In my last blog post, on learning to ski, I got up to the point where you has learnt to ‘sidestep’ up a small slope and get used to the feeling of having skis on your feet.
It’s worth bearing in mind that my posts on beginners ski tips are not designed as a self teaching manual on learning to ski but merely a tool to use alongside a professional ski instructor. Hopefully, the information that I am providing will help beginners answer some of the questions they have before embarking on this new and exciting experience.
The next stage of learning to ski is to actually descend down a slope for the first time. The ideal slope will of course be very shallow, not too long (about 10 meters) with a flat section at the top and a ‘run out’ area at the bottom. Ideally, the run out area should be sloping back uphill. It’s not always possible to find the perfect slope but your instructor will be able to find the most suitable slope to learn on in the area.
One of the first things to remember when taking up the sport of skiing is that it is an athletic sport. This is not to say that you have to be an ‘athlete’ to be able to ski, it just means that the movements you make are athletic movements and some skiers will of course be more athletic than others. I have personally taught people in their 70’s that had never put on skis before and they have achieved a high level of skill very quickly. A decent level of fitness does help and any kind of general exercise will make a positive difference to the experience of learning to ski.
One of the points of the sport being athletic is that you are rarely standing in the same position for long. Skiing is a dynamic sport and although there are basic positions that are taught when you learn to ski, it is important to remember that we move in and out of these positions all the time.
When you are preparing to make your first decent down the small nursery slope in front of you, the basic position of standing on your skis will be adopted. Firstly stand with your skis apart and parallel to each other. The width of the skis can vary but in general, about hip width apart is fine. If they are too close together your will lack stability and if they are too far apart it will feel uncomfortable and you might lack control.
Naturally you would have noticed that your ski boots angle your lower leg slightly forward. Your ankles should be slightly flexed inside your ski boots. Then your knees and your pelvis are also slightly flexed. The well known ski instructors cry of ‘bend zee knees’ is not incorrect, but just bending the knees only is not enough. Better to flex a little everywhere (Knees, ankles, hips) than only in one place. A position of ‘readiness’ is adopted, rather like when expecting a tennis ball or even like a goal keeper in football (Soccer).
Ski poles are an important piece of equipment, and at this stage they are used to help you stay upright, walk up slopes and possible to push you along a flat area. In future, they will have other uses but for now it is important to hold them correctly when skiing down. Hold your hands slightly forward from the body at about hip level with the elbows slightly bent. Try and relax the arms. They don’t have to stay like this all the time but if you think of this position as the ‘core’ position, that you come back to, this will at least give you an idea of the general posture you should adopt when skiing.
Going up to the head, one of the most common things to do when learning to ski is to look down at your skis. Always look up in the direction of where you are going. Think about looking at your pedals when riding a bike or the gear stick when changing gear in the car, it doesn’t help and neither will looking at your skis.
So, the general posture has been adopted. Naturally flexed, ready and dynamic. This will prepare you for the changes that you will have to deal with on a slope. Changes in gradient, small bumps, humps and varying snow conditions. All of these will throw your balance off and by always trying to come back to the ‘core’ posture you will manage to stay in balance at all times.
Your first experience of skiing down the small slope should not throw up these challenges and hopefully the snow is smooth and consistent. Before skiing down the slope just try moving around a bit, flexing up and down, jumping up and down, moving away from the ‘core’ position and coming back to it again.
Start your descent with one small push of your ski poles and then let the skis do the work. You will slide down the short slope and come to a natural stop at the bottom where the slope starts to go back uphill.
In my next post, I will discuss some exercises to perform that will further enhance posture and agility and start to introduce ways of controlling your speed.