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Help Needed: I suck at skiing...

Netty

Diva in Training
I know I suck at skiing. And I suck at turning. I just didn't know how bad until my friend filmed me (she was on a snowboard and had a GoPro on her wrist). I took a few lessons last season (my first time on skis ever) and hit the slopes this year, obviously forgetting everything I was taught.


Please don't laugh. I could really use some constructive help. I really want to get better and will be signing up for intermediate ski lessons next year.

After watching other skiiers, youtube videos, and I've been practicing since March 13th (when the video was filmed), I'd like to know:

(1) How to keep my feet/skis closer together. When I try to keep them close, I feel that my ski is running away from me (moving left and right too much) and crosses the other ski and I trip, especially after I hit bumps. Also, how to keep the ski from running away from me. My old boots were too loose which I thought was the reason why. I have new boots since then that fit a LOT better than my old ones but my skis still seem to be running away a lot.

(2) What type of skis to buy. I currently have Atomic Cloud 7s which I bought for around $100 last year end of season. I bought them because they were cheap. They are camber shaped, and I was told to try and get rockers instead.

(3) I have been practicing my turns since the video, and I noticed that other than the fact that they are wide, they seem to be particularly wide when I make left turns. I'm right handed.

(4) How do I stop plowing so much? Or what can I do psychologically to stop plowing so much.

Any constructive help for a newbie would really help! Thank you in advance!
 

Jilly

Moderator
Staff member
Second season....that's pretty good. I see a lot of things that can/could be done differently, but you're heading in the right direction. So I would advise to look into a lesson program for next year. Something that runs for 2 hrs a day for 6-8 weeks. You'll be amazed how much better you'll get.

As for the Cloud's....If that is where you are skiing, don't change them yet. Get your technique down, the skis are not holding you back.
 

mustski

Angel Diva
^^^ what Jilly said! For your second season, you are doing great. I agree that lessons are your best bet at this point. An instructor will show you how to transition out of snow plow. Don't worry about getting your skis closer together at this point; that will come also. A wider stance is more balanced and is good for learning.
 

Netty

Diva in Training
Y'know, getting good takes time. People who experts at something always make it look easy, when in fact it's not. It's nothing that a combination of lessons and time spent practicing won't fix. As they say, patience, grasshopper.
I've hit the slopes at least 12 times this season already, at least 4 hours each time. I was last on the slopes 2 days ago (before the big thaw). My snowboarding friend picked up snowboarding in Jan and is pressuring me to get better since she's doing Black Diamonds with ease already.
 

Netty

Diva in Training
People consistently underestimate how long it will take to get good at skiing. Very few people come into it with skills that translate from other sports, like skating.
I also suck at roller skating (I can't pass my roller derby finals test), and also ice skating. I also picked up the last two in the last year. I feel I'm really stiff and afraid of falling. Basically anything that requires an extension of my feet, I suck at.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
I've hit the slopes at least 12 times this season already, at least 4 hours each time. I was last on the slopes 2 days ago (before the big thaw). My snowboarding friend picked up snowboarding in Jan and is pressuring me to get better since she's doing Black Diamonds with ease already.

Don't beat yourself up too much. The learning curve on snowboarding is much shorter than it is on skiing. So really, you can't fairly compare yourself to your friend.

And here's some reference: I've been skiing for more than 30 years (83 days so far this year), and I'm still working on improving. It's never-ending. Trust me. :smile:
 

Netty

Diva in Training
Don't beat yourself up too much. The learning curve on snowboarding is much shorter than it is on skiing. So really, you can't fairly compare yourself to your friend.

And here's some reference: I've been skiing for more than 30 years (83 days so far this year), and I'm still working on improving. It's never-ending. Trust me. :smile:
Thanks for the encouragement. Is there anything small you see I can work on by myself, if I do manage to hit the slopes once more this season?
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
So first of all, you do not suck. I thought you actually looked quite balanced and in control for not having been on snow that much yet. It'll be good to get more lessons, and don't forget that it takes time on snow to progress as well and there is no real way to skip over it, you just have to spend time out there (ALOT of time, years of time.. and it'll all be worth it!!). We are all continuously progressing in skiing. Even once you get really good at one skill or condition, there will be more to practice. Get good on groomers then you'll be working on bumps and trees and ungroomed stuff. Get good on ice then you will have to work on crud, slop, powder, etc etc. There is always something that to get better at.

Stick with it!
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
I completely agree with everyone here, not beat yourself up, it'll take a lot of the fun out of it. Also, looks like you're doing really well for just your second year. You look in control the entire time, which a huge accomplishment.

As for is there something small you can work on if you manage to get out there a couple more times: keeping your hands out in front of you instead of at your waist.

Its hard to tell if you improved on it throughout the run since your friend was pretty far behind. But at the beginning it looks like they're pretty far down on your hips. Take this advice with a grain of salt, I'm not a ski instructor. But this is one tip I've been told from the time I started skiing to now, and I still get those lazy days that my hands are low, and can throw you off balance pretty quickly.

I'd say connecting parallel turns will be your next step in your skiing, for this I'd definitely take some more lessons next year, someone with you on-snow will give you much better feedback.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Echoing all of the above, good advice. It's a process. As an adult learner, I get this oft-exasperation. Early in my skiing years, someone once half-jokingly told me, "Don't worry - by the time you've made your 50,000th turn, it will all work." Meaning - yes, indeed, it is a long, ongoing process. My late dad often said this about golf, also. Always learning. Good days, bad days.

Keep at it, get regular input, turn, turn turn!
 

cheerrabbit

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I suggest to watch Josh Foster's instructional videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/skitelevision/videos?flow=grid&view=0&sort=p

These videos literally taught me how to ski.
I've watched them so often, I almost know all the words. Then I took some lessons to tweak out my bad habits.

Ooo, I love videos.
I really like Darren Turner videos too: https://www.youtube.com/user/elatemedia
Someone else posted the Lito videos in another post about bumps: https://www.youtube.com/user/ichudik/videos
 
I have only been skiing a short time myself and you seem like you are doing great. You seem to be going pretty fast in your video and very much in control. I've seen many folks fly down the mountain and I am terrified when they come near me. You seem in control and can ski near me any day :smile:. Any issue you have I think will be corrected with a few lessons, time and practice. Keep up the good work.
 

snow addict

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Getting up should help bringing skis closer, at the moment you are pretty much sitting on your skis, if you stand on your skis rather than sit on them they should stop running away from you. Easier on legs too. Take a lesson, then practice what you've learned, then take another lesson and practice some more. Overall you ski no different from someone who only started after a handful of times on slopes, so not bad at all for a beginner. Progress takes time and effort, days and days on slopes; don't expect to take a few lessons then come back to the slopes next year as an accomplished skier. It just doesn't happen.
 

Tryin2Ski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What has worked for me (just finished my 3rd season) is to pick one or two things and just keep working on that until you get it and then pick the next one or two things and work on that. My problem was, I was taking lessons, reading books/websites, watching videos and trying to "fix" too many things at once and getting stressed out because it all felt overwhelming to me.
Find a good instructor and have them give you a couple of things to work on and work on that til you get it.
It was very frustrating for me because I wanted to be so much better than I was so I can totally relate to that. Skiing really is a progression and at the end of each season you will look back at the beginning of the season and definitely see progress if you keep at it. Nobody jumps into skiing and does it great from the beginning. I think you look way better and in control than I did starting out.

Try not to get frustrated, just know that you will get better. Have fun with it. :smile:
 

Ursula

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hi Netty! I agree with @MissySki! You don't suck at all! You have one of the best stands I have seen from a second year skier EVER!
Your problem at the moment in a nutshell: someone told you to put "pressure" on your outside ski. And you are doing just that. pressuring the outside ski. The problem? Your WEIGHT is still on the inside ski!

If you are still skiing this season, think about taking the weight OFF your inside ski. I.E. making a turn to your left, take the weight as much as you can OFF your left ski. Yes, it would be great if you could literally lift the ski off the snow!
Your second issue is that you are following your instinct and you are trying to make the turns using your torso. We call that "body rotation". So, your next step in lessons should be to learn "leg rotation" . The turning (steering) should come from your femur (thigh) turning in your hip socket. If you can accomplish these two things, your wide stance will disappear automatically.
Hope this helps,
Ursula
 

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