The Ski School App has been launched by Darren Turner, BASI Ski instructor and ex-member of the English ski team.
Darren holds the highest Ski Teaching qualification and runs Insight Ski School in Serre Chavalier, in the French Alps and has been teaching skiing for 22 years.
Photo: Ski Instructor Darren Turner executing carving turns
This App contains a number of high quality instructional ski videos, from Darren, which come in 4 flavours: Lite, Beginners, Intermediate & Advanced.
So you can choose the one that is the closest fit to your skiing ability level:
Lite: Free app that includes carefully selected ski video snippets from the full series.
Beginners: Ski video lessons that will guide you from your first time on snow right through to introducing a parallel turn.
Intermediate: Ski video lessons aimed at strengthening your parallel turns and introducing more effective edge control.
Advanced: Skiing video workshops that introduce key aspects of advanced skiing (carving, bumps, off-piste and powder), starting you on the route to becoming an all-mountain expert.
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Require iOS 3.1.3 or later. Also available for Android devices.
More details can be viewed at the Ski School App website, in the iPhone App Store or in the Google Play store.
There have been several ski Apps launched which attempt to convey the intricacies of ski technique to all levels of skiers, and many of them do the job well. But this one is the best I have come across.
The fact is that Darren is one of the best communicators in the business and this becomes clear when you view the high quality videos that are the essence of the application. His combination of knowledge and humour is both refreshing and fun to watch.
The no-nonsense, clear approach to the instructions convey the technique required to perform each task with clarity and simplicity. For example, when Darren talks about how to carve a ski he demonstrates and explains why the skis do what they do when you apply pressure to them. The filming is slick and professional and takes you step by step through the stages of each task enabling you to concentrate on one thing at a time.
I think we could all agree that an App like this cannot replace a real ski instructor. It is impossible for the App to provide feedback on your personal skiing! But as an extra tool that can be used either before you go skiing or even on the chairlift, I think it’s a great idea.
Comments
One response to “Looking For a Ski App That Will Improve Your Skiing?”
I get lessons from Darren every year and can HIGHLY recommend his ski lessons. I do not have an iphone but am lucky enough to get ski lessons from him in Serre Chevalier. Now I think about it £3.99 for the app would be a lot cheaper!
Seriously though – if you have heard it all before and think you don’t need lessons – forget it. Darren’s pointers really make a huge difference. More control and less effort = more skiing time and more fun.
See you on the slopes 🙂