staff to attend. Hmmmm .... cost/benefit? .... liability?.... These courses are not widely available and are very expensive. So at this time it is a young service albeit a very important service to offer if a shop or ski school is serious about helping people ski better. This service isn't necessary in snow boarding and look how fast that sport is growing!?

WHERE TO BEGIN
Read "The Athletic Skier". Experiment yourself with ramp angle and cant angles to feel each end of the spectrum. Attend clinics that focus on equipment and boot balancing. Experiment with duct tape strips on your bindings to change cant angle (one strip = 1/4%) Remember though, there is much more to boot balancing than just changing the angle under your boot! This is only one element along a methodological process. Have your boots balanced by an expert in the field. Begin considering equipment problems in your skier analysis and make suggestions to your students for solutions to these problems. Do these things and you will not only ski better yourself, you will be a far more effective ski teacher as well! I know of some instructors who now carry heel lifts in their parkas to slip in a students boots with sifting back problems. They also carry true bars to check skis if the tune is suspect. I believe they are offering a tremendous service to their clients! Think of the referrals!! Incorporate this kind of analysis and service into your lessons and watch your students learn more easily and make you look like the Dali Lama of skiing! Begin by carrying a true bar and a couple heel lifts in your parka to open the door to greater success! I encourage every instructor to become more familiar with detecting equipment problems in your students skiing then recommending a trusted boot technician or ski tuner as needed. Your students will achieve levels of skiing performance they may never have thought attainable!

Bud Heishman has taught skiing for 15 years and is a past P.S.I.A. Senior Examiner, Western Demo Team member, and Supervisor/Trainer for Mammoth Mountain Ski School. He is a guest speaker at NASTC training camps. He has worked as a Sales/Service Representative for Salomon North America and has spent many years fitting and Balancing boots for top ski athletes. Bud is currently the President of Snowind Sports, Inc. located in the Reno Hilton Hotel.