How to improve my skiing?

Do I need to move to SnowHeads?

I was really frustrated with my skiing last year. I’m intermediate and feel like I’m getting worse not better.

I don’t feel like my edging angles are high enough, my legs are far to wide apart and I lean fwd at the waist not the knees 🙁

I could maybe take a 3 day weekend a small amount of ££

You will get better answers on Snowheads for sure but the answer – always – is lessons. Private if you can afford them. If you have the time, join one of the snowheads week trips which offer very good coaching, or look at course from other providers – even UCPA if you qualify

I don’t feel like my edging angles are high enough, my legs are far to wide apart and I lean fwd at the waist not the knees

Sounds like what you need there is a skilled dominatrix.

Lessons, 1-2-1 lessons.

My wife had 2 1/2 day lessons last time we went skiing and they completely transformed her skiing and confidence. Not the cheapest option but if you’re off skiing anyway then it’s peanuts on top.

the answer is private lessons but change the teacher if they don’t work for you.  Some really suck badly and some work well.

Go on a Warren Smith Ski Academy course.

They have amazing coaches and you;ll progress i promise you.

Lessons, 1-2-1 lessons.

That’s what I suggested.

it’s peanuts on top.

No kink-shaming.

Youtube

can help, but there really is nothing better than an on mountain lesson or series of lessons. I say this as an adult learner who probably still has much to improve. But the last few years the term ‘flexion’ rings in my ears from pervious lessons, i.e. bending more at the hips and getting more edge. It’s not cheap and finding a good match for what you need to learn and what the teacher is good at imparting can be hard work, but worth it.

Lessons and time skiing is what worked for me. Lots of time on easy slopes to really think about angles, edges and positions on identical terrain so you can try different things and compare

Watch good skirts

Ski with good skiers

It’s a lifelong thing, enjoy getting better

Def get lessons as many have said but does depend heavily on the instructor. If you look at videos of good skiers it’s all about keeping your upper half as still as possible and using your hips and knees to keep the upper edges engaged. Obviously forward pressure on the calves – good skiing does depend on good leg fitness as you really want slightly bent legs all the time to keep the forward pressure.
I wouldn’t pay much attention to having skis super close together unless you’re trying to recreate the 80s monoski look…
Obviously no substitute for lessons but closely watching videos of good skiers can help to see what body position to aim for.
There are fancy devices like Carv out there but not tried them so no idea how helpful they are.

Lessons will help.  But most of all you need to ski!

Yes, a good instructor can make a big difference quite quickly (esp at your stage) but there’s no magic bullet which will significantly improve you in just a 3-day weekend.

If you want to be good, or good on varied terrain, you need to go longer and go more.   If you want to enjoy yourself in the limited opportunities you get, also consider stopping the deep analysis (“edging angles”) and just making the most of the time you get, with the ability you bring.

In other words, as well as improving try to match your expectations of yourself to the amount of time you have to ski, and money you have for instruction.

Frequency is good. Do you have a dry slope or a fridge near you?
spending an hour or two for a few weeks or months before you go away, doing drills is a good way of improving technical aspects of your skiing. The consistency of a dry or fridge slope can be handy if you are motivated by that type of learning. You also hit the mountains already in the zone and probably with key muscle groups already firing. Warren Smith flexibility view is interesting. Basically lots of intermediate skiers are not flexible enough to ski correctly. Have a look at his website to find out more.

Also see Deb Armstrong on YT. Can be a bit Tech at the more advanced end.

On the legs apart issue, it’s not 80s France anymore

Watch a few Canadian ski videos, lots of wide stances absolutely ripping it up.

If I try and ski tight, I’m on my outside edges as I have slightly bandy legs. I have to adopt a wider stance to get the skis flat.

Re the point above about minimisation of upper body movements, you don’t want to look like an Irish dancer but lots of movement will unbalance you. If you watch someone like glen plake you’ll see minimal upper body but positive economic movement and pole planting

Personally I try and mimic that and in time develop your own style

Feets shoulder width. (Generally)

Feets shoulder width. (Generally)

Indeed

Skiing is dynamic and will vary in technique according to conditions ie powder vs piste, crust Vs boiler plate

Just to be clear. I’m asking for courses, instructors, locations etc. Not tips.

Just to be clear. I’m asking for courses, instructors, locations etc. Not tips.

I was going to recommend this company https://www.reflex-skischool.com/en/

But just looking at their prices, they have certainly gone up in recent years !

You could possibly get away with doing a couple of 1 days or hald days  ie. Day 1 get them to watch and instruct you. Then have a couple of days just practising, then another day of tutoring.

Bad habits can take years to undo. However from the sounds of it with focused 1-1 your basic bad habits could be broken quite quickly

I don’t feel like my edging angles are high enough, my legs are far to wide apart and I lean fwd at the waist not the knees

That sounds like a lot of bad technique and poor assumptions of how skis work to undo. However very basically just put ski boots on and just stand in them and flex at the ankle, not the knee or leaning forward. Skis need very little edge angle to turn too. IMO it sounds like your body position is all off causing lots of turning issues, and you end up trying too hard.

Ideally you need 1-1  and someone who can video you.

Maybe have a look at Carv and see whether you think that might help you? Not tried it so can’t give you any personal insights…

Go on a Warren Smith Ski Academy course.

They have amazing coaches and you;ll progress i promise you.

This – most definitely. And get his videos as they will give a useful reminder of his lessons.

Or don’t and then do one in ten year time and curse yourself for wasting all that time floundering around remaining as a low intermediate…

I’ve done one to one lessons but it depends on how good the instructor is which is very variable and often they will be teaching some sort of old school style.

Can’t believe nobody has suggested the obvious answer yet: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/slack-randoms-full-suspension-skis-urban-dh-povs-fall-time-laps-and-more.html

No quick fix generally, Good skiers are generally good because they have spent lots of time skiing and thinking about skiing.

Hence my fridge & dry slope recommendation. (It worked for Dave Ryding)

Warren is good, never done a lesson with his team but they aren’t cheap either. (Verbier prices)

Darren Turner in Serre Che is good, also has some good YT content, Insight Ski Coaching.

Also, ski with people who are better than you, it always raises my game.

30 plus years as a late-comer (mid 20s when i first skied) it took me a series of lessons to get off the intermediate plateau, and even now I will do a half day tune up with a private instructor if it isn’t all coming together.  Check out Ski Weekend as they have a pretty slick long weekend operation in Chamonix with a course called Piste Perfection.  It’s been quite a few years since I last went with them and it isn’t cheap but minimal damage to the annual level allowance and progress in my technique.

Do a season in a big resort.

Or do multiple weeks in say January and march. Take a couple of 3hr lessons earlier on each week.

This will give you more time to practice the technique.

Plus strength and balance training

Also, ski with people who are better than you, it always raises my game.

I tried that but it was only a temporary improvement and then I went downhill fast.

Boom boom. Same thing happened with my ill grandad after the doctors decided to cover him in grease…

Has anyone said lessons / coaching? On top of that, get ski-fit and strong so you can do what you’re coached – no excuses.

And then practice and be honest with yourself, don’t shy away from what you’ve been coached because its difficult. DO IT!

Don’t fear the fall line!

Coaching 1 2 1.

Decide which resort for your 3 days, go on snoheads and ask for coaching recommendations in that resort. Get proper fit before you go, and maybe a couple sessions in a fridge too.

Actually ski ? You dont have to know how to ski.

The point is you buy the skis, you buy the boots, you buy the latest season ski wear. Then you hang about the bars and get sozzled.

Ever watched a drunken person try to ski ? That could be you and nobody will question you or your skills for it.

Besides, who wants a twisted knee.

The other option is you read books and watch videos that’s what I did and got to international standard, but there was probably a fair element of talent there 😉

There are some comments above about old school teachers, the only time I’ve encountered this was in Austria in a low resort (which was rubbish). French Ski instructors we’ve used over the last few years (essentially pick a ski school near where you are staying) have largely been younger men and women who are just out teaching as they love being on the mountain. I’ve not noticed any lack in quality, mostly they’ve consistently good.

Having said that I’ve mainly been to Paradiski, 3Vallyes and Tignes over the last few years so maybe the resort makes a difference?

@toby. Generally yes I agree. They do tend to get some of the older more trad. Instructors out of semi retirement at very busy times.

Saying that we had an old fella guiding a group of us on the Vallee Blanche a few years back. Now this bloke was a living legend. He had climbed ALL of the mountain we could see, been to the Calgary olympics, competing against Eddie Edward’s in ski jump and was still a blisteringly good skier and a brilliant guide. He was filling in as it was busy.

You conscious mind wants to narrow up your stance

Your subconscious mind and muscle memory are fighting it because it want to do what it already knows I.e. wide-wide.

Have a chat with yourself and actually try and physically do what your conscious mind is saying.

Largely what the instructor process does is block the subconscious mind so you can just get in with learning. Works better in a 121 situation as there is more focus on just you I.e. it’s a better block. In a group setting most (not all) people tend to hide.

You might want to also consider your preferred learning style. I don’t like a lot of verbal instructions and am more of a visual learner whereas my other half is extremely analytical and wants to know why he needs to do things to achieve desired results. One of the best lessons of my life was with a guy called Cookie in Alpe D’Huez. He’s British but works for ESF, he had 3 of us in a private lesson. All of us at different abilities and all of us came away with personal stuff to work on – an exceptional teacher. I also did a single trip with Skivo to Le Praz, their instructions was pretty great too and the 2 hours x 5 days meant that I met people in my class that then invited me along to ski with them the rest of the time.

Try and ski with people who are a bit better than yourself can be great for improving technique so long as they don’t take you on silly stuff or ski at a pace that’s just too fast for you to do anything other than hang on.

In the past I’ve had great 1-2-1 lessons with both English and French instructors and they have been equally brilliant. Also I’ve skied in small groups with a shared guide – “no I’m not allowed to teach but here are a few tips”. I had a memorable half day in Flaine with an English guy who insisted I skied as close to his back as possible and follow precisely what he did. I never skied so neatly or fast before, or sadly, afterwards.