Why is “Park-and-Ride” a Technical Problem?
Disclaimer #1: Skiing is for fun. If you enjoy the feeling of riding on your skis at a high speed, you don’t have to make any changes, regardless of whether others tell you it is “Park-and-Ride” or not. There is nothing wrong with it. This post is a technical...
Everybody Loves Pizza – Why Are Wedge Turns Important?
To many of us, wedge turns, or “pizza turns” to kids, are the very first drill we use when we start learning skiing. When the skis are in the shape of a pizza, we are in better control and can slowly ski down a bunny hill. It doesn't look very elegant, but we feel...
Stance, Stance, Stance
I use the word “stance” three times in the title because stance is critical for skiers at all levels, from first-time skiers to World Cup racers. Similar to other sports such as football and tennis, athletic stance in skiing involves a relatively wide stance, with the...
Mileage is Not Everything.
How many days do you ski a season? People often use answers to this question to judge a person’s skiing skills. When you sign up for a lesson, the instructor asks you this question. When you interview for an instructor job, the snow school asks you this question. When...
Why Do We Use Poles?
When young kids start learning skiing, they are often told not to use their poles. This makes lots of sense because pole usage at an early age could create bad habits such as leaning back and standing upright. Yet this doesn’t necessarily mean that older children or...
What Should a “Permanent Intermediate” Skier Do?
It feels great when you first become an intermediate skier -- you now can ski most of the trails and enjoy going faster than many skiers (note the definition of an advanced skier is not that you can ski a black diamond trail, but that you can ski black or double black...
80/20: 20/80
Many serious ski learners have such an experience: we work hard, spending dozens of days on snow, watching hundreds of YouTube videos, and taking numerous ski lessons. But when we watch our own video, we are shocked by the little progress we have made. We feel good...