From wedge to parallel: five skills for your first turns
Once you can wedge turn and stop, matching your skis is the next big step. A national team instructor shows how in this short lesson.
In a parallel turn both skis stay side by side through the whole turn. You don’t get there by forcing your feet together. You get there by making the wedge smaller, a little at a time, until it disappears.
Practice on a slope where you feel completely relaxed, usually the easiest run you know, in a balanced stance: knees and ankles bent, hands out in front, upper body tipped slightly forward.
The five skills
- Shrink the wedge. Make your wedge turns with a narrower wedge. Near the end of each turn, slide the inside ski in to match the outside ski. Over time, match earlier, about halfway through the turn.
- Shift your weight. Stand mostly on the outside ski. To check, lightly lift and tap the inside ski as you turn. If you can, your weight is in the right place.
- Release your edges. On a gentle slope, stand across the hill and flatten your skis until you slide sideways. Flattening the skis is how every parallel turn begins.
- Steer with your legs. Twist both legs together to point your skis in the new direction while your upper body keeps facing mostly down the hill.
- Round your turns. Aim for smooth C-shaped arcs rather than sharp zigzags. Round turns control your speed without skidding.
When to move up
Expect a few plateaus. Most skiers match their skis at the end of the turn long before they can match them at the start, and a wedge may creep back on steeper or icier snow. That is normal progress, not a sign you are doing it wrong.
Once you can link parallel turns on the easiest runs, try intermediate runs (blue square in North America, red in Europe) with an instructor or a friend.