Guide to Skiing - Learning to Ski

By Mark Thomas Walters

In this installment of our guide to skiing we look at learning to ski...

Standing up, turning, and stopping, are the three basic skills you will need to master if you want to ski.

Start by standing, placing your feet even with the width of your shoulders and making your feet "pigeon-toed" with the tips of your skis pointing inward and forming a "V" - this is called a 'snow plough.' The following three steps are next - (1) create a more stable stance by slightly bending your knees; (2) increase your balance by spreading your arms out widely; and (3) help your turning and stopping by leaning forward.

Moving forward / down is no problem as your skis will automatically do so on even the slightest slope. 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.

Turning is really not much more complicated than moving forward on skis (simply point your skis in the direction you want them to take you), except that it will require that you find your comfort zone with balance and timing before you will be able to do it well.

For sharper turns, you'll need to move your weight from foot to foot (i.e. to turn sharply to the right, put more weight on your left foot and, to turn sharply to the left, put more weight on your right foot) as well as pointing your skis in the direction that you want to go. You will master sharp turns more quickly if you will remember to move nothing but your feet while turning, as moving body parts like your arms and shoulders is not necessary and can decrease your focus on the body part that's actually effecting the turn.

Want to know more? Click here to continue reading our guide to skiing: Learn To Ski ----------------------------------------------- For more information on Learning to Ski, see www.bestskisource.com.