The weather this past week was really wet and slippery so my mom and I decided not to go up the mountain as planned. Instead I decided to spend some time watching YouTube videos so I have a better idea of how exactly to turn and stop. I watched a couple different videos and below are the two that I found the most helpful.

This one was by the Nordic Ski Lab – it was approximately 30 minutes and covered all the basic skills as well as detailed explanations of how your body should be moving as you are skiing.

This lesson was great because it started right from the beginning and assumed you know absolutely nothing about cross-country skiing, which lets be honest, I do not.

The next video was shorter than the first and went through all the same skills as the first but in far less detail. It was interesting to see how the same basic skills were described in two completely different ways.

Now that I have a better idea of some techniques I can try,  I plan on focusing on the following skills then next time we head out:

  • gliding vs shuffling: when skiing along the flat sections I am going to focus on shifting my weight from one foot to the other and even lifting my back foot of the snow a little, as if I am almost running
  • slowing down: bending my legs and shifting my weight forward will give me more control when I have my skis in a slow plow, this will give me more control when going down hill
  • turning: having one ski in the outside track and snowplowing with one ski while transitioning my weight to one side should help me navigate going around corners while going down hill

I’m excited to get back out there and give some of these techniques a try!