If you've never skied before, getting started might be a little intimidating. Don't
worry. Your nervousness will soon be replaced by excitement. Most teaching
progressions include flatland movements, gliding wedges, wedge turns, wedge christies,
skidded parallel turns, and carved parallel turns. "Friends don't teach friends to ski," so
attending at least one lesson should be a priority. Your instructor's teaching progression
will be determined by the instructor's ski school and will vary depending on the special
needs of the student.
To start, learn how your equipment operates and how to get in and out of your
skis. The next task is to get used to walking and moving with the skis on. You might hop
in place, rock back and forth, and step from foot to foot. Pushing yourself around the
beginning area will help you to become comfortable sliding on skis. The instructor might
take you on a tour on skis, or have you walk in figure eights on skis. All of these
exercises are designed to help you to become a good skier.
If you try to walk straight up even a small grade, your skis will probably slide
backwards. One way to move up or down a slope is to imagine the line a ball would take
if it rolled down the hill. This line is called the fall line. Turn sideways and put your skis
exactly across this line. You'll find that digging in the uphill edge of your ski into the
snow lets you take small steps up and down the hill. This is called sidestepping.
For your first straight downhill run on skis, you should be on a slope that is very
gradual, with either a long flat slope or a slight uphill slope at the end. This slope will
enable you to coast to a gradual stop at the end of your run.
For a straight run, it is best to stand in a balanced, athletic stance - feet apart, legs
slightly flexed, head up, and hands placed comfortably where you can see them in front of
you. Get set, take a breath, and slide! Your instructor probably will spend some time at
this point getting you used to sliding downhill. In a little while this will feel very natural.
Once you are comfortable in a straight run, you're ready to learn about controlling
your speed. It's time to learn about wedges. In the wedge position, you move the skis in a
narrow V shape with tips close together and the tails slightly apart. Practice moving form
a straight run into and out of the wedge. Notice how you slow in the wedge, and if you
move the tails farther apart, you can gradually come to a stop.
Practice all sizes of wedges. You will need to be thoroughly competent with the
wedge in order to be ready for your first turn, the wedge turn. Your instructor will show
you how to change direction from a gliding wedge. Soon you will be turning to both sides
with control. At that point, you're really skiing, and you can control your speed and turn
in each direction. Become confident doing this, then it's time to move on!
The next turn to master is the wedge christy. This is a turn that begins like a
wedge turn, then the skis match, or become parallel, by the finish. Wedge christies come
almost naturally as your speed increases and you get some skiing "mileage." Your
instructor might have suggestions to make these turns easier and more enjoyable. Soon
you will be ready for a skidded parallel turn, an easy transition from the wedge christy.
You will learn how to use your ski poles and how to flex and extend your legs throughout
your turns.
As you leave the beginning area behind and find yourself skiing intermediate runs,
you will realize that becoming a better skier is fun. If you stick with it and practice, you'll
go on to carved turns, since it takes time before a skier can carve most of his or her turns.
You can also work on moguls, which are bumps in the snow caused by skiers turning up
one spot. Control in the moguls - absorbing the bump with your legs and keeping your
skis on the snow - takes practice. Skiing powder snow is truly rewarding, and racing can
add a new twist. The possibilities are limitless!
