So part of my teaching is explaining and presenting my philosophy to my guests. This starts in a beginner lesson where we skip over the wedge to prevent using the skis as brakes, then in my higher level lessons where we talk about skiing a slower path down the mountain as fast as we possibly can. I do teach the wedge once the students are ready to ride their first chair lift, but often at this point they have already mastered turning to a stop!
Philosophical points:
Skis are not brakes. If they were meant to brake, we would not wax them to reduce their sliding friction. You don’t drive with your parking brake engaged, so don’t ski with the brakes on either.
When in doubt, carve it out. Once a skier is high level, they should be carving every turn unless twisting is needed to control line or stop. Just the intention to carve a turn often results in more efficient and effective skiing.
Turn to a stop when there is room. Turning to a stop is really critical to eventually learning the “hockey stop”. This is what I teach my beginners after their first turns to give them their speed control.
Ski with your feet. They are the part of your body closest to the ski, and therefore will affect your skis outcome the quickest and most precisely.
Skiing should not be hard. It is not a fight to get down the hill. Gravity is our engine. I always remind people that the chair lift should be doing most of the work. Our skis then pick up a bit more of the work, and yes, it is a physical sport, so our athleticism plays a role as well.
I don’t start teaching the first run. I don’t even like teaching in the first hour. I prefer all day lessons since these give the time required to make a genuine connection between the ski instructor and guests. Lines of communication through pattern recognition allow for a better path forward for the lesson. Often the follow up lesson is where the magic truly happens since everyone is speaking the same language.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to skiing with you, sharing some thoughts on skiing, life, and giving you a fantastic mountain experience.