First Steps on Skis: Stance, Snowplough, Stopping and Turning

On this page

1. 1. Putting on your skis
2. 2. Basic stance
3. 3. Moving on the flat
4. 4. First glide (straight run)
5. 5. The snowplough (pizza): your brake
6. 6. Snowplough turns
7. 7. Traversing
8. 8. Falling and getting up
9. 9. Your first lift
10. Using ski poles

Here’s what your first day on skis will look like, step by step. Read it before your lesson and everything your instructor says will make more sense.

1. Putting on your skis

1. Find a flat spot and lay the skis side by side, across the slope if there is any gradient.
2. Knock snow off the sole of your boot (tap it with your pole).
3. Push the toe of the boot into the front binding, then press your heel down firmly until the back binding clicks.
4. To take them off, press the lever at the back of the binding with your pole tip or other boot and lift your heel.

2. Basic stance

A good stance is 80% of skiing. Stand with:

• feet about hip-width apart,
• ankles and knees gently bent — your shins should press lightly into the front of the boots,
• weight in the middle of your feet (not on your heels!),
• hands forward, as if holding a tray, where you can see them,
• eyes looking ahead, not at your skis.

3. Moving on the flat

• Sliding steps: shuffle forward without lifting the skis.
• Star turn: to change direction, lift the tips and step them around in small steps like the hands of a clock.
• Side-stepping: to climb a small hill, stand across the slope and step sideways uphill, pressing the uphill edges into the snow.
• Herringbone: tips apart in a V, walk up using the inside edges.

4. First glide (straight run)

On a very gentle slope with a flat run-out, point your skis straight down, keep your stance and simply let yourself glide until you stop naturally on the flat. Do this a few times until it feels relaxed.

5. The snowplough (pizza): your brake

1. From a glide, push the tails of your skis out so the tips are close together (but not crossing) and the tails wide apart — a “pizza slice” shape.
2. Roll your knees slightly inward so the inside edges grip.
3. To slow down, make the wedge wider and push a little harder. To go faster, make it narrower.
4. Keep your weight centred — don’t sit back.

Practise stopping until you can do it anywhere, on command. This is your key to confidence.

6. Snowplough turns

1. In a snowplough, look in the direction you want to go.
2. Gently put more pressure on the ski opposite to the direction you’re turning: press on the right ski to turn left, and on the left ski to turn right.
3. Let the skis come around across the slope; as you slow, look the other way and shift pressure to the other ski.
4. Link the turns into a smooth S-shape down the slope.

Turning across the hill is how you control speed. The more you finish each turn, the slower you go.

7. Traversing

Crossing the slope diagonally, with skis parallel and uphill edges gripping. Your uphill ski is slightly ahead. Traverses connect turns and are the base for parallel skiing later.

8. Falling and getting up

• If you feel a fall coming, sit down to the side, uphill, rather than fighting it.
• To get up: place your skis across the slope below you (otherwise you’ll slide off as you stand), bring your hips close to your boots, plant your poles uphill and push yourself up.
• If a ski comes off, put the downhill ski on first, then the uphill one.

9. Your first lift

On day 1 or 2 you’ll ride a magic carpet or a gentle drag lift. Keep skis parallel, stand relaxed and let it pull you. Read the lift guide.

Using ski poles

Beginners often don’t use poles for the first day or two — they’re a distraction. Later, they help with timing and rhythm, and with pushing on flats. See choosing poles.