Balance: The Most Important Skill

Balance is the most important skill in skiing. If you have a good sense of natural balance, you will be a quick study in skiing. Balance stems from the ability to maintain equilibrium while in motion. It is very hard to maintain balance while encountering all the bumps, icy spots and obstacles like fallen skiers when you're learning. The ski and boot system allow you to lean forward, twist the skis and thus control your progress much differently than in any other sport. Use the system to your advantage. Think about how you can maneuver with the new system. If you lean forward a little bit with the weight over the balls of your feet, you will be able to maneuver the front of the skis more efficiently than if you were standing on the heels of your feet. The boot/ski system will allow you to lever against the ski and boot to get the forward pressure. A good rule of thumb is to have the shins pushing lightly against the cuff of the boot at all times. This simple rule spans the whole of skiing. A forward stance is needed to be really good in all levels of skiing, so learn it here.

Drills for learning balance

There are many drills that heighten a sense of balance. The best drills allow for independent foot action. The following are drills used by instructors to develop the basic fundamentals of skiing.

Make sure the end of the practice area is pitched back uphill so you can stop by either using the wedge or using the uphill slope to kill the speed naturally. Try sliding for ten feet in a parallel ski position on flat terrain barely moving. Try to rock back and forth on the skis so you feel out of balance, either too far forward or too far back. You will find the perfect balance point is standing directly on top of the skis with the shins pushing against the front of the boot. Go back up, and try to pick up one ski and balance while slowly moving. Once you can do it for more than a second or two, try the other one.

Try hopping on one ski, then both skis, while sliding. Make the hops slow and deliberate. Go from right to left and left to right. the hop, at first, doesn't have to be anything more than a simple weight shift, but as you learn control and confidence, make bigger hops. Try to work the skis into the wedge, and maintain the wedge, while sliding.

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