The Angular Leap
"It's an angular/rotational leap rather than a vertical one" is my best 2026 compression for understanding both classic and modern Pedal-Hop steep skiing technique.
I'm still working out how best to translate this, but I think I finally understand one of the great mysteries of the classic French Virage Sauté-Pédale (Pedal-Hop turn):
"Do you lean forward or backward??"
Answer: Yes.
In the photo above I've drawn two arrows. Both arrows should be visualized as skewing slightly in the z-axis, meaning they point slightly toward you, the viewer.
The arrows hint at the movement of my hips—forward and upward—and my upper body/shoulders—downward and backward. This simultaneous contrapuntal motion happens because the turn's rotation occurs along an angled rather than vertical axis.
If you've been struggling with this, it's probably because you're trying to rotate around a vertical axis—which is totally understandable given the realities of gravity. The problem, of course, is that just doesn't work on a 45-degree slope.
So yes, a forward motion and a backward motion is involved, at the same time, as a direct consequence of getting the turn's rotational and angular challenges to play nicely with human anatomy.
Once you know what to look for, you'll easily identify this "angular leap" in the technique of O.G. steep-skiing masters like Patrick Vallencant and Anselme Baud and also in the turns of present-day specialists like Vivian Bruchez and Aurelian Lardy.
I'll try to do a better job explaining this in further posts downstream, probably after more time on my summer Arizona vacation ramp, and definitely with the help of some 60 fps video for demonstration purposes. By the way: Mammoth has committed to running the lifts through at least June 7, so you still have time to get out there and try it yourself. :)
— May 26, 2026
Andy Lewicky is the author and creator of SierraDescents