How to Control Your Speed on Skis as a Beginner
Learning to slow down is one of the first things every new skier needs to figure out. In this SNÖ Report, Coach Eric walks through how beginners control their speed on skis, starting with the foundation everyone learns on day one.
START WITH A PIZZA WEDGE
To make a pizza wedge, point the tips of your skis toward each other and push the tails out wide, so your skis form a wedge shape like a slice of pizza.
In a good wedge, your body stays centered between your legs. That position automatically puts you on the inside edges of your skis, which Eric describes as your “big toes”. The outside edges, on the little-toe side of each foot, are what he calls the danger zone. When Eric demonstrates the wedge, his little toes are lifted off the ground. If those outside edges touch the snow, you’re going down. The way to stay on your inside edges is to stay tall and keep good posture, which Eric says is essential for every skier.
HOW THE WEDGE CONTROLS YOUR SPEED
The wedge works like a dial. The wider you push your skis out, the higher your edges tip up and the more you slow down. The smaller your wedge and the flatter your skis, the faster you’ll go. This matters on the mountain. Once your skis flatten out, you can pick up speed almost too fast unless you know how to use your wedge to slow down.
LEARNING IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
At SNÖBAHN, beginners learn on a revolving slope, where the coach controls how things progress. You start slow, and your coach decides how far up the slope you go so you don’t build too much speed too soon. First you’ll put your feet together, pick up a little speed, and practice stopping in a wedge. Once that clicks, you’ll practice sliding forward and slowing down with your wedge while the carpet keeps moving. SNÖBAHN slopes have a bar in front of you while you’re training, so if you can’t slow down, it catches you. On the mountain, there’s nothing to catch you. That’s why Eric’s rule matters so much: if you keep your weight between your skis and on your inside edges, you won’t fall. Once your body moves outside your skis, you’re in the danger zone. To come to a full stop in the wedge, push both legs out evenly so you slow down without drifting left or right.
USE YOUR TURNS TO SLOW DOWN
The wedge isn’t the only way to control speed. When you make a turn from a wedge, you shift your weight onto your turning ski, and the edge of that ski slows you down every time. Turning, Eric says, is another way to manage speed.
If you can’t turn, you end up doing what Eric calls the “power pizza”: stuck in a wedge, pointed straight down the hill, unable to stop. His advice is to make sure you’re turning on the mountain. It’s the essential tip for getting to the bottom without burning out your legs.
