Good skiing comes down to using your edges effectively, and the key to using edges well is edge transition. Edge transition is the critical step that connects and initiates turns. Skiing is all about smoothly linking one turn to the next, so whether you're using carving techniques or traditional parallel skiing, edge transition remains the most essential core skill. Having read Eric’s "Ski the Whole Mountain," Lito’s "Ski Breakthrough Series DVD," and parts of Harald Harb’s "PMTS" online course, it becomes clear that the core technique emphasized by all three masters is edge transition—and their methods for executing it are identical. However, their ski teaching materials share the same flaws: first, they explain how to ski but not why you should ski that way; second, they dismiss traditional techniques without providing a detailed comparison of similarities and differences, which can mislead skiers. Below, I’ll attempt to explain, from a fundamental perspective, the difficulty levels and key points of various edge transition methods, as well as analyze the relationship between new and traditional techniques. Feedback from experienced skiers is welcome.
1. Snowplough (Pizza)
Everyone knows the snowplough is the easiest technique—why? Because there’s no edge transition involved. But the snowplough helps develop the feel of turning using the inside edge, making it a foundational skill that beginners must practice.
2. Half-Snowplough
In the half-snowplough, during a turn, your weight is on the inside edge of the downhill ski, while the uphill ski is opened up, transitioning from the outside edge to the inside edge to complete the turn in a wedge shape. Then, the new uphill ski merges with the new downhill ski, switching from the inside edge back to the outside edge. The half-snowplough is the easiest edge transition method because each ski’s transition occurs when it's not bearing weight. The downside is that the turn is executed in a wedge shape and transitions slowly. However, it serves as a bridge to parallel skiing, giving beginners their first taste of edge transitions—an essential step to practice.
3. Traditional Parallel
Traditional parallel skiing originates from traditional straight-ski techniques and is the most commonly taught method. In traditional parallel turns, you initiate the turn by unweighting the downhill ski, shifting your body weight to the uphill ski, then pressing down on the uphill ski to transition from the outside edge to the inside edge and rotate it to complete the turn. Meanwhile, the downhill ski transitions from the inside edge to the outside edge and follows the uphill ski’s rotation to stay parallel. The sequence of edge transitions in traditional parallel is: uphill ski bears weight → uphill ski transitions from outside to inside edge → downhill ski transitions from inside to outside edge. Since the downhill ski’s inside edge still provides support and balance during the uphill ski’s transition, this method is relatively easy to master. However, the downside is that there is always a period where both skis are simultaneously on their inside edges, creating a wedge shape. To maintain maximum parallelism, traditional parallel requires significant unweighting and pressing to shift as much weight as possible onto the uphill ski, minimizing the downhill ski’s support. Additionally, the rotational movement of the skis during the turn is inherited from straight-ski techniques, as straight skis cannot turn on their own. With carving skis, traditional-style turns can also be executed without ski rotation.
4. Full Parallel (Intermediate)
How do you achieve full parallel? Simply change the sequence of edge transitions. The downhill ski transitions from the inside edge to the outside edge first. Since it’s impossible for both skis to be simultaneously on their outside edges, this automatically causes the uphill ski to transition from the outside to the inside edge. This is the core of the new technique described by Eric, Lito, and HH. The complete method and sequence are: both skis are edged for a diagonal traverse → release the edges to allow smooth sliding on the slope → lift the tail of the downhill ski to transfer 100% of your weight to the uphill ski → the downhill ski edges outward, automatically guiding the uphill ski to edge inward and initiate the turn. This method takes longer for edge transitions and represents intermediate-level full parallel technique.
5. Full Parallel (Advanced)
The advanced full parallel technique follows this method and sequence: both skis are edged for a diagonal traverse → the downhill ski retracts its legs and lifts its tail to release the inside edge → 100% of your weight shifts to the uphill ski’s outside edge → the downhill ski directly transitions from the inside to the outside edge while automatically guiding the uphill ski to transition from the outside to the inside edge → after the uphill ski’s transition, no rotational movement is made. Instead, the carve flex of the edged ski automatically completes the turn. By combining advanced full parallel edge transitions with carving technique, you can execute beautifully smooth, continuous arcs on the slope. The skier’s upper body makes minimal up-down or side-to-side movements, while the legs swing like pendulums from side to side, creating fluid and elegant motion. Lito and HH refer to this as the "Phantom Move," while Eric calls it the "Two Foot Carving Turn." I prefer the latter term because achieving pure carving requires full parallel edge transitions—the name speaks for itself. "Phantom Move" sounds mysterious and profound, but its name doesn’t reveal its meaning, even though it’s actually not mysterious at all. The two-foot carving turn achieves release by retracting the legs and completes the turn through edge transitions without ski rotation, eliminating the need for large unweighting, pressing, or forward leans. As a result, it’s more relaxed and stable than traditional methods.
6. Jump Turn
Once you’ve mastered full parallel edge transitions, the next step is to explore the fastest method: the jump turn. As the name suggests, this involves completing the edge transition and direction change mid-air, making it the quickest technique, ideal for steep slopes, moguls, and tree runs. The single-leg hop technique is the aerial version of full parallel. First, the downhill ski hops off the snow, then the uphill ski can either: remain on the snow without lifting (edge transition only, no direction change), hop and transition edges without changing direction, hop and transition edges with a 90-degree direction change, or hop and transition edges with a 180-degree direction change. Upon landing, the landing leg remains the same as the jumping leg—hence the term "single-leg hop." It’s worth mentioning that a traditional straight-ski jump technique is also practical: pivot on the ski tips, hop the tail off the snow to transition edges and change direction—this is known as the double-leg hop (small turn). This technique works very well on moguls like those on the Flying Dragon and Fierce Dragon runs at Wanlong.
7. Relationship Between Traditional and New Techniques
Traditional and full parallel techniques share a common foundation, both involving a complete Release–Transfer–Engage process. The new techniques are improvements upon traditional ones, not revolutionary changes. Traditional techniques serve as a solid base for advancing to newer methods. This highlights how skiing techniques blend, complement, and learn from one another. Ski techniques shouldn’t be rigidly categorized as resort vs. competitive, traditional vs. modern, or straight-ski vs. carving. Instead, choose the techniques that suit your level and gradually progress toward advanced skiing.
8. Practice Methods for Full Parallel Technique
The instructional materials I mentioned include practice methods for full parallel, but I find they lack emphasis on key steps. Skiers should focus on mastering the crucial elements while spending less time on supplementary ones. Based on the principles of full parallel, I’ll identify the key steps and suggest practice methods. The core of full parallel lies in single-leg balance—during the weight transfer phase, 100% of your weight shifts to the uphill ski, which performs the turn on a single leg. The pre-, mid-, and post-transition phases can be broken down into three single-leg balance techniques: single-leg outside edge traverse, flat single-leg traverse, and single-leg inside edge traverse. Practice them in order of difficulty: inside edge → flat → outside edge. For edge traverses, aim to carve a clear arc that curves uphill and comes to a stop; for flat traverses, aim for a straight line. During practice, the non-weight-bearing leg can be fully lifted off the snow or lightly touching it to reduce difficulty. Mastering the inside edge and flat traverse will prepare you for intermediate two-foot carving turns, while mastering the outside edge will get you ready for advanced two-foot carving turns.
9. Misleading Claims by HH
HH’s teaching materials contain three misleading points. First, HH claims his method suits skiers of all levels, from beginner to expert. But as previously discussed, the key to full parallel is single-leg balance—how can beginners manage that when they’re still struggling with two-leg balance? Lito and Eric’s materials indirectly confirm that HH’s method isn’t suitable for beginners, as all three masters advocate similar techniques, yet Lito and Eric explicitly state their methods are for intermediate and advanced skiers only. Therefore, HH’s claim that full parallel is suitable for beginners is absolutely misleading. I’d revise the promotional tagline for full parallel as: “A goal for beginners, a target for intermediates, and a refinement method for experts.” Second, HH refers to his skiing style as "Direct Parallel," which easily misleads people into thinking you can skip snowplough and go straight to parallel skiing. That’s not the case. "Direct" can mean both "immediate" and "continuous." Based on HH’s teachings, "Direct Parallel" correctly refers to full or continuous parallel. I believe even native English speakers might misunderstand "Direct Parallel," so I think "Consecutive Parallel" is a more accurate term. The third misleading point is shared by both HH and Eric—they dismiss traditional techniques without discussing the relationship between old and new methods. This is another classic pitfall. Lito’s materials handle this slightly better, but he too fails to compare the differences and similarities between traditional and new techniques.
10. The Path to Advancement
From the above analysis, it’s clear that the best progression for beginners is to follow steps 1 through 6 in order. The time spent on each step varies by individual, but each requires solid practice—“skipping levels” will never yield good results. Understanding the methods, principles, and direction of each step, along with targeted practice, will deliver twice the results with half the effort. Fully mastering steps 5 and 6 is like unlocking the door to advanced skiing techniques. From there, practicing stance, pole planting, short turns, and all-terrain skills (powder, crud, moguls, trees, steeps) will help you become a true expert.
11. References
For steps 1–3, refer to the CCTV mass skiing tutorials.
For steps 4–6, refer to:
Eric: "Ski the Whole Mountain" book
Lito: "Ski Breakthrough Series" DVD and book
Harald Harb: "PMTS" online course http://www.harbskisystems.com/lessonindex.htm, DVD and book
Additionally, for HH’s PMTS, you can also refer to:
deyi's study notes:
Beginner http://www.lvye.info/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=158301&forum=19
Intermediate http://www.lvye.info/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=158155&forum=19
It is suggested that crazy and deyi change “directly parallel” to “fully parallel.” The book and DVD can both be purchased on http://www.amazon.com, but I think the DVD is expensive and has little content, plus you need to work on your English listening skills, so I recommend buying the book.
12. A Few Suggestions
Finally, I’d like to offer a suggestion to the moderator. There are some excellent technical discussion threads on the skiing forum. These posts are not only rich in content but also include the firsthand experiences of ordinary skiers, making them very valuable. However, these materials are scattered across thousands of posts, making them hard to find and read. The moderator could create a summary post and pin it at the top — that would make things much easier. Perhaps someone might even compile a comprehensive practical skiing techniques guide based on this content. I suggest dividing the summary post into three sections: Equipment, Techniques, and Ski Resorts.