If I am skiing poorly I will run an edge to edge drill to correct the problem. I draw an imaginary line straight down the slope and initiate a turn every time I cross it. Each time I cross this line I jump from one ski to the other shouting mantras on my way down the mountain. This drill is work and when I get to the bottom I am usually bent at the waist, leaning on my poles for support, gasping for air, sweating like it was July, my quads are on fire and my mantras have been reduce to a grunt. People are staring, pointing and grunting back at me, and yet some how this experience has corrected the defect in my skiing. Even if it hasn't at this point, in this state, I don't care. Now you tell me this isn't fun.

With practice this rather complicated unweighted turn can become a thing of beauty. The vertical leap becomes reduced to a quick push with just enough lift to unweight the skis for an instant. The push then becomes a pull as you release all pressure from the skis and pull them off of the snow. Unweighting can occur in two ways. One is by jumping up and is called up unweighting. The other is by pulling your skis up off the snow. This causes your body to drop and is called down unweighting. Both of these unweighting techniques can occur in the same turn and when properly executed the unweighting becomes invisible. The up being canceled by the down. Your body barely moves vertically and yet unweighting has occurred. Energy use and movement have been optimized to their most efficient level, the turns gracefully flow from one to another as you move down the mountain with a sense of weightlessness, almost as if you are flying. You feel at one with the mountain, it is your friend and companion. Beautiful alpine scenery spreads out in front of you as more of it flies by your side. You can't really explain it, it is existential, you have to experience it, but once you do you are hooked.

I started with this unweighted turn because once it is learned it will work in any condition. In steep narrow chutes sometimes the only way to survive is jump up and turn them. There is not always room for a carved turn. Closely bunched moguls are another example of this. Deep powder, especially the wet heavy type, can be skied by hopping down the mountain. In these conditions the skis are kept close together with your weight on both skis. You transfer weight but never fully. You need your weight on both skis to give you a bigger platform. This makes it easier for your skis to come up and out of the deep stuff and ride on top of it. Speed helps this happen the way it helps an airplane get off the ground. There are times when you will want to know how to make this kind of turn.

This unweighted turn is a complicated turn. It has a lot of parts. Don't be frustrated by this. Just remember to transfer the weight from the inside edge of one ski to the inside edge of the other ski while trying to keep you jacket zipper pointed down the hill. You are kind of ice skating down the mountain. Keep reaching out in front of you with your ski poles, planting them before each turn. These elements, with repetition and mantra use, will bring the unweighted parallel turn.

There is another, simpler type of parallel turn. It is the turn hallowed by PSIA and my skiing partner Dave Esper. It is the carved turn. I'll start with some more of this techie stuff. All skis have a shape. They are wider at the tip and tail than they are in the middle. A sort of hour glass figure. If you were to trace a ski's edge you would form a gentle arc. When you are standing on the ski it flexes. With your weight in the center of a ski the tip and tail are slightly elevated forming another very gentle arc. If you put a ski on its inside edge and let it slide it will go in the direction of these combined arcs. The ski will turn itself if placed on edge.

How quick a turn a ski will make depends on the extent of the arc in the edge. This arc is referred to as the ski's side cut. Skis with a deep side cut (the new radically shaped skies) make shorter turns than skis with little side cut (conventional down hill, gs, slalom, and bump skies).

A very long time ago, way back in my Mad River Glen, 60's hippie days, I took a ski lesson. I had the good fortune to end up with a beautiful woman instructor that was a phenomenal skier and teacher. Her name was Janet. I apologize for not knowing Janet's last name. I remember that she was the ski school director's wife and that she taught people to ski in South America during our summer. Janet was the first person to introduce me to carved ski turns. Here's how she did it.

Start skiing straight down a gentle slope with you skis parallel and shoulder width apart. Select one of your skis and lean it over on its inside edge by angling one of your knees towards your other knee. At the same time tip your other ski onto its outside edge. Transfer most of your weight to the "inside edged" ski. You should be turning. If you are not, dig in both edges from a snowplow V and stop. Remove your skies and throw them in the nearest environmentally safe disposal unit. Proceed to the nearest ski shop and buy or rent a pair of shaped skis. Try it again. If it doesn't work you will have to find Janet or one of those PSIA dudes and let them figure it out. You have stumped me. This is becoming an all too frequent occurrence. It may be time for me to consider getting myself some help.

If however it works proceed to switching sides. Flatten your turning ski, angle the other ski, transfer your weight and you should start turning in the opposite direction. You can even keep some weight on the gliding, non-turning, ski by doing the following. Place this ski on its outside edge. Isn't this a whole lot simpler than all that jumping, unweighting, shouting, etc. stuff? You bet. That's why they teach it. That's why it's hard to find a new ski that isn't a shaped ski. What a bonanza for the ski industry. What foresight my incredible instructor had over thirty years ago. Thank you Janet, I hope you are still bestowing your wisdom on fortunate skiers.

This year (December 1997) I decided to take my first ski lesson in 13 years. I did so at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, New York. I had a young ski instructor by the name of Ryan Smith. Ryan updated my skiing technique. He is very big into carving and shaped skis. Click the carving link and take a look at what Ryan taught me.

I have been going on here for what seems like ages to me. It is time to think about bring this to a close. I probably will be adding to this from time to time. There is so much to this wonderful sport. I have barely scratched the surface. My current goal in skiing is to master the bumps. If I get it figured out I will try and pass it on to you. I have help here from a couple of friends, a couple of expert bump skiers, named Ron Wagner and Billy Norten. Bill is one of those PSIA dudes. He doesn't work as a ski instructor but gets recertified every two years. It gives him a chance to ski with with a group of really great skiers during the certification process. It gives me a chance to get great instructions from a very skilled skier. Ron is a gifted athlete with a wonderful positve attitude. He has helped me with my skiing as well as with my life. Thanks guys.

There are a couple of more things I would like to mention before I close. A number of years ago I was skiing Whiteface on a rainy Friday with my youngest daughter Kiona. There was practically nobody there and we set a personal best for number of runs in a day at Whiteface. We did thirty. All of these down a trail called Mountain Run. Skiing in the rain can be a delight, if you are dressed for it. The snow is soft and forgiving and your edges hold on every turn. For an eastern hard pack/ice skier this is a blessing.

I was wearing my recently purchased goretex to keep me dry. I put Kiona in my vinyl jacket. She was so little it reached the ground and kept all but her head dry. A ski hat, goggles, and a scarf took care of that. Large ridges of snow had developed near the bottom of the slope and I was following Kiona over them. As she skied across each of them I noticed her weight getting further and further back with each subsequent mound. Finally her weight was too far back and she fell. I skied up to her and asked her if she knew why she had fallen. Hoping to impart some wisdom about keeping your weight forward. She replied that she had been doing her times table during our descent and when she had gotten to twelve times thirteen she couldn't remember the answer and fell. This brings us to Ski Tip Number 4: Do not do math problems while skiing. As a matter of fact don't try solving any mental problems while skiing. "Just ski." To paraphrase Yogi you can't think and ski at the same time.

This sport transcends a lot of barriers. It can be started young by almost anyone and continue throughout your life. Two of my favorite ski partners are my daughters. This little story is about skiing with my youngest daughter. She started skiing in our back yard at the age of four. I was taking her with me to ski areas at the age of seven. She had her first season pass at the age of eight. She spent eight years in the Training Center at Whiteface Mountain learning how to ski and ski race. She now teaches me how to ski. I love to ski with her because it doesn't matter where we are skiing, what the weather or terrain is, she skis and does so without a complaint. A skier's skier. I knew this was her skiing destiny the first time I took her to a major-sized ski area.

We were at Hunter Mountain, Kiona was seven, and it was raining. I went to the ski shop and purchased a poncho to keep her dry. Its color was bright orange. She was so little it dragged on the ground when she skied. I put her in a private lesson and went to make a couple of runs on Hunter's west side. I told her I would meet her back where the lesson had started in an hour. I didn't quite make it back in an hour. I was a few minutes late and when I got there I didn't see Kiona. I started to go into a parent's panic when I caught a glimpse of something orange moving slowly up the ski slope. Skis on her shoulder, rain pouring down, Kiona was walking up the mountain. I caught up with her and foolishly asked what she thought she was doing. She replied that she wanted to practice her lesson and the lift attendant had told her she was," too little to ride the lift alone "soooo" she was walking up the mountain so she could practice her skiing." I knew then that weather and terrain were not deterrents to her skiing. She was going to ski no matter what. She did then and she does now.

I know from past experience that when others make excuses not to make another run that if I want company all I have to do is find my youngest daughter. The run will start with her patiently standing at the top of the slope watching me start my descent. In spite of my poor hearing it isn't long before I hear the sound of a skier behind me. This can cause fear as you anticipate being struck from behind by an out of control skier. I have no fear of this approaching skier. It is a sound made familiar to me by hundreds, if not thousands, of runs made with Kiona. I know who this skier is and I know she is in control.

In an instant she is skiing past me. Her blond pony tail is streaming behind her. Her upper body barely moves while her skis move from right to left and back again with the speed and agility of youth. I watch with pride as she flies down the mountain at a speed only a racer, or former racer, could be comfortable with. If there is a lift above us envious riders usually offer a few shouts at the skiing skill Kiona is displaying. She continues her descent ignoring the shouts. Her skis move from side to side as she continues to accelerate, never setting and edge to control her speed. I accelerate in a futile attempt to catch her. I reach the end of the run. As I approach the chair lift she is again patiently standing waiting for me. As I ski up to her she starts to pole her way to the chair lift. No words are spoken. No need to ask, "do you want to ski another run"? Not to the little girl in an orange poncho who walks up the mountain, in the rain, to practice her skiing.

On the lift I may ask a question about my technique. Kiona will reply to stop thinking about what I am doing and, "just ski." This is the best advise I can pass on to you. "Just ski."

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