Skiing Lesson 2

After learning how to do a basic snow plow turn you are ready to try the T-bar. Traverse skiing means that you are going across the slope with the skis parallel and make sure they are digging into the snow with the uphill edges. The knees and hips are facing are leaning away from the slope. Skidding is called side-slipping and is very useful in skiing. To start the sideslip release the ski edges using the poles at first. Then roll the knees and push the knees forward and down. Traverse skiing and side slipping must be perfected before going on to any other ski techniques.

The Stem Christie is a combination of traverse, side slipping and the snow plow turn. To start you traverse the slope then go into a snow plow and turn smoothly. Get into a traverse position and bring your skis into a parallel position. The Uphill Christie is the start to more advance ski turns. Have a little extra weight on the uphill ski. A long turn is made by gradually pushing down on the edge. The Basic Christie are closer to parallel .Drive the knees forward and dig the skis into the snow. This gives you more control on the snow. The advanced basic christie uses a more parallel turn. Lift one leg and then place it down when you turn. Un-weight between the turns and then push on the inside edge to turn.

The ultimate turn is the parallel turn. Flex your knees and push into the edge of the ski and get ready for the next turn. Use edging exercises by traversing the slope and pushing into the inside edges thus giving you total control over the skis. The ultimate aim is to perform a carving term to eliminate sliding. This gives you more control. Plant the pole to give you the correct position and it helps with the timing of the terms. The long radius turn is done by unweighting and then moving your knees and weight to edge the skis. Shorter radius turns are carried out faster and with a rebounding motion between turns.

Short radius turns are the ultimate and should be practiced by using the poles to create the rhythm. The most important factors are timing and rhythm. To learn to ski moguls you should watch the experts do it. They almost sit down on their skis using their knees to absorb the impact of the bumps. They are difficult to ski so you must be in control to ski them well. Start off by traversing the bumps and absorbing the shock with your knees. The upper body stays in one position while the legs absorb all the energy. Mogul skiing requires intense concentration and fitness.

To gain speed down the slope you can step into and out of your turns. Before the turn lift the leg up and push off the snow. It is like a skating technique which creates acceleration into and out of turns. For racing there are three forms - slalom, grand slalom and downhill. For slalom you need to do short fast turns to get around the flags. In powder snow you need good technique and skill.

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