The Absolute Basics, part 1

How to stand on your skis

1. Skiing is balancing on two pieces of wood that want to run away from you. Your goal is to stay in a centrally balanced position on your skis. Confused?

-Well have you ever played tennis, or soccer? How do you stand when you're about to receive a serve? How do you stand when your defending your goal from a penalty shot? You stand in an athletic, aggressive, low stance, balanced on your feet, ready to go left or right, react instantaneously.

-Well, skiing is the same. When your standing still on the flat, find a position that is athletic. Feel as if your weight is balanced equally along the length of your foot. If your having difficulty feeling this, rock forward onto the balls of your feet, and you will know that your balance is to the front of the foot. Next rock back, and you will feel the weight on the heels. Now, find somewhere in the center, there should be an even amount of weight on the toes and the heel.

- What about your arms? Hold them up, like that goalie about to defend a penalty kick.

- This is your ideal skiing stance. It may feel strange, or may sound too easy. But your goal later on is to stay in this centered position when your skis start sliding down the hill.

That's it for now, I'll post some more soon.

Things to do before you hit the slopes: How to get a good ski instructor

Once you've made the decision to try skiing, there are some things you need to do, and some vital traps you must avoid:

1. Do not take lessons from friends/family. In 99% of cases the family or friends will not only teach you how to do things the hard way, they will often teach the opposite of what you should be doing.

2. Check out the ski school. Just because someone is wearing a ski school uniform doesn't mean they are a qualified instructor. Many schools around Europe and North America employ unqualified staff or use trainee instructors to teach beginners or children. You have the right to a qualified instructor and can usually insist on a qualified instructor at no extra cost.

3. Always remember that just because somebody looks like they can ski well, doesn't mean they can teach. Often they will not even be able to explain how they ski.

4. Check out the price of a group lesson and compare it with a private lesson split between one or two friends. Often the price is the same and in some cases cheaper.

5. If you are able, choose midweek to ski, and avoid all holidays. Ski resorts go crazy in holiday time. In many European resorts, when busy times come, any local who owns a pair of skis dons a ski school jacket and hits the slopes. Needless to say that the quality of the lessons is not of the highest standard.

6. If possible, an instructor who is not too old or young is best. This particularly applies to those skiing in Europe. Often the instructors over 50yrs old were trained in the 'old school' method and haven't changed their teaching methods in the last thirty years. Often their skiing style hasn't changed either.

Skiing is not cheap, so a bit of planning can make it not only a fun experience, but also get you good value for money.