How to Get Up After a Fall on Skis or a Snowboard

Falling is part of learning to ski or snowboard. In the first days you will fall many times, and most of those falls are slow and harmless. What really tires beginners out is not the falling but the struggle to get back up. With the right technique it takes a few seconds and very little energy.

First, check and clear

Before you try to stand up, take a moment to check that nothing hurts. Then look uphill. If you have fallen in the middle of the run, below a crest or in a narrow spot, move to the side as soon as you can: the FIS rules ask you to clear the piste quickly after a fall in such places. Skiers coming from above may not see you until late.

Getting up on skis

1. Roll so that your skis are below you, across the slope and parallel to each other.
2. Bring your hips close to your skis and bend your knees.
3. Put both poles together and plant them in the snow uphill, beside your hip.
4. Hold the poles with one hand near the top and the other low down, and push yourself up over your skis.
5. Keep the skis across the slope until you are standing, so that they do not start to slide.

If your skis are pointing downhill or tangled, lie on your back, lift both skis into the air and swing them round to the downhill side. On a gentle slope you can also push up with your uphill hand on the snow instead of using the poles.

Putting a ski back on

If a ski has come off, place it across the slope so that it cannot slide away; the ski brake will hold it. Knock the snow off the sole of your boot, put the toe into the binding first, then press your heel down firmly until it clicks. On a steep slope, stamp out a small flat platform in the snow first.

Getting up on a snowboard

Falls on a snowboard end in one of two positions: sitting and facing downhill, or kneeling and facing uphill.

From sitting (heel side): Pull the board in close to your bottom with your knees bent, so that it lies across the slope below you. Dig the heel edge into the snow, then push off the snow with your hands behind you, or grab the toe edge between your bindings, and rise up over your feet while keeping the edge in.

From kneeling (toe side): This is usually easier. Keep the toe edge dug in, push yourself up with your hands, lift your knees one at a time and stand up facing the hill.

Turning over: To switch from sitting to kneeling, lie on your back, lift the board into the air, roll onto your stomach and put the board down again across the slope, on the downhill side. Then stand up from your knees.

On flat ground, unstrap your back foot first: standing up with one foot free is much easier.

Fall better, get up faster

The easiest way to save energy is to fall well. On a snowboard, sit down onto your bottom on the heel side and fall onto your knees and forearms on the toe side, never onto outstretched hands; we explain this in our guide to turning on a snowboard. On skis, if you feel a fall coming, sit down to the side, uphill of your skis, rather than falling forwards, and do not try to stop yourself with straight arms.

Learning with an instructor

Getting up stops being a struggle very quickly once someone shows you how. Our First Steps lesson packages at Erciyes start with exactly these basics: getting to know the equipment and the right stance, before you move on to braking and turning.

• Beginners
• Ski technique
• Snowboarding
• Safety