Ski Tips for Kids

"Start in the mountain stance on an easy Green slope. Point your tips across the slope and a little bit downhill. Press your uphill pinkie toe into the snow as you move forward. This will keep that uphill, inside edge on the snow. If you do it right, you can look back and see two parallel sets of French Fries marked on the slope. Do it on both sides.⁠ You should keep your body turned just a little bit downhill. Look in the direction you are skiing, but if you peek down at your skis as you traverse, you'll see the uphill ski is just a little bit forward. That means you're doing it right!⁠ ⁠"

"All skiers need plenty of practice with parallel skills before heading onto Blue terrain. They don't need to be skiing in perfect technique, but steeper slopes will require getting into a parallel, or French Fries, stance.⁠ ⁠"

"Don't just stay on the big open spaces; look for some more exciting terrain. Some ski resorts have a designated zone with props and kid-friendly trails designed for fun. Ask someone to point out the best places to take kids. You might find some downsized terrain park features sculpted specifically for young skiers: whoop-de-doos, roly-polies, banked turns, and giant croquet wickets!⁠ ⁠"

"When you ski, your knees and shins should move back and forth rhythmically like a swinging pendulum. Just like you did with TALL and SMALL, you'll need to open and close the ankle, knee, and hip joint to make this happen. The ankle opens for the top half of the turn. Tick! The ankle closes for the bottom half. Tock!⁠ Make your movements as smooth as possible and, like the pendulum, keep moving. It's easy to get stuck and lose rhythm if the tic-tock stops. For the long turns make a long Tiiiicccckkk and a long Toooocccckkk. Short turns will sound much faster, tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock. Be careful not to hypnotize yourself with your rockin' steady rhythm.⁠ ⁠"

"The TALL and SMALL technique helps you deal with bumpy terrain too. If you ski with your body all frozen up, then bumps and dips will throw you for a loop. Use tall and small movements to absorb the bumps as if your body is a shock absorber. Try skiing over a whoop-de-doo: squash small over the top, and extend tall in the valleys. Bumps and roly-polies can feel nice and smooth.⁠ ⁠"

"Get TALL to start your turns. Standing up tall over the middle of the ski opens all the joints (ankles, knees, hips), and removes the pressure from the front and side of the boot. This will release your ski's edges from the snow and allow the ski to flatten and begin to turn downhill. Keep getting tall until you are in the go line and then get SMALL to shape the rounded end of the turn. Getting SMALL means bending at your ankles, knees, and hips so that you can guide the ski with finesse into the slow line to finish the turn.⁠ ⁠"

"You gotta keep your weight on that downhill ski when turning. One way to get your weight on your downhill ski is to imagine having one heavy elephant foot downhill and a skinny little featherweight bird leg for the uphill ski. These will switch back and forth as you change to the next turn.⁠ ⁠"

"Skiing means balancing while in motion. See if you can balance on one ski. First, try it standing still. Next, try it while skiing. Keep those hands forward and pressure that one foot between the toes and heel. How long can you hold it? One Mississippi? Two Mississippi? It's not as easy as it looks.⁠ ⁠"

"One easy thing you can do to fix the dreaded 'spaghetti arms' is to clap your hands (nice and loud) any time you feel even a little bit out of balance. This forces both hands out front in the perfect position.⁠ ⁠"