Alpine Techniques

The basic technique for beginning Alpine skiers is the snowplow, or wedge. The snowplow enables skiers to make turns, control their speed, and stop. It is done by placing the tips of the skis together and the tails apart, creating a wedge shape, and then pushing down on the inside edges of the skis. To turn, the skier shifts body weight from one ski to the other while keeping the skis in the wedge shape. Traveling across the width of a slope is called traversing. Beginning skiers learn how to turn, then traverse, then turn the other direction. As they gain skill, they gradually bring the tails of their skis closer together until they are parallel, and they traverse a narrower area and link their turns. Most advanced skiers hold their skis a few inches apart in a parallel position, giving them the flexibility to shift their weight quickly from ski to ski. Some other techniques used in Alpine skiing include stem turns (pushing one ski out to the side in a small wedge), step turns (stepping onto the turning ski), and sideslipping (sliding down the mountain sideways). Up unweighting and down unweighting (lifting up and sinking down on the skis) are used to facilitate turns, especially in deep or heavy snow. In their extreme form, these become jump turns: Skiers jump into the air, turn their skis, and then sink back down into the snow. This advanced maneuver is often used on extremely steep, narrow terrain where no other technique will work. Some Alpine skiers engage in freestyle skiing. Freestyle for recreational skiers generally involves jumps off of natural bumps on the hill, a motion called catching air, and skiing moguls. Moguls are the bumps that appear on a slope after many skiers make turns, pushing the snow into mounds.