How to Ski | 7 Steps to Parallel Turns

In this video we are going to teach you how to ski in the following steps:
00:41 Prerequisites, Easy snow plough turns
00:57 1 Correct Terrain, Nursery slope
01:06 2 Turn size, make the turns bigger
01:27 2 Turn size, C-shaped
01:32 2 Turn size, Turn size to control the speed
01:49 3 More speed = more pressure, At the end of the turn absorb the pressure
02:42 4 Outside ski, Weight earlier onto the outside ski
03:02 5 Turn inside ski to parallel for the first time
03:19 5 Turn inside ski, Try the bowtie drill
04:01 5 Turn inside ski, Narrow snow plough
05:14 5 Turn inside ski, Flatten and turn the inside ski
06:09 5 Turn inside ski, Turn ski to parallel earlier
06:48 6 Parallel turns, The whole turn parallel
07:06 6 Parallel turns, Move weight forward & across the skis
07:48 7 Pole planting, in-between turns

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Ski Technique | Freestyle | Freeride

[dlloydj]

I've been trying so hard to move from beginner to intermediate. I had mastered the parallel turn in one direction but not the other. After I watched this video and practiced the bowtie ankle twist I aced the turns, and within a few runs was racing down intermediate runs. Went from frustrated to having fun in a few runs. Thanks guys!!! Would love to buy you a beer.

[tombowman]

Very good beginner ski progression. One of the biggest problems beginners have when starting a turn, especially from a wedge is how to get the downhill/inside ski out of the way so it doesn't lock on that inside edge and block the turn. In this video the instructor said to move their weight to the outside ski earlier in the turn which is correct but how do you do that? When a beginner skier hears that phrase they think they need to push down harder on the outside ski when a simpler solution to accomplish both getting the downhill/inside ski out of the way and moving their weight to the new outside ski is to take some weight off of the downhill ski by starting to flex their ankle and knee of the downhill ski. That move will also flatten the inside ski and make it easier to steer it into the turn. Their body weight will automatically transfer to the new outside ski without pushing down on it. Once the turn is started the old uphill ski will follow and become the new outside/downhill ski. In the ski instructing world we call this "Short Leg" / "Long Leg". Try it and see if it works for you...

[deviates]

Just wanted to say a sincere thank you for this tutorial. I went from knowing nothing to parallel skiing's in one day by watching this video and going step by step until I mastered each one. The next two weeks in Mammoth and steamboat will be so much more enjoyable because of you.

[Johnnysday]

I’ve been asking instructor for over 15 years. Your drills are amazingly simple and very doable. I specialize in first time never ever skiers. I’ll be teaching tomorrow and guaranteed I’m going to be using your progression and see how it compares with mine. I think the more methods ski coaches have to teach their students the better for learning experience. I want everyone to become lifelong skiers and enjoy being in the mountains and gliding on the snow. You do a great job and I’ll have some of my colleagues watch your vids. Many thanks, our resort is called Stevens Pass and it’s in the cascade Mountains Washington state.

[zitttu]

My first time this week, watched a few of these beforehand, just tryin to learn the basics, last night dreamed that you were teaching me in real life -such a charismatic guy, I wish

[apeekintime]

My experience level is 1 lesson deep. Went very well learning the basic wedge turn and stops but that was all we covered in my first session on the slopes. In the few beginner runs I did without an instructor after the lesson I started to narrow the wedge and try for sharper turns and it felt good. This video fills the technical gap I was missing to progress forward. Can't wait to start practicing these tips. Super clear and detailed instruction.

[j.jarvis]

THIS IS the single best ski educational video on this subject I’ve ever seen. I was trying to find a way to show my siblings how to ski like this. I couldn’t teach it. I have no idea how I learned nor had a way to teach it.

[jshipschan]

I took a private lesson at Sunshine AB/CAN and learned the 'staircase' technique: Imagine you're going down a staircase sideways. Keep you your upstairs hand a little higher than your downstairs hand...with that forward - angled lean you're in about the right position and on both edges. Be sure you can see your hands a bit in front of you and you probably won't end up in 'the backseat." That's all I know, and it helps me. Hope it helps you too!

[snorwitz]

Just came back from skiing at Les Deux Alpes and this and the other beginner tutorials made a huge difference - I'm now completely parallel and its the first time after 3 years of learning that I enjoyed skiing - I found that finding a good slope and running that repeatedly helped the most to learn - dont try new slopes or new areas if you want to improve your technique (yes I know a bit boring..) - from the the other tutorials here as well I found getting your hips forward helped to stop backseat issues, really throwing your weight forward when facing downslope and pushing the inner knee into the slope were ground breaking....really great vids but getting your hips forward is the key if you find this hard - I moved my chest forward but not my hips and this makes alot of difference...

[bwinmaine]

This video leaves off right at the point in my learning to ski where it went from a jumble of different things I had to think about to just one thing, the one thing I have never seen taught in any video. The pole plant which is minimalized in this video became the key to unlocking everything for me. The thing is, if you watch any good skier in a turn you can see that the inside ski is ahead of the outside ski. If you are turning right, then the right ski is ahead of the left. Turning left, the left ski is out ahead. Notice that whichever ski is out ahead, that knee is out ahead too. It has to be since it is attached to the ski, right?
But how do you get from one ski being out ahead to the other ski being out ahead? How do you get from one knee being out ahead to the other knee being out ahead?
To do that you take enough of your weight off both skis so you can make that adjustment. You "unweight" your skis, make the change, and put weight back on them. This can be done without using your poles, without planting a pole, but planting that pole is like using a key to unlock a padlock. The pole plant happens a split second before you unweight your skis. The pole gives you the tiny lift you need to take the weight off just enough to shift your skis.
So to turn right, plant the right pole, lift yourself just enough to slip the right ski forward, then come back down onto your skis and voila! Both of your skis will now be on their right edge automatically. To turn left, plant the left pole, lift yourself enough to slip your left ski to the front, drop back down on your skis and voila! You are now on your left edges automatically.
I picked this technique up from a book from back in the 1970's called How the Racers Ski although it took me many years of nervous frightened limited skiing before I figured it out. I get the sense that all good skiers do this and know it inside out but have long since forgotten how to teach it. In this video it would be the very next step, the step after the pole plant.

[lindaliu]

When I was first watched this video the stuff they said -- knees out, bowtie -- made no sense to me. But then I tried it while skiing and all the cues just clicked! Thanks for the tutorial, learned how to parallel ski on my first trip.

[roicarlesfontan]

ohhh, da turns, always nice to refresh for new season!!

[joshmills]

Happy to have found this video! Will try it out tomorrow on the mountain.

[shishiomakamoto]

This is really good! Thanks for sharing! I took my first ever ski class last Saturday (02.02.19) with ski instructor. I am intermediate level in snowboarding (I can do black slopes), but first time in skiis. I was able to do parallel turns within 40mins following the steps of this video. My instructor was not so technical as in the video and the my instructor's tips were not as detailed. It is good to have instructor though, at least for security/safety and to have two eyes looking at you for body posture correction (like leaning forward, etc..). I am very impressed by Stomp It Tutorials, really good job guys. Thanks!

[ellentje]

Hope this will help me. I still have some fear when I go fast. When I make a mistake I forget all the tecniques and then I don’t know how to stop.

[Oceanlover]

This was the best tutorial I watched in getting tips in what I was doing wrong and how to get my turns from snowploughing and skidding to parallel turns. From a frustrating morning on the beginner slopes I watched this at lunchtime, went back out and it clicked! Best tips, putting weight earlier on outside ski, and flatten and turn inside ski, knee out, I had a really lazy inside leg turning right and had to really focus and work it first few goes, and then it really started clicking, thank you!!

[JaredG_WV]

leveled up my parallel yesterday at Cooper CO thanks to the bowtie technique! super easy to feel that once I knew about it, and then to start turning it earlier in my turns. thank you thank you thank you! also did a bunch of pops! love the channel

[paulbeerhorst]

Drinking game: A shot every time Ed says “OK”.

[vernicehipolito-mibh]

went skiing for the 2nd time this weekend. This video really helped. Thank you!!

[johnemmenecker]

Ive watched every video and this is probably my favorite! good useful techniques!