Introducing: Transition Weight Release

How often, when you’re skiing, do you focus on the transition period between your turns?

The transition might not seem like an active part of the turn—maybe even insignificant—but it’s far from it. It’s the key to unlocking smoother, more adaptable, and dynamic skiing. It’s where you release the pressure built up in the last turn and set yourself up for the next one, creating the flow and rhythm that make great skiing feel effortless. Beyond that, it’s a crucial skill if you’re looking to take on new terrain this winter.

This year, we’ve turned this critical phase into a measurable metric: Transition Weight Release. It tracks how well you unweight your skis during the transition, a skill that allows for controlled movement no matter the terrain — whether you’re carving groomers, bouncing through powder, or navigating bumps.

In this blog, we’ll explain what Transition Weight Release is, why it’s so important, and how you can use it to improve your skiing. Plus, we’ll give you a peak behind the curtain and show you exactly how we measure this metric. Let’s dive in.

1. Why is transition weight release so important?

When we talk about the transition phase of a ski turn, we’re referring to the brief period when you move your skis from edge to edge — when you move from one turn to the next.

Unweighting during the transition makes these actions smoother and more efficient, and prevents you from catching your new edges on the snow. Why? Because with less downward force anchoring you down, you gain freedom of movement.

• On a perfect groomer day, you can get away without refining this skill - there is little risk of catching an edge and the terrain is smooth and easy. But as the conditions deteriorate throughout the day, or as you go into other terrain, it becomes a key skill:
• In powder, it creates the float and rhythm that releases your skis and allows you to change edges without catching them in the snow.
• On bumps and steeps, unweighting your skis the freedom of movement to adjust quickly to the variable path.

That said, as you progress in your carving, Transition Weight Release is critical. On groomers, unweighting is essential for setting up clean, efficient turns. A sharp edgeset at the end of the turn creates rebound, generating a reaction force that allows you to move over your skis and initiate Early Forward Movement. This frees you to transition smoothly and engage your new edges early, enabling precise, dynamic carving.

2. What is Carv’s Transition Weight Release metric measuring?

Transition Weight Release is a concept all skiers can understand because they’ve felt it.

But measuring it is a challenge because your feet are changing orientation all the time while you ski, so we needed to isolate the vertical movement, even as your feet change angle and rotation.

Carv sensors use gyroscopes and accelerometers to track this rotation and acceleration. By using a process called sensor fusion we can map your foot movement in the data and isolate the vertical component.

Using the accelerometer data Carv can then measure the vertical forces acting through your skis and boots during a turn.

We then calculate the average of left and right turns to assess how much the skier’s vertical acceleration (G-force) varies throughout a turn, from its lowest points to its highest points.

In the following graphs, we display this data from an expert skier’s run, showing the G-force recorded by each boot sensor over the course of a single turn.

Let’s put this data into the context of a ski turn. The highest vertical G-forces (the peaks on the graph) occur near the end of a turn—just before the transition. This is when the downward forces are at their most extreme. From this peak, the vertical G-force drops sharply, marking the point where you 'bounce' out of the turn.

The lowest points on the graph represent the moments of unweighting, where you experience a feeling of lightness—or even weightlessness if you’re a skilled, dynamic skier.

You’ve likely experienced this in your own skiing: the feeling of being pressed firmly into the snow at the end of a turn, followed by a sudden release and lift as you transition into the next one. This rhythm of pressure and release is what defines dynamic skiing.

When we compare this data between experts and intermediate skiers, we see that experts are much more active in the vertical plane. They generate significantly more downward force during the turn and release much more of it in the transition.

This is because the expert uses rebound, flexion, and retraction to unweight during the transition, setting themselves up to generate strong downward force through edging and forward movement in the turn.

By contrast, the advanced skier displays a much flatter profile, lacking the dynamic vertical movement seen in experts. Intermediate and advanced skiers experience:

• Lower Peaks: Less pressure is generated at the apex due to weaker edging and slower speeds.
• Shallow Troughs: During the transition, they remain static, failing to release pressure or create any upward movement with the skis.

For intermediate and advanced skiers, this results in a transition phase that often feels heavy, static, and even unsettling (with a higher risk of catching edges).

This happens when you:

• Remain stiff and upright, failing to flex and retract your legs to release pressure.
• Resist or mistime the rebound energy of the turn, missing the opportunity to carry momentum smoothly into the next turn.

Without proper pressure release, the skis remain weighted, making transitions slow, inefficient, and harder to control. This leaves skiers struggling to shape their next turn and adapt to variable terrain.

Above, you can see an intermediate skier through the transition phase of the turn. Visually, the difference is clear:

• Expert skiers actively flex and retract to release pressure, creating dynamic movement.
• Intermediate skiers appear stiff and static, unable to take full advantage of the transition.

So, how do we turn this data into an actionable metric?

To measure Transition Weight Release (TWR), we analyze how much vertical G-force skiers release between turns, comparing the forces experienced at the peak of the turn with those in the transition.

Looking at the graphs above, you can see that experts are much more active in the vertical plane compared to intermediate skiers, which indicates a much more dynamic style. We want to reward this and make a number that indicates how well the skier is unweighting.

Extra detail for the data nerds:

The metric calculates the proportion of the downward acceleration (G-force) against the lowest point during the transition. The larger the difference between these values, the higher the score. This means the metric rewards both how dynamically you’re moving between turns and how effectively you’re unweighting the pressure built up during the turn in the transition phase.

If we look at this graph, your TWR is calculated by ‘a’ divided by ‘b.

How to interpret the scores:

100%: You’re skiing as dynamically as top-level skiers, achieving full weightlessness during the transition.

50–70% (Intermediate to Advanced): A solid starting range, with room to refine your unweighting and build more dynamic movement.

This metric is highly responsive, allowing you to train with real-time feedback and fine-tune the feeling for optimal performance.

3. How do you ace the transition phase.

Retraction Turns

• As the turn finishes, expert skiers flex their legs and retract their skis to release pressure and allow their skis to “lighten.” This movement brings the knees upward toward the body.
• By retracting rather than pushing against the snow, skiers avoid being “launched” upward by the forces created at the turn's end. This efficient absorption of pressure makes the skis feel weightless and allows for a quick, controlled edge change.
• Why it matters: Flexion and retraction minimize resistance against the snow, creating fluid, efficient transitions. This is especially helpful on steep terrain or in moguls, where quick movements and adaptable edge changes are essential.

Rebound Energy

• Expert skiers also harness the rebound energy stored in their muscles and the flexed ski at the end of the turn. As the turn ends, the stored energy can help to propel the skier smoothly into the next transition.
• This requires precise timing and balance: the skier must release the pressure at just the right moment to let the ski’s rebound assist them, rather than resisting it or forcing an awkward exit from the turn.
• Why it matters: Using rebound energy minimizes muscular effort and keeps skiing efficient. It also creates that “effortless” rhythm and flow seen in great skiers, especially on groomers and powder.

And what does that look like in practice? Well here is one of the bounciest, most dynamic skiers to watch, Marcus Caston.

4. Pro tips to get you there

So how do we get to look like that ^. Well here are some of our top tips from our pros.

1. Steep Terrain: Tom Gellie’s Hop Drill

If you’re an advanced skier looking to refine your technique on steeper slopes, Level 4 ASPI instructor Tom Gellie recommends the hop drill:

What to do: Hop from one set of edges to the other, exaggerating the unweighting movement during the transition.

Why steeper terrain?: Steeper slopes naturally challenge your balance, timing, and precision, making it the ideal environment to fine-tune this skill.

What to aim for: Focus on getting your skis completely off the ground during the transition. This helps build control, lightness, and confidence in managing steeper runs.

2. Powder Turns: Demelza Clay’s Bounce Tips

To develop smoother transitions and rhythm in powder, Demelza Clay suggests focusing on the following:

Start small:
Use short-radius turns to help you find your bounce and flow.

Experiment with stance width:
Try widening or narrowing your stance to see which gives you the most balance and control during the transition.

Adjust ski pressure:
Play with how you load your skis:

Focus on loading the outside ski to initiate each turn.

Alternatively, ski with a two-footed platform to see if it improves stability and control.

By making these adjustments, you’ll start to feel the weightless bounce in your transitions—unlocking the flow and rhythm that make powder skiing so rewarding.

3. Carv App Tips: Katie White’s Transition Drill

Not a Carv user yet? Our app features in-app drills and tips from pros to help you improve your TWR.

By practicing these drills — on steeps, in powder, or with guidance from Carv — you’ll develop lighter, smoother transitions that improve your balance, control, and adaptability across any terrain.

End

The transition phase of the turn might be commonly overlooked, but it’s where the magic happens. By learning to release pressure dynamically — through flexion, retraction, or rebound — you unlock smoother transitions, greater control on varied terrain, and a dynamic style that looks exciting and feels great!

With Carv’s Transition Weight Release metric, you can measure, track, and improve this key skill. Focus on this often-overlooked phase, and you’ll discover a new level of flow, adaptability, and confidence in your skiing.

Ready to take your skiing to the next level?