You’ve had a few sessions of skiing lessons at The Snow Centre Manchester or Hemel and experienced skiing on our Main Slopes, and you’re looking for tips on moving up to the next level? Then you are ready for our advanced skiing tips. These can’t take the place of an expert skiing instructor who is invaluable, no matter what level you are at, but will give you some things to bear in mind next time you’re on the slopes.
Whether you need help with your body position, carving, moguls, or are interested in becoming an expert skier, our expert instructors at The Snow Centre can guide you through your goals step by step, breaking down the process to help you achieve your objectives and master our advanced skiing lessons at our Manchester and Hemel locations.
The Pole Plant
The pole plant is an important part of advanced skiing; it gets your body aligned and into the correct position for your next turn and is invaluable when the going gets steep. It’s as useful for free skiing as it is for moguls, powder and racing.
The main thing with the pole plant is the timing. It’s both the first and last part of the turn. You extend your arm and plant the pole, which pulls your body into alignment over your feet and into the correct position for the turn. As you pull out of the turn, you reach your other arm out and plant the pole for the next turn, shifting you again into the correct position.
It’s a fluid movement, and as you travel faster, taking sharper and shorter turns, the pole plant becomes key to the whole process, creating movement and pulling you up into an extending position aligned over your feet.
Ankle Flexion
The next stage to great carving is working on keeping your ankle joints locked so that the pressure stays on the front of the boot. Even at this stage in skiing, it’s easy to find yourself taking that pressure off and losing your balance – especially as the hills get steeper and going gets faster. Keeping your ankles flexed forward keeps your hips up and forward and your weight forward where it needs to be. Without this, the skis lose their grip, stop carving and start skidding. Your balance gets thrown, and before you know it, you’re eating powder.
Skiing Stacked
It’s a term we hear a lot, skiing stacked, but what does it mean?
It’s pretty simple; it just means lining the body up: skeleton, ligaments, muscles. When you are skiing, especially on steep inclines, keeping your body aligned and not twisting your body into the hill is essential. You need to allow your thighs, hips and torso to stay aligned with your skis as they make the turn. A good way of practicing this is to be aware of where your hands and arms are and keep them pointing in the same direction as your skis. It will keep your torso and hips aligned with the skis and stop your upper body from swinging as you turn.
Practice
Nothing beats getting those skis on your feet and hitting the snow to improve your skiing. Both of The Snow Centre locations are open seven days a week and have early and late sessions throughout the week, so there’s never any excuse for not putting in the hours.
Come Experience Our Advanced Ski Lessons
There’s no better place to learn to ski than at one of our indoor real snow slopes. If you’ve started on your learning journey and have completed our intermediate ski lessons at our Manchester or Hemel centres, then you’re ready for an advanced lesson. Book your next lesson on the slopes and learn from our expert skiing instructors.
If you have any questions about booking an advanced skiing lesson or any of the lessons on offer at our locations, be sure to contact us, and a member of our team will be happy to help.
