Smugglers' Snow Sport University Programs for Adults

Expert's tip: Sideslipping

Sideslipping is a key tactical tool for any skier who wants to be more versatile. The key to effective sideslipping is to maintain good fore/aft balance. Start off on a hill with some pitch to it, and just tip your legs down the hill, releasing the edges and sliding. Tip the legs uphill to set the edge, with a focus on staying balanced over the whole foot. After playing in both directions, do the same thing, but shift your weight from the tip of the ski to the tail and vice versa, and notice the effect the movement has on the skis. You should feel like you are fluttering down the hill like a falling leaf. Mastering sideslipping will let you get down any kind of terrain in almost any conditions.
-Oliver Blackman, PSIA level 1 certified instructor

Expert's tip: The right and left of it

Intermediate skiers often ask why they find it easy to turn one way but not the other. Once we rule out any physiological reasons, the answer is almost always in the previous turn or turns. Too much rotary in a previous turn causes the next turn to be difficult. Try focusing on a spot down the hill and keep that spot as your reference while making a series of medium radius turns. When your head and shoulders stay more aligned in the direction you are going; your turns will get better in both directions.
Doug Cook, PSIA Level 3 certified instructor