This newbie has skied ten times — the first six using the snowplough technique, the last four with parallel turns.

No one taught me; I just watched others on the slopes. Seeing everyone doing the snowplough carve, I followed suit. At first, I had no idea it involved using the inside edge to carve into the snow — I thought it was just a flat scissors-like motion. But hey, the beginner slope is gentle, so I managed to get down okay. On my second time skiing, I went up to the intermediate slope, and only then did I gradually figure out that you actually need to put power into the inside edge. Phew. I have to thank one close call when I couldn’t stop and almost hit someone — I instinctively pushed harder, and of course didn’t hit them (the intermediate slope isn’t that steep after all). Later, while skiing, I saw a coach teaching a student who said putting power into one foot helps with turning, so I tried it myself and succeeded. By around my fifth time skiing, I could make smooth turns on the intermediate slope using the snowplough, slowing my speed down too. Finally, I wasn’t such a hazard anymore. Phew.

Since I’m a girl and not very strong, when I went skiing for the sixth time and hit a steep advanced slope using the snowplough, wow, I really struggled. After one run, I was completely exhausted, my calves were weak, and I nearly collapsed. I rested the whole day and didn’t go back on the slopes — my legs were rubbery. I also watched many people on the advanced slope using parallel turns and realized that this method doesn’t force your calves to work so awkwardly on steep slopes, and applying power doesn’t make your legs as tired. So I decided to learn parallel turns.

When I started learning parallel turns, I didn’t dare go on intermediate or advanced slopes because of the traumatic memories from my early snowplough days when I couldn’t turn or stop and almost had accidents. I wised up and went back to the beginner slope. But no one does parallel turns on the beginner slope, and it’s actually pretty dangerous there — people are always rushing around. Ugh, it felt like I was reliving my own past mistakes. At first, I had no idea where my center of gravity should be with parallel turns, so I experimented and fell. No one was teaching me either, and I had to constantly dodge people speeding up behind me. My first attempt at parallel turns yielded zero progress. I never fell when using the snowplough, but I fell right away with parallel turns. I felt this wasn’t working — it was too dangerous. So I thought about how to learn properly and started searching online for tips.

Turns out there are actually videos online, who knew? It only hit me later. I watched one that said when you’re just starting out, you should do big S-turns, leaning your body toward the mountain — not like the snowplough where you put your weight on the front edge of the board. That explained why I kept falling at first — parallel turns are different from snowplough. Putting power into the downhill foot naturally makes you turn, which is actually the same concept as in snowplough. So on my second try, everything went smoothly. With the foundation from snowplough, I didn’t fall even once and managed to make big S-turns all the way down. Though the S’s were super wide — otherwise I couldn’t control my speed, or rather, I didn’t know how to control speed at that point. This was still on the beginner slope. Yay, my second time trying parallel turns and no falls.

I didn’t have the half-snowplough phase as a foundation. Later, watching others ski, I learned there’s something called a “half-snowplough turn.” Most people struggle with transitioning from half-snowplough to parallel turns because they get stuck in the heel-leading phase and have a hard time correcting it, often falling as a result. Luckily, I went straight to parallel turns, or I imagine it would’ve been tough to adjust.

On my third attempt at parallel turns, when I could make big S-turns, I managed to angle the skis and slope between 80 to 90 degrees, and finally slowed down. Then it suddenly clicked — when you need to slow down, just turn more sharply. Then I watched an online video saying that pointing toward the fall line and putting power into it will help you stop. So I tried it myself, but nope, I just couldn’t apply that much power. I also didn’t know what part of my body to use. When I turned, how was I supposed to apply force along the fall line? My body was already in the turn — how could I direct power to the skis?? It’s such a tricky problem, and I still haven’t solved it or fully understood it. By this time, I had moved up to the intermediate slope. And guess what? I didn’t fall on my third try either.


On my fourth ski outing, I specifically watched several videos and tried to absorb the techniques. On the intermediate slope, I was still making big S-turns, still swerving from the east side of the slope to the west side. Phew, I still had no clue how to make tight S-turns within three meters because I couldn’t control my speed. When making big S-turns, I was managing my speed much better, using the downhill edge for parallel turns. Only after completing the turn and shifting direction would I engage the edge to carve into the snow. I didn’t dare flip the edges directly. I knew the inside foot should also carve, but I wasn’t putting any power into it — all the force was on the outside foot. I still hadn’t figured out how to apply pressure along the fall line to stop. So I was only slowing down because my S-turns were so wide — swinging from east to west, then aligning parallel to the fall line, which naturally reduced my speed. The skiing was fairly steady. I didn’t fall this time either, maybe because I’m just cautious. Also, I only chose wide, long intermediate slopes. I knew narrow ones were beyond me, so I didn’t even attempt them.


Then my issue arose — how do I improve? I can’t do an emergency stop at all. Also, from the videos, it seems that carving turns are based on the same principle as emergency stops, so I absolutely must learn how to stop. But I don’t understand the mechanics of an emergency stop. Can someone please explain the steps in detail? I plan to practice. When I see others do emergency stops, it looks like they suddenly flip their skis 90 degrees and apply force to the fall line??? I don’t get it. None of the videos I’ve seen cover emergency stops either.