Show Notes
Mark Sedgwick finished this winter as #1 on the CARV global leaderboard for short turns, with a Ski IQ of 180 — the highest recorded this season. In this episode, I sit down with Mark to find out exactly how he got there.
Mark is an Australian-born ski professional who started at age 10 and never looked back. He's worked through the APSI, CSIA, and Austrian instructor systems, raced in Europe, ran ski resorts, and now plays a senior role in the PSIC (Professional Ski Instructors of Canada) — including integrating CARV data into Level 4 certification exams.
This is one of the most practical, data-rich ski improvement conversations I've had on the show. We cover:
→ The difference between play, purposeful practice, and deliberate practice → Why just trying harder keeps you stuck at the same score → The #1 and #2 metrics that drive short turn Ski IQ → Mark's philosophy: make something exist before you make it better → Turn-by-turn breakdowns of parallel, carving, short turns, and moguls → Why function before form is reshaping how ski instructors are trained → A live coaching session using my real CARV data → How Mark used AI to reverse-engineer the CARV scoring algorithm → The future of CARV: stivets, one-ski skiing, and community features
Whether you're a recreational skier trying to level up or a ski professional looking for a new lens on performance, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.
——————————————————————————
🎿 FREE SKIING VIDEO Get a premium level Big Picture Skiing Tutorial here: https://bigpictureskiing.com/get/perpendicular
📱 DOWNLOAD CARV Try CARV for yourself: https://getcarv.com
🌐 BIG PICTURE SKIING Website: https://bigpictureskiing.com ——————————————————————————
⏱ CHAPTERS
0:00 How Mark Hit Ski IQ 180 3:15 Meet Mark Sedgwick 5:14 From Aussie Kid to Ski Pro 7:52 The Austrian Influence 12:56 Why Most Practice Doesn't Work 23:55 The Ugly Skiing Breakthrough 32:39 Function Over Form 37:12 Style Still Matters 45:50 Make It Exist, Then Make It Better 54:48 How to Improve Your Parallel Score 1:04:45 Parallel — The Most Overlooked Turn Type 1:13:42 Carving: The Metrics That Actually Matter 1:27:44 Ski Sharpening & The Pole Secret 1:31:25 Short Turns — How to Break Your Ceiling 1:45:43 Moguls, Tempo & Keeping the Joy
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
More from Big Picture Skiing Podcast
Have you ever wondered why your ski boots feel great in the shop but don’t quite work on the mountain? Or why your legs feel cooked by lunchtime, you struggle to find a balanced stance, or you can’t seem to get the performance you want from your skis? The answer might be hiding in your boot setup. In this episode, I sit down with Phil from SkiTalk to explore three often-overlooked aspects of ski boot geometry: binding delta, boot board ramp angle, and forward lean. We discuss what these angles actually mean, how they influence your stance and movement on skis, and why the same boot setup can work brilliantly for one skier but feel completely wrong for another. We also explore how calf size, ankle range of motion, and individual body proportions influence the forward lean that works best for you. In this episode, we cover: • What binding delta is and how it can influence your stance • Boot board ramp angle and why it matters • Forward lean: finding a setup that works with your body • How calf size and ankle mobility influence boot fit • Why a boot setup that works for someone else might not work for you • What to consider before changing your boot setup Want to improve your skiing? Big Picture Skiing is an online learning platform packed with practical video lessons to help you understand your technique, improve your skiing, and become a more independent learner. Visit https://bigpictureskiing.com/ Use code PODCAST for 25% off your membership. Enjoy the episode!
I first met Alex Hackel in Austria filming a video where I taught him to improve his short turns, tracked by CARV, the digital ski coach. What struck me most was how good a learner he was — focused, determined, and genuinely humble. That’s a big part of why I wanted him on the podcast.
Are your ski boots holding you back from the performance your skis are capable of? In this episode I sit down with Master Boot Fitter Brent Amsbury to break down everything you need to know about plug boots — the type of ski boot most top level technical skiers are wearing.
If moguls intimidate you this episode is going to change that. You’ll learn a clear, repeatable method for going from avoiding bumps entirely to skiing 60 in a row with control and actually enjoying it. Expect practical handholds: how to control your speed and direction, why “just get small and absorb” quietly sabotages most people, and the mindset shift that turns a scary bump field into a series of solvable problems.
Another season done. And like always, by the time the lifts close Demelza and I find ourselves deep in conversation about what we actually learned out there — not just what we taught, but what shifted in our own thinking.