The good skier moves straight down the fall line, knees flexed, skis together, skis moving in unison, legs turning from side to side below the hips, a quiet upper body flowing with each turn but not rotating, and arms and poles held comfortably in front and to the side. The entire body moves in rhythm.

The novice skier is quite a contrast: more time is spent traversing the hill than descending it; knees are straight, seldom flexed; turns are made with skis apart, rarely moving together; shoulders, arms and poles rotate from side to side with each turn instead of remaining fixed, facing down the fall line; and a continuous rhythm is sadly lacking.

At the intermediate level, skiers focus their attention on their skis and legs. Skiing tends to be rigid and forced with little relaxation. There is hesitancy, a resistance to letting the body commit to a turn. At the advanced level, these features have changed: skiing is smooth and fluid; turning is continuous and flowing; and the entire body is a picture of relaxation, elegance and grace. What has happened!

Intermediates ski primarily with their lower bodies. The upper body is a passive participant and is mainly used for balance. In contrast, advanced skiers have learned to control the lower body so well that the upper body performs automatically. The upper body becomes a major player. Turns are made not only with the legs but with the entire body—legs, hips, torso, and shoulders—all working in unison and all flowing continuously in a constant pattern of movement. There is a regular rhythm to the turns. The advanced skier looks like a dancer swaying back and forth to an endless song. Turns do not begin and end; they are simply part of a constantly flowing motion.

You can progress from intermediate to advanced levels of skiing in a very short time by concentrating on just a few basic fundamentals of skiing.

The main features to focus on as you strive to improve your skiing are:

• Knee angulation— control speed with your knees
• No shoulder rotation— stop rotating shoulders through turn
• Pressure release—lift your weight or release the pressure from your feet to permit quick, parallel turns

There is much more to skiing than this list. I stress knee angulation as the most important method of edge control.

However, two other methods of edge control must also be learned: hip angulation and banking. For adult skiers, knee angulation is a more difficult skill to develop because it requires knee flexion; and knee flexion, bending your knees, is an action that takes some skiers months and even years to perfect. But once you’ve learned to flex and angulate your knees, the other methods of edge control can easily be added.

Different skills are used under different slop conditions; split second timing of one action after another is essential; proper use of your arms, poles, upper body, pressure control and appropriate weight transfer are skills that you must eventually develop. However, if you can learn each skill separately, you will have mastered the hard part. Putting the skills together with rhythm and precision will no be difficult once you can feel and perform the individual motions. Knowing which actions to concentrate on and in what order to learn them will help you master difficult slopes with confidence and finesse.

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