…blummin sore.
That snowplough move is surely unnatural on the joints?
And that snowboarding looked very tricky to master….
One more lesson and I can go on the big slope although they did cart off an instructor on a stretcher after he took a tumble on a jump. Not really what you want to see when learning.

I invested in some arse pads when I was learning to snowboard and then kept using them throughout. Came in handy when I kept binning it off rails backwards.

Still hurt mind

arse pads!
I didn’t know there was such a thing!….. 😯

Arse pads

Snow plough should feel really natural to be honest, especially to a bloke. Just slouch forwards pushing your knees together.

It gets better though, don’t worry. Unless you’re completely incompetant.

That snowplough move is surely unnatural on the joints?

Yep it’s used as a tool to give you speed control while you learn how to turn. Eventually leading to speed control through turn shape and parallel skiing.

I never snowplough never felt natural at all to me either.

It gets a lot better and it does not feel like your skis are fighting each other once they are parallel.

“Just slouch forwards pushing your knees together.”

Good advice and very bad advice in one sentance! Slouching forwards is the best way to describe a good position for skiing but pushing your knees together is bad technique and bad for your knees.

You hip, knee, ankle should remain in a straight line. Its the fact the ski is edging that allows a snow plough to slow you down, many cr@p instructors fail to tell you this hence the bad technique.

When I taught Mrs FD to ski last year I found snow ploughing very tiring, basically you are braking all the time. In a snow dome you probably dont have the space, but I ended up teaching her to do a snow plough turn followed by long traverses across the slope, at least that way your legs get a rest, plus it gets you ready quicker for pararell turns.

Do they stil teach the snow plough? I took some skiing lessons in the US and the instrutors there said that since the development of carving skis there was no need to snow plough and that I should stop doing it. So I did and we went straight to parallel turns.

Snowboarding is better anyway.

The snow plough is a very useful thing to be able to do and used all the time by skiers of all standards (one guy even used it in the downhill race at Wengen this year!)

You could go straight to straight to carving, and I have heard that some places do now teach it. But you would have to have an amazing sense of balance to go straight in to a pararelle carve.

I taught my wife to role the edges over to feel the skis carve for them self, and in snowplough stance to feel the ski carve.

It could be a European/American thing. I had done a load of snowboarding, so whilst I wouldn’t say that I had an amazing sence of balance I was more confident on the snow that a total beginner. This brought with it some other problems, but that’s a different matter.

I took some skiing lessons in the US and the instrutors there said that since the development of carving skis there was no need to snow plough and that I should stop doing it.

Thats a load of guff. What would you do on a narrow icy path or if it gets busy at the lift queue had you not been taught how to snowplough?

Thats a load of guff. What would you do on a narrow icy path or if it gets busy at the lift queue had you not been taught how to snowplough?

The instructor was talking about during normal skiing. I thought that was fairly obvious, but perhaps not.

There is a small movement among some instructors who wish to do away with teaching the snowplough. I thought you were referring to that.
My excuses for reading too profoundly into your post 😛

Skiers snow plough to allow them to then learn other skills in safety as being able to control your speed and stop is very important on a snowy incline with 5ft planks clipped to your feet/boots 😯 Mean while boarders well ? they just ride……..

Mean while boarders well ? they just ride……..

I think the above ‘arse pads’ tells you all you need to know about snowboarding 😉

Arse pants….We need something to keep our bums warm and dry when we stop just out of site on a steep section for a sit down,waff & a quick splif 😉

I had done a load of snowboarding…This brought with it some other problems

The insatiable urge to sit down in the middle of the slope and have a fag every 200 metres?

The insatiable urge to sit down in the middle of the slope and have a fag every 200 metres?

Ha ha, more like looking at a slope and thinking “that’s not very steep” only to discover that given my skiing ability, it was.

Also I never sit down in the middle of the slope. Fall yes, lie in a heap yes, sit no.

I have had many a nice conversation with new friends, skiers & snowboarders when we end up on our arses thinking near each other and commenting “it looked do-able from the lift” . Happy days & nice people what ever we chose to do.

wonder if the sticky lifts at x-scape suck as much on skis as on a board? That’s usually the main cause of pain when I go.

I’m guessing its harder to snow plough on parabolic skies, whereas it’s for easier to parallel. In the days when I learnt the skies were as straight as a pencil.

Mmm I still snowplough now in panicky situations. Must stop, its a bad habit.

The button lift is on the next lesson. Only got as far as the drag rope first time.
Hopefully, the parallel skis will also be taught. Still sore today!!!
😕