I only started skiing in my mid 30s, which is probably too late to build any real intuition due to fear of injury (and long recovery times). Here are my latest thoughts and links on how I am trying to improve.

Overall Thoughts

1. Ski with (personal) style. Play with gravity. Be athletic, dynamic, and carry the energy. See YouTube.
2. On steeps, think of the slope as the horizon and “down” as orthogonal to the slope. Look to centre of curvature, especially for wider radius turns.
3. Consciously adjust the width of stance (wider for carving and narrower for short turns/moguls). Think of it as one of the control channels.
4. Avoid unnecessary movement. Make smooth, progressive, economic, balanced, and committed movements.

Drills - for Short Turns

1. Roll ankles before reaching the fall line to engage edges and grip earlier. See YouTube.
2. Short turns from snowplow. Edge lock. Hips on the inside. See YouTube.
3. 5 short turn drills. See YouTube.
4. Linked “hockey slows” - a 90% “hockey stop” with 2 pole plants and little hip rotation (only legs), leading with ankle and knee. Then reduce to 80% off, 70% off, etc. See YouTube.
5. One leg ski traverse release / garlands. See YouTube.

Drills - for Carving

1. Slow bend and stretch on every turn, so changing edges in a low position. See YouTube.
2. Flexed through edge change. Extend only when edges engaged. See YouTube.
3. Double edge pressure ski. See YouTube.
4. Javelin / stork turns. Transfer weight before switching edge. See YouTube.
5. One legged turns. See YouTube.
6. In-rigger leg. Wide stance. Feel early toppling and getting low with safety of stabilisers. Flat stabiliser ski. Progressive edging through the turn. Only move the stabiliser ski by shortening that inside leg. Don’t twist either ski, but especially not the active one. The edge does all the turning. See YouTube.
7. Skate turn with maintained contact. See YouTube.
8. White pass turns. See YouTube.

Drills - General

1. Drill bounce on the tip of the boot, flexing the ankles.
2. Jump up and down on traverse. The landing position should be most stable overall posture.
3. Practice staying too far forward; practice staying too far back; then practice Goldilocks!
4. When stationary, lift one ski, see how it hangs naturally and what’s required to bring it parallel. Then do same but with skis on edge. Use this to work out muscles needed to keep inside ski parallel and engaged fully.
5. Hold poles firmly, at arms length in front, always in contact with snow. Encourages constant forward weight/pressure.
6. Garland pivot exercises to align edge engagement between feet and start the turn by rolling the ankles.
   • Start with a traverse: Ski across the hill on a gentle slope, keeping a light edge to hold the traverse. Ski’s further apart!
   • Release the edge: Roll your ankles and rotate knees away from the slope to flatten the skis. This should be a small movement.
   • Let the skis drift into an arc: As the skis flatten, they will automatically point slightly downhill and make the top of a turn.
   • Reengage the edge: Roll the ankles and knees back into the slope to bring the skis across the hill again.
   • Repeat: Release → small arc → reengage.

On Flex and Extension

Suspension and much of the control of the pressure/edge comes from the coiling and uncoiling of the whole body.

1. All three joints should be relaxed and flexible - ankles, knees, hips.
2. Be loose. Don’t block any particular movement. Always able to move up, down, left, right.
3. Always movement; always dynamic.
4. Flex in the transition. Only extend once the skis have engaged. Then flex again to release. Flex starting from the knees (“toilet position”), not just the waist.

On Body Position and Balance

The position of the body and how it stays in dynamic balance is key to being efficient.

1. Be centred, kneel forward, with forward hips.
2. Stable upper body. No unnecessary movement. Posture reset.
3. Balance (perpendicular) against the slope, not against gravity (vertical). This is dynamic balance in motion.
4. Note the Virtual Bump - the change in steepness due to the turn (so in first half of turn the slope becomes steeper, and second half it becomes less steep). To stay perpendicular in an athletic stance, move forward (or retract skis) in first half, and then reverse that movement in second half. This is a separate reason to applying this movement to engage the tips. See YouTube.
5. Don’t stick bottom out.
6. Don’t sit down.
7. Don’t lean forward too much.
8. Don’t have too much pressure on shins throughout as it restricts release movement.

On Arms, Hands, and Poles

The arms, hands, and poles all play a key part in balance and control.

1. Hands forward and in an athletic position.
2. Arms wider and bent at the elbow.
3. Hands should be in the bottom two corners of the “TV”.
4. Arms and shoulders relaxed and actively helping balance.
5. Pole plant, if any, should be small and from the wrist. Use a calm and optimised position. No shoulder movement. Don’t let the pole plant knock the body out of balance.
6. Hold the points of the sticks outwards like a hovercraft, with palms down and held consistent height. Feel slow to make rounded short turns.

On Carving Turns

This section is rather repetitive since, as with all of skiing, there are lots of variations in the way we describe what the body needs to do. Different word variations connect at different times.

1. Transition weight release by lifting legs up. Ski under. Don’t just pull skis back, or just lean forward, but do both. Pivot about your centre to become perpendicular.
2. Relax and flex ankles, knees, and hips. Don’t turn with ankles, but flex and roll the ankles. The edge change starts with the ankles. Feel your feet. Roll over to the other edges, without pushing off from old downhill ski. Aim for simultaneous edge change. See YouTube.
3. Flatten skis with edge release on steeper slopes. Higher edges on steeps puts too much weight on the inside ski! Avoid “over-edging”. Don’t “push” or “stand up” on the new uphill ski, but release the old downhill ski. Stay low and be efficient.
4. Femur rotation and ankle rotation (foot side). See YouTube.
5. Retraction extension turns. Turn when low, tip to other edge, engage new edges, and then extend. So not standing to initiate the turn, but standing (i.e. extending) to drive the edge round the turn. Start all low. Then add extension. Also practice extension traversal - lift up and move down the downhill ski and let it rise back up to connect. Can also do all low drill with a non carve turn (harder). No pole plant - just balance hands. See YouTube.
6. Early edge is different from early pressure. Aim for early edge and only then allow the pressure to gradually follow.
7. Roll ankles before reaching the fall line in order to engage edges earlier.
8. Think of tip of ski as your own toe, and engage it in the snow at start of turn. Do this by moving hips forward and pulling skis back. It’s only a small movement!
9. Use a centred stance throughout turn. Stay over your feet. Aim upper body for apex of turn. And apply pressure on balls of feet.
10. Look ahead, at least as far as the apex. Don’t look at where you are going to turn as it causes zigzag.
11. Start next turn before the end of the previous turn. Release at the apex!
12. The first turn is the hardest, so only do one!
13. An s-shape is continuous turning.
14. Slow down to turn; don’t turn to slow down. So be at the right speed for each turn. If necessary, break at the end of the turn (never the start).
15. Early edging means inside ski angle acceleration.
16. Don’t turn the skis but leave them pointing as for transition for longer. Maintain contact.
17. Change from one edge to the other before changing direction.
18. Release pressure earlier to enable topple. Stay low and don’t stand for too long on downhill ski.

Two Types of Turn

Clearly identifying the type of turn helps prevent advice from appearing contradictory.

Short turns

• have greater separation of upper and lower body,
• put tension in the body to help initiate the next turn,
• skis are closer together,
• it starts with the legs, and
• you turn the skis (more or less).

Long carving turns

• have greater alignment of upper and lower body,
• with a slower transition movement,
• skis are shoulder-width apart,
• it starts with the ankles, and
• the skis turn you (entirely).