It sounds obvious but how many skiers do you see making beautiful, graceful arcs down the slopes, whatever the conditions and whatever the gradient?

There seems to be a tendency for many skiers to want to use 'the turn' to break their speed. Spending £300 upwards for a pair of skis and skiing like this is rather a waste of money for a piece of equipment that is designed to be a turning machine!

Tips and Ideas to get you really Curving!

The first thing is to change your perception of a turning arc if you think skiing is all about traverse, turn, traverse, turn...then have a go or focus on some of the following.

Try to think about your turns as two parts
1) How you change direction from one set of edges to the other and (e.g hop them, roll them, turn them, step them, snowplough them)
2) How you steer your skis to take you to where you want to go and at the speed you want to go at. (carving, gripping, edging, turning, pushing)

Keep linking...there should never be any straight lines within your curving arcs/turns...keep steering your steering wheel - your legs, feet and skis until you are ready to change direction.

To help you change direction and edges, think of releasing your downhill leg/ski at the point you wish to move from one turn to the next. You can think of releasing, or softening the leg you are pushing against, or retracting and slightly lifting it underneath you.

Say NOW to yourself when you feel under control and ready to change direction/edges. Make sure you are in control of your line and speed before you move into your next turn.

Think SMOOTH ...no jilted or stilted movements, try and make your curves constant and smooth.

Steer both legs independently of each other. Think of railway tracks; they never meet but run independently.

If you feel your outer leg (downhill leg/foot) is straight and being braced against the snow then try and soften this leg to remain more centred - this will also allow you to steer more accurately

Don't always think you have to try and push, edge and carve, you must use your own legs and feet to literally turn underneath you, a must on steeper, icy or bumpy slopes.