The Snowplough: How to Stop and Turn on Skis

The first thing every new skier learns is not how to go faster but how to stop. The way to do it is the snowplough: you bring the tips of your skis together and push the tails apart, so from above your skis look like the letter "A" or a slice of pizza. That is why instructors often call it "pizza" when teaching children. Once you have the snowplough, you have the most important skill of day one: control.

The right stance

• Bend your knees slightly and keep your weight even on both feet.
• Lean your upper body slightly forward and face down the slope; do not sit back.
• Keep your arms in front and your poles by your sides, with your hands where you can see them.
• Look where you are going, not at your feet.

Braking step by step

1. On flat ground, bring the tips of your skis together, leaving a gap of about a fist between them.
2. Push your heels outwards to open the tails, forming the letter "A".
3. Press your knees gently inwards: the skis tilt onto their inside edges and the snow pushes back.
4. Make the "A" wider to slow down and narrower to glide. To stop, widen it and keep your weight even on both skis.

Repeating this a few times on a gentle beginner slope lays the foundation for everything that follows.

Turning in a snowplough

To turn in a snowplough, put your weight on the ski opposite the direction you want to go: the right ski to turn left, the left ski to turn right. The weighted ski steers you the other way. Think of your turns as wide arcs from one side of the run to the other rather than straight down the hill; that way your speed stays under control on its own.

Common mistakes

• Leaning back: Fear shifts your weight backwards and the skis run away. Keeping your hands in front fixes this.
• Crossing tips: The point of the "A" closes and the skis cross. Keep a fist-sized gap between the tips.
• Flat skis: A snowplough without edge grip does not brake. Remember to press your knees inwards.
• Looking down: Staring at your feet ruins your balance; look a few metres ahead.

When to move on to parallel

When you can turn and stop comfortably in a snowplough on a blue run, you are ready to start skiing parallel. The first step is to bring the inside ski alongside the outside ski at the end of each turn. Working on this with an instructor gives much faster results.

On our First Steps lesson packages at Erciyes, a four-hour basic lesson takes you from the snowplough to your first turns. To choose where to practise, have a look at our guide to ski piste colours.

• Ski technique
• Snowplough
• Beginners
• Ski lessons