Skiing: Beginner Turns

In skiing one of the most important things are the different types of turns. As a beginner it is important to know all the basic turns because different types of snow require different turns. Most of these turns are part of the International Parallel Technique I wrote about in my last blog. As a beginner all these turns should be perfected on gentle slopes before you go on more intermediate slopes. Once you feel comfortable with the turns on easy slopes then you can move on to harder slopes. Just remember a skier is not a skier without falling millions of times. If you are afraid of falling than skiing might not be a sport for you. I've been skiing for about 6 years and throughout the years i have probably fallen so many times that if you gave me a dollar for every fall I will be a millionaire, so don't be afraid to fall, it's just snow. If you expect not to fall than you are sadly mistaken. The truth is the first time you get on skies you probably will fall within the first 5 minutes.
There are many types of turns so I'll go over the most important ones that are necessary to learn while skiing.

Wide- Track Pressure Turns

1. Uphill turns- Uphill turns are usually used to stop when on a slope. How this maneuver is performed is when you want to stop you have to put pressure on on leg and you'll make a turn but keep putting pressure on that leg until you start going up the hill and you'll notice that you are stopping. usually if you give a lot of pressure you'll stop immediately.
2. Wide- track pressure turns- Usually beginners start with wide- track turns and go into short-radius turns. Wide- track turns are usually performed but putting pressure on one leg and then go across the slope and but pressure on the other foot to make another turn and you repeat that until you get down the slope.

Short- radius pressure turns

3. Short- radius pressure turns- Short- radius turns are really similar to wide- track turns but in short- radius turns once you put pressure on one leg and you make the turn you immediately put pressure on the other foot to make another turn.
4. Parallel turns- Parallel turns are similar to short- radius pressure turns but in this type of turn you also use your poles to turn. You do what you do for short-radius turns and while turning you put your pole in the snow and kinda use the pole to help you turn. It's like going through obstacles.

Parallel turns

These are the 4 most important turns to know when skiing. "These turns are like the foundation to further skiing techniques"(Heckelman, 87).