In this part of our learn to ski guide we look at standing, stopping and turning.
Standing up, turning, and stopping, are the three basic skills you will need to master if you want to ski.
Make what's commonly known as a 'snow plow' by standing with your feet at shoulder-width and pointing your toes inward, forming a "V" pattern. Slightly bend your knees to create a more stable stance, spread your arms out wide to give yourself more balance and lean slightly forward instead of leaning slightly back (doing so makes it easier to turn and stop).
Even the slightest of slopes is enough for your skis to automatically get you moving down and/or forward. To go faster, make the triangle / V shape of your skis smaller at the back (i.e. move your heels closer together) and, to slow down or stop, turn your toes more inwards and push your heels further apart. Doing the latter will work on small slopes, but for steeper slopes, to slow down or stop you'll need to gradually turn your skis so they face horizontally across the slope, instead of vertically down it.
The theory for turning is simple enough, you just need to point your skis in the direction that you want to go (i.e. point your skis right if you want to turn right and turn your skis left if you want to turn left), but in practice it'll take some time to master (balance and timing being the important factors).
Pointing your skis in the direction of an intended turn may not be the only action necessary to get you there - for sharp turns, you will need to move your weight onto the foot farthest away from the direction of the turn (so for a sharp left turn, you would move your weight onto your right foot). Try to only move your feet when doing so, as moving / swinging your arms / shoulders won't makes you turn any quicker.
Standing up, turning, and stopping, are the three basic skills you will need to master if you want to ski.
Make what's commonly known as a 'snow plow' by standing with your feet at shoulder-width and pointing your toes inward, forming a "V" pattern. Slightly bend your knees to create a more stable stance, spread your arms out wide to give yourself more balance and lean slightly forward instead of leaning slightly back (doing so makes it easier to turn and stop).
Even the slightest of slopes is enough for your skis to automatically get you moving down and/or forward. To go faster, make the triangle / V shape of your skis smaller at the back (i.e. move your heels closer together) and, to slow down or stop, turn your toes more inwards and push your heels further apart. Doing the latter will work on small slopes, but for steeper slopes, to slow down or stop you'll need to gradually turn your skis so they face horizontally across the slope, instead of vertically down it.
The theory for turning is simple enough, you just need to point your skis in the direction that you want to go (i.e. point your skis right if you want to turn right and turn your skis left if you want to turn left), but in practice it'll take some time to master (balance and timing being the important factors).
Pointing your skis in the direction of an intended turn may not be the only action necessary to get you there - for sharp turns, you will need to move your weight onto the foot farthest away from the direction of the turn (so for a sharp left turn, you would move your weight onto your right foot). Try to only move your feet when doing so, as moving / swinging your arms / shoulders won't makes you turn any quicker.
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