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Controlling your skis requires the development of three fundamental skills:
steering, edging
and controlling pressure.
These are the actions that decide in which direction your skis point,
the forces they experience from the snow and the path they follow. In
order to apply these skills you also need good dynamic balance and the
ability to choose an appropriate path.
Dedication and application will eventually provide you with the skills
and technique to tackle almost any slope.
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 Photo: Dann Coffey, Beaver Creek |
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The same skills - steering, edging, pressuring, dynamic
balance and pathfinding ability - are used whether you are a beginner performing
your first snowplough turns or an Olympic racer.
As you progress, however, the
emphasis changes. For a beginner, the challenge lies in steering, as turns are
started by steering, and all else follows. For advanced turns, steering becomes
very subtle, and pressuring is the key to the effective use of your skis.
Most learning progressions use a carefully designed sequence of techniques to aid the development of the fundamental
skills. This has the virtue of breaking the acquisition of skills into manageable
chunks and providing clear milestones. |
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| The diagram shows: |
Steering: You steer
your skis by rotating them about this axis.
Edging: You apply
your edges by rotating them about this axis.
Controlling pressure:
You control the pressure on your edges by modifying the weight you apply
to each part of your ski.
Also see: Our How to Ski forum. |
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