Basic Parallel

The aim of most intermediate skiers is to perform parallel turns on any slope and in any conditions. Parallel turns are the most elegant and efficient way to ski. By letting gravity and your skis do the work, you exert only such effort as is required to steer and brake. You remain relaxed and fluid while performing powerful, precise turns. In order to break into the world of parallel skiing, you need to learn to place both skis on their new edges simultaneously, not one after the other as in a stem turn. The turn is then completed using the same skidding control you have developed in your basic swings and uphill stem turns. With a bit of application and a varying amount of practice, anyone can ski parallel. There is nothing wrong with continuing to use your basic swings and uphill stem turns on more difficult terrain, while practising parallel turns on shallower slopes.

Poles Are Important Many common faults which arise in advanced skiing can be directly traced back to technical weaknesses in skiing on the flat. By far the most common example of this is leaving the poles planted in the snow too long during each turn. This causes the inside arm to get pulled far behind you, rotating out from the shoulder in an action reminiscent of opening a door outward, away from the body. At worst, "opening doors" can cause a catastrophic loss of balance. At best, it will make you over-rotate the turn, leaving you unable to make your next turn where you want. Leaving your pole planted too long in the moguls can open the door to a host of problems.

Angulation

Balancing against centrifugal force

As you perform any turn, your skis have to be displaced to the outside of the turn so that you can balance against the centrifugal force. The way in which you achieve this is called angulation. It's just like riding a bicycle: you lean inwards to balance against the centrifugal force of a turn.

You have been using angulation since your first basic swing turns, probably without thinking much about it. Initially, you didn't need very much angulation since, at low speeds, you didn't experience much in the way of lateral force, and your weight was always fairly squarely over your skis for balance. As your skiing becomes more dynamic, you must use more angulation.

The introduction of shaped skis has made correct understanding of angulation even more critical.

	Knee angulation is quick and easy to control. Use it for shorter radius turns
	Hip angulation is much more powerful, but takes longer to get from one turn into the next. You will use it increasingly for longer radius turns.
	Whole body angulation (or banking) requires very little effort, and is particularly fun on 'shaped' or parabolic skis. You must have great sensitivity to steer your skis, and you must be sure that your edges will hold!

Feet Apart

Many people think good parallel skiing means keeping your feet locked together at all times. Beginners or intermediate skiers will select someone who can negotiate the nursery slopes with skis chattering against each other as their role model of an advanced skier.

Wrong! To start with, a wider stance improves your balance. Chairs topple over, tables don't. Perhaps even more importantly, good edge control requires two things: the ability to roll the skis easily and quickly onto their edges, and the ability to put pressure on a carefully targeted part of the skis' edges. Skiing with your feet too close together impedes both of these actions.

Try the following experiment: with your feet locked together, flex down and try rolling your knees to the side to simulate setting your skis on edge. Then try the same move with your feet 6-8 inches apart.

With your feet locked together, the extent to which you can set your skis onto their edges is limited. As you roll your knees, your weight is increasingly displaced to your inside (ie wrong) foot.

On the other hand, if you start with your feet 6-8 inches apart, it is easy to roll onto your edges and place your weight firmly where it should be: on the inside edge of your outside foot.

In short, you should not worry about how wide apart your skis are. Concentrate instead on the fundamentals of your parallel turns. If you get them right, your inside ski will be flat and unweighted as you perform your turn. It should float towards your outside ski under the influence of centrifugal force, with very little exertion on your part, and without interfering with your body's natural movements.

Unweighting

MANIPULATING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR SKIS

Throughout the basic parallel turn your body weight acts through your skis. You shift the pressure from one ski to another as you roll onto your new edges, but your weight continues to push them firmly into the snow. This is a smooth and controlled way to make your turns, but it is not the only technique used.

Unweighting, or momentarily removing the body's weight from the skis, can speed up the initiation of your turns and reduce the effort required. It allows your skis to pivot more easily, irrespective of the slope and type of surface. Unweighting is a useful weapon in your skiing armoury, and one you should master. A word of warning though: each moment that your skis are unweighted is a moment when their edges cannot be used to control your speed or direction.

Although unweighting can make life easy, indiscriminate use can become a barrier to improvement and to developing the feel for accurately steered, carved turns. There are four different types of unweighting, each appropriate to different types of turn and terrain.

UP-UNWEIGHTING

This is the most common method, and the first one to learn. In order to up-unweight, extend upwards from a flexed position. It is like performing a little jump, though your feet don't actually have to leave the ground, just become light for an instant. Try up-unweighting to initiate easy, lazy turns on flat slopes.

TERRAIN UNWEIGHTING

The next important type of unweighting is terrain unweighting. Instead of fully absorbing a ridge or mogul, stiffen slightly and allow it to project your weight up off your feet. It should feel like driving over a speed bump too fast in a car. Use terrain unweighting to initiate turns on slopes which are not quite flat.

REBOUND UNWEIGHTING

When skidding down a slope, suddenly set a powerful edge. Your skis brake sharply but your body's momentum carries it forward; your weight is thrown up off your skis. It's a bit like slamming on the front brake of a bicycle, translating your forward motion into upward motion! Rebound unweighting is very useful in shortening the radius of your turns on steep slopes or in moguls.

DOWN-UNWEIGHTING

The smoothest way of unweighting, this consists of standing tall and then dropping your centre of mass by flexing at the knees and waist. The feeling is similar to when a lift begins to descend: as your centre of mass drops, the pressure on your feet is reduced momentarily. Down-unweighting is usually a very subtle movement, useful when you want to ski very smoothly, such as on ice or in long-radius turns.

The Hockey Stop

PUTTING THE BRAKES ON

Perhaps the most common use of unweighting, and the most important to master, is the hockey-stop. This is very similar to the basic swing stop, the only difference being that your skis remain parallel throughout. Use strong up-unweighting and swivel your skis right across your direction of travel; then apply your edges to bring yourself to a halt.

Start by running down the fall line in the basic stance			Flex down in preparation for up-unweighting your skis	Keeping your upper body facing down the fall line, turn your skis across the direction of travel using a strong rotation of the feet, legs and pelvis	As you come to rest, stand up and allow your body to catch up with your skis to avoid falling towards the hill.

Tip: The easiest way to learn the hockey stop is by practising first from a traverse. As your familiarity increases, try it from steeper and steeper traverses until you can do it from the fall line.

As your skiing becomes more confident you can tackle more challenging terrain, such as moguls. The secret at this stage lies in using terrain unweighting to take advantage of any little bump or ridge to begin your turns.Later you will learn more advanced techniques for the moguls.

Practise your terrain parallel first on a gentle slope with very few bumps or moguls. Plan your path in advance, looking well ahead. Choose an appropriate bump, and plant your pole on the very top to help you balance as your skis pass over the crest. As your skis become unweighted, begin the turn by rolling your skis onto their new edges and steering them into the fall line. Complete the turn by skidding down the far side of the bump.

Once you feel comfortable using the occasional ridge or bump to help you unweight, you are ready to venture into an easy mogul field using your basic terrain parallels.

Tips

• Look well ahead and anticipate each turn. Concentrate on feeling the forces on your feet so that you are ready for the instant of weightlessness.
• Time your steering and edge change to coincide with your boots' passing over the crest of the bump. Start your turn too early and you will have to work hard to steer your skis into the fall line; start your turn too late and you will be thrown off balance as you pass over the crest of the mogul.
• At this point, finish each turn by skidding down the back of the bump. When you have spent more time in moguls, you will need to master more advanced techniques.