THE STEM CHRISTIE TURN
The stem christie is a turn that is halfway between a wedge turn and a parallel turn.
The skier in the above left photo is in a relaxed wedge position. The skis are steered into the turn
in a manner similar to that of the wedge turn as shown in the center photo above. In the Basic Wedge Christie, the skis are then brought parallel, after the fall line, as shown in the above right photo and the turn is completed.
The name "christie" refers to the fact that this is a skidded turn.
The left photo above shows the wedge position in preparation for the opposite turn. In the Dynamic Wedge Christie form of this turn, the skis are steered in the direction of the new turn (center photo above) and matched before the fall line, for the christie phase of the turn (right photo above).
This turn is an intermediate step between the wedge and parallel turns. Skilled students may graduate
quickly through this turn, directly to parallel skiing.
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