 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi everyone,
I’m a beginner skier and just learned how to ski this year. This is my first season skiing. I’ve skied 13 days and took 1 full-day lesson with an instructor. I’d love to get your thoughts on my posture, techniques and how I could improve. A few things that I notice:
1. I struggle bringing my skis closer together when skiing parallel. When I do so, I feel like I don’t have enough balance.
2. I feel like my body is pretty stiff. I’ve watched a few videos on keeping the body facing downhill and pole planting but there’s a lot to work on here to find better rhythm and flow.
3. I’m afraid of increasing my speed or make shorter turns. I think partly is because of #1, I feel off balance when I ski too fast or afraid of losing control when hitting bumps.
Any advice or resources that you could help point me to would be great! Giving you some entertainment at the end of the video as a thank you note 
https://youtube.com/shorts/68biFifvjgQ?feature=share
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Tyla9, welcome to snowHeads 
I'm a little surprised none of the regulars have chimed in yet so I'll give this a little bump for you. I'm not qualified to comment on the technical aspects but in terms of where to go next, here's your answer:
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| lesson with an instructor |
Take more lessons! You've identified some of the areas to work on, and no doubt you'll get suggestions on drills, videos etc but the best thing is to have a decent instructor actually watch you skiing and identify where to start. That of course costs money, but you're at a stage where you could easily embed bad habits, and then it'll take more time to unlearn them.
In the meantime, to get an understanding of the sort of technical progression that works, you could look at Darren Turner's Ski School videos on YouTube- he runs through from absolute beginner all the way up to some fairly advanced technique, building from the ground up. It doesn't replace having your own lessons but it will help you to see what you could be aiming for at various stages.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
..best thing is to have a decent instructor actually watch you skiing and identify where to start. That of course costs money, but you're at a stage where you could easily embed bad habits, and then it'll take more time the rest of your life to unlearn them.
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Just pin this advice for all beginners.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Tyla9, you ski well for 13 days. Ski more & get more lessons.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| mgrolf wrote: |
| I'm a little surprised none of the regulars have chimed in yet ... |
I think it's difficult because at that early beginner stage, there's no specific advice other than to practice a lot.
Google around to find out how long it's going to take to get to the standard you're aiming at.
Athletic people go quicker, but really there's no short cut, just practice.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Sure, get more instruction. And you are doing fine for this point in your skiing. But since you asked, for me the easy #1 thing I saw was that your torso faced left when turning left and right when turning right. This is due to a. you being a rookie, this is totally normal, and b. you are turning across the slope to control speed, which is due to a. Now is the right time for you to get this part right, which is to keep your shoulders square to the fall line as you ski (fall line means the path water would flow down from wherever you are at that instant, and yes it changes continuously since your position does. AKA "down"). Your legs will still be turning and providing speed and direction control, but more efficiently as you will be in proper position. A good drill to get the hang of this is to ski with your poles held thusly: hands shoulder width apart holding both poles horizontally with arms almost locked out in front of you. Now you ski, and you hold the poles perpendicular to the fall line at all times while making turns. You will be looking, and your torso will be facing, down the slope. This will feel weird to you, as in the video you are doing the opposite. Done right, your arms don't move, particularly rotationally. Above the belt should be quiet. Meanwhile your lower half is turning back and forth, not so much out and away from the fall line, and staying more in the fall line, because you're in proper position. Turning all the while, but skiing basically a sine wave straight down rather than a series of linked traverses. Do the drill on a slope you're comfortable with yet steep enough to keep moving.
This is a little like writing instructions on using the toaster! Sorry it was so long.
Again, you are doing fine so far. The primary driver to improvement in my experience has been desire, and since you have that, we'll see you on the blacks soon enough.
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Welcome to
Lessons and practice. Only way to improve.
You already know some of your weak points.
Firstly, don't worry too much about your skis being close together at this early stage. Many experienced skiers have a wider stance. With practice you will gain confidence and find a good position.
Secondly, your body does look stiff, and it seems that you are using your upper body to instigate the turns rather than shifting weight on your skis, which will improve your stance.
Speed and shorter turns will come with practice.
The simple answer, as suggested already is more lessons. You might have gained more if you'd taken two days of lessons, or a full day lesson, had a few days practice, then another lesson to iron out any problems.
If you live near an indoor ski centre, try watching some videos and then practicing those skills. Maybe take occasional lessons, then practice various skills. Ski with friends and keep taking videos to analyse your technique. Don't try to change too much at once. Aim for small improvements in stages.
Next ski trip - book another lesson or 2.
Good luck.
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| AL9000 wrote: |
| Quote: |
..best thing is to have a decent instructor actually watch you skiing and identify where to start. That of course costs money, but you're at a stage where you could easily embed bad habits, and then it'll take more time the rest of your life to unlearn them.
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Just pin this advice for all beginners. |
Good job he doesn't play golf 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@musher, Bl**dy torture!
Gitmo would be a holiday in comparison to working on my swing fix(es).
And 3 years of sh/t putting fixed by a pro in 3 putts (under 30 seconds). 
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Echo - the exercise of holding your poles out in front of you and keeping them parallel to the slope.
Even experienced skiers can often benefit from that.
Get a video of you doing because it will feel like you are (which is great) bug you actually won’t be 100% (which is to be expected). Keep practicing.
To transfer weight without using your upper body to push yourself around, you’ll need to bend up and down more. By this, I mean almost standing up fully on the turns.
Another nice exercise you’d benefit from is skiing with only your lower ski on the snow and picking your upper/inside ski up each time. Helps practice weight distribution. Be careful not to let the tip rise (uncontrollably) higher than the tail. If this keeps happening, you are leaning back. Close your ankles (bend your ankles forward) and try again. To keep forward, make sure to squish the imaginary tomato between your legs and boots.
Good luck!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'd echo the not bad for 13 days comment. However to avoid having the same issues at 30 or 130 days you probably need to back off the terrain now and find smooth wide gentle slopes where you don't have to ski defensively and can work on drills which the extra lessons will give you.
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