ractice.

Whatever you do by way of practice do it first on one foot and then
on the other, or you will become a right or left-footed Ski-er and it
will take ages for you to feel equal confidence in either foot. This
applies especially to turns. Beginners will often go on practising a
turn on the right foot, till they can do it and then have to re-learn
it completely on the left foot.

Straight running downhill is mainly a question of confidence and
balance. As said before, it is better at first to avoid straight
running down a steep slope, because the Skis may go so fast that the
beginner is quite incapable of keeping up with them and a fall at very
high speed is somewhat upsetting and may temporarily shake your nerve.

Choose a low gradient of about 12 deg. or 15 deg. where you can see the
out-run which should be on to level ground or even a gentle rise so
that the Skis gradually pull up of their own accord. Soft snow is the
easiest and confidence may soon be won in this.

Stand upright or bend the knees, but do not bend at the waist. You
should feel as though on springs and you want your weight should be
well forward over your feet so that you can keep up with the Skis.
Standing in tube or bus, facing the way you are going and not holding
on to anything is very good practice at home. You will notice that a
bus conductor usually gives with the movement of the bus, so that he
is prepared for whatever it does. So with Ski-ing. Look ahead and see
what the ground is like, and then suit your balance to what is likely
to occur as the ground rises or falls. This soon becomes automatic but
it needs thinking out at first.

When the snow is hard, practise side slipping, because it will help
you out of many difficulties and once you know the feeling of it, you
will find that it replaces the downhill side-stepping, which is so
slow.

On hard snow, it is possible to go down broadside on by merely
standing on one's Skis and turning one's outer or lower ankle outwards
and one's inner or upper ankle towards the other, so that the Skis are
lying flat on the snow, instead of the edges biting into it. Push off
with your stick from the slope above you and weight your heels or your
toes according to whether the Skis are sinking in front or behind.
Have confidence, keep upright, lean away from the slopes and let your
Skis slide and don't blame me if you suddenly slide into a soft patch
of snow, which stops the Skis dead and you fall