Getting Going: Your First Time Try to ski in your back yard

Get used to the fact that you have, what basically comes down to, five foot slabs attached to your feet. Ease of mobility, often taken for granted when moving around on foot, can't be done so easily on skis. The most common mistake is stepping across the front of a ski like you would with hockey skates. You might remember this image if you have ever watch a Warren Miller ski movie. The beginners are shown getting off the beginner-run chairlift, but they try to walk away from the lift instead of ski. The result is the same. It's like stepping on your shoelace--you end up on the ground. For Miller, it makes for an entertaining movie, but at the expense of others. Don't let this be you. Here is one of the basic truths you would learn the hard way almost immediately when donning your skis for the first time; even though you're stopped, the skis will slide, sometimes forward, sometimes back. You must always be standing with your skis facing across the hill -- never point the tips or tails down or you'll slide there. Often beginners do the splits as the skis diverge away from one another. Use your poles to stop yourself on the flats.

The best thing to do is get your equipment, put it on and go slide around the back yard (if it's fairly flat, you don't want a hill at first). If you were to take a beginning lesson, the instructor will make you walk around on the flat section of the bunny hill for a good fifteen minutes before letting you even try to slide down the hill. Get this out of the way before you go to the ski area.

Try to move around with the skis as much as possible. Learn how to step one ski, then the next, when turning around without sliding. Always use your poles as helpers. Try to turn around in a circle without moving forward or backward. This will get you accustomed to working your feet separately.

Feel how the skis and boots support your weight when you lean forward and backward. You'll find you can lean way out over your toes like Superman in flight. The skis are designed for this. In the coming learning sessions, you will learn how to lean slightly forward all the time.

Alpine Skiing School section in english version of WWW.SKI.BG is based on
"A Guide To Becoming An Expert: From First Time To A Lifetime"
by John Mukavitz Copyright © 1998