I laughed out loud when I read this post by Bob Barnes over on EPIC. Where have we heard this before?
It's much like my favorite mantra, "right tip right to go right" (which is quite relevant to this thread's main topic, by the way). As a description of the technique of turning, it is woefully inadequate. But as a mental "hook" to literally get things started on the right foot, and to remind us of the real intent of turning ("to go that way"), along with the realization that it is NOT meant to describe the full technique of turning, it's magic!
I'll say it again:
"The outside leg and ski are where the action is, but the inside leg and ski are where the activity is!"
The converse of this advice--focusing exclusively on the outside ski--is equally confusing, in my opinion, and usually far more problematic. I recall about 20 years ago an "argument" with a racer friend. "Instructors are making it all too complicated with this 'inside leg' stuff. Skiing is simple--just like walking--you stand on one foot, and then you stand on the other." "Yes," I replied, "it is just like walking. You stand on one foot--and you move the other one!" Indeed, the thing that generally moves the least when skiing--or walking--is the foot you're standing on. So if the question is "what should I do?" the answer must almost always focus on the activity of the inside foot, leg, and ski. That doesn't mean that the other side isn't critically important, that its role isn't worth discussing. The main reason we move "everything but the outside foot," really, is to enable that outside ski to do its thing!
Best regards,
Bob