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   "SKIING IS A SLIDING SPORT":
 Conventional Skiing Wisdoms (CSW's) 

by Bill Jones, Ski Instructor
Certified Professional Ski Instructor (Registration #110478), Level III
How to reserve private ski lessons with Bill Jones

 CSW #15:  "After one ski lesson, I should be able to 'ski the mountain'."

Were it only so! Skiing is a demanding athletic sport from both physical and skill standpoints--especially to a new skier whose body is unused to new ways of being moved. Still, many try to "ski the mountain" after one lesson--and some with no lesson--and a few succeed (probably less than 1 in 100, not counting those who come down the mountain in what could hardly be called skiing and perhaps in a ski patrol sled).

Lessons are designed to provide progressive steps to acquiring skiing skills, and the first lesson or lessons are to give skills to negotiate the easiest of terrain, not the next level that is "up the mountain". It is not possible on the gentle terrain where first lessons are taught to complete the teaching of skills needed for steeper and more varied terrain. Instead, these early lessons are designed to give a foundation for adding skills that will allow skiing more advanced terrains and textures.

Being able to stop and turn on gentle terrain can be done with elementary maneuvers such as the snowplow. These do not work well if at all on steeper slopes, however, and skills must be added for success there.

Nevertheless, many venture up the lifts to steeper slopes before they have the skills needed to control their direction and speed, with serious risk to themselves and to others whom they may run into. Skiing, after all, is a sliding sport, and we must manage the sliding. The assumption is that added skills give added safety.

Instructors are frequently cajoled to take students to terrains too advanced for their learning level. One instructor in expasperation observed with such a student near the end of the day's session where the learning area was at the top of the ski mountain,

"Let me see, you are skiing at 1 mile an hour and we are 3 1/2 miles from the base of the mountain."

"It is now 3 p.m., so if we start now even though your skills are not right for it, we will get to the bottom at 6:30 p.m., long after the lifts have closed and the ski patrol has left. It will be dark and cold. If you tire on the way because you technique is not yet efficient or ingrained, it will be even later when we get there."

main CSW contents
prior CSW #14: "For my height I need skis of a certain length"
next CSW  #16: "Fast skiers are out of control "

"SKIING IS A SLIDING SPORT"--a skiing web manual:    Skiing Web Manual Contents   Why Read This Skiing Web Manual That First Skiing Lesson  A Little Skiing History  Motion in Skiing  CONVENTIONAL SKIING WISDOMS  Skier Excuses  Fear in Skiing  Conditioning for Skiing   Equipment and Technique  Skiing Equipment  How Skis Work   How to Develop Balance on Skis  A Skiing Turn Simplified  The Final Skiing Skill: pressure management  Tactics for Terrains and Snow Textures and Racing  Skiing Tips and Tales--a potpourii    Exercises for Developing Skiing Skills  Children and Skiing  Age and Skiing  Gender & Skiing  Culture & Skiing Skiing Ethics and Survival  Slope Safety   Skiing Environment  Glossary  Acknowledgements SkiMyBest Website Contents  

This "CSW #15: 'After one lesson...'" page last modified January 9, 2022 . Did you come here from a link on another website? For latest version of this page, copy to your browser: http://www.SkiMyBest.com/skiCSW15.htm. Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022. William R Jones.