Skiing how to..?

Question

ok, so im at the point where the whole "pizza" thing is fading away. i can do a side stop but how can i go down the mountain with my skis parallel? i can get the "front: one striaghten but not the back (when you're going sideways) i tried yesterday and fell a couple of times.

thanks for your help!

please no rude answers.

Answer 1

i's all about laying your weight on one ski at the time that's the best way to make stable and balanced turns with your skis parallell

Answer 2

Start on a very gentle slope where you are very comfortable skiing.  Begin with narrow wedge turns and link several turns down the hill.  Your body, head and shoulders must face downhill, and your skiis should turn under you.  Make as many turns as you can as quick as you can, putting more weight on the downhill ski as you finish the turn.  Stay balanced fore and back, and side to side, hips over your boots, shin against the tongue of the boot.  Feel the big toe edge on each turn and push it hard into the snow.  As you increase the number of turns you make in the same legth of the hill, you will develop muscle memory of how to balance quickly on the edge.

  When you are very comfortable doing this, begin the same execise, with your skiis nearly parallel on the same run.  Keep your feet about hip width apart, use very little lead on the uphill ski.  At this time your ski should start to carve as you make each turn.  Now begin to practice turning both feet in the same direction at the same time, use the same slope for practice and slow down so that you have no momentum to aid the turn, this will force you to make every movement correct.  Now begin to do uphill xtys and hockey stops until you can do them in both directions with equal skill.  

  Practice, practice, practice, under the direction of a qualified, professional ski instructor will help a great deal.  From what you said, you are on too steep a run for your skill level.  Go back to your learning zone and practice then tackle the ski zone again.  If your boots are tight around your ankle and foot and your skiis are tuned, sharp edges and good wax, you should be able to conquer the parallel turn in a couple of days.

    Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I've been an expert skier for yrs. & I think I can help you. Your side stops are nice & you should learn from your side stops to parallel ski downhill. Don't forget when you side stop you are skiing parallel but you're stopping. You've passed the first test of keeping your skis together & parallel. Remember that & try skiing down hill at a slow pace & try a side stop but do it slowly so you don't come to a complete stop & then continue skiing. If you can side stop either to the left or right then you can learn to turn in both directions. Practice side stopping in both directions & you'll soon pick up the idea of parallel ski & being able to turn in both directions without stopping. Another piece of advice is to practice a run where you know you're under control while downhilling. Stay away from the steep expert runs for awhile. Another hint is to learn to "traverse." This is the technique where you take wide turns rather than going straight down the hill. Cut back & forth on the hill in wide turns until you go to the outer age so your turns are wide. This will keep you under control so you don't fall. If you can keep the front ski straight but not the back then you're having trouble with keeping your weight on one ski & not the other. You must remember & concentrate that when you turn, your weight will be primarily on one ski & not the other. The ski that has very little or no weight can give you trouble since you have no body weight on it; so consequently it can be natural that it's harder to turn until you get use to & it may not move with the other ski so you fall because you're off-balance. You have to get use to the idea that you never have equal body weight on your skis at the same time unless you're going straight down the run. Weighing & unweighing your skis is something you have to practice. When your making a turn, always remember that almost all your weight should be on your outside ski. This will allow you to carve your turn by pressing your outside leg down on your ski & this will cause your ski to make the turn for you. At this time your other ski will be almost weightless & you have to learn to just slide that ski along the outside ski to keep them both parallel. It may seem clumsly at first but since your inside has very little weight on it you can simply slide it on the surface of the snow until it stays parallel with the weighted ski. You must learn to weigh & unweigh all the time while you're turning. It may take some time getting use to & then it will become natural. It's virtually impossible to keep your skis perfectly parallel all the time when your turning since you have to learn to shift your weight when turning. Another thing to remember is to keep your lower body flexible & slightly bent all the time from the waist down. Your waist should be bent slightly forward to go downhill & you should always keep your knees slightly bent. Your waist & knees should always be bent so you can move your lower body when you turn. Never ski standing straight up; you can fall very easily & it will make you off-balance while you ski. Finally, another thing to do is when you're riding up the lift watch other expert skiers & learn from them. Keep an eye on there body from the waist down & you'll see what I'm talking about when you see their waist & knees. If you watch an expert skier you'll notice the upper body stays almost perfectly straight while the lower body, from the waist down is moving from left to right on every turn. You definitely have the right idea when you side stop & this is what you should always try & do unless when there's an emergency & you have to snow-plow. Your side stop is actually a parallel turn; it's just that you're putting so much weight on your outside ski that you come to a stop. All you have to is learn to try a side stop on the hill put don't apply as much weight on your outside ski & just get use to shifting your weight to the other side & other ski & then you'll go into your next turn. You're probably falling because you're unable to shift your weight back to the other side after making a turn in the other direction. Don't try & apply too much weight & just practice on an intermediate run rather than an expert run & take wide turns until you get use to it & then you can start trying to make smaller & quicker turns. Good luck & if this doesn't help then I suggest buying a video which teaches you how to ski or trying taking an advanced lesson. In my opinion; you're either an internmediate skier or advanced internmediate or you wouldn't be falling & you'd be able ski expert runs better. A good side stop is a sign that you know how to turn correctly; at least in one direction but you just have to learn to side stop in both directions since you'll have to make left & right turns while you're skiing downhill. Good luck & I'm sure you'll improve quickly or you wouldn't have asked this question. Don

Answer 4

Before the turn your weight must be on the top ski.

When you are ready to turn, place the pole that looks down

in front of the down ski.

The theory is to try to use the pole as a guide and turn round it. While doing this, you transfer you weight to the other ski until you turn.  

Always lower your body before the turn.

I hope I made it clear, but it is hard to explain in text.

And remember that you will fall, so never give up.

Answer 5

I believe that pretty much every new skier has this problem and unless they know the correct technique it probably wont get fixed...The way to think about it is when your turning, lift all or most pressure off of your inside ski(if your turning right, your right ski and vice versa)....This will take the pressure from the back of the ski allowing it to follow the course of the ski closer to the bottom of the hill...Hope that makes sense...If you still can't quite get it, take a lesson, you'll be a pro in no time..

Answer 6

weight always on downhill ski, using pole planting as you turn and shifting weight.  use your hips and legs to transition, space your turns out.  meaning wider turns first then small hard cutting ones.