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Skiing Steep Slopes

Skiing steeper terrain presents a host of extra challenges. You accelerate faster, so you have to work harder to control your speed. The steeper the slope, the more you feel as though you are free-falling when you turn. Also, you feel heavier on a steeper slope, so you need to work harder to keep your edges gripping. Overall you need good balance � and greater power than you would on flatter slopes.

Many skiers lose balance on steeps simply because they lack confidence. They lean back because they are nervous, but this makes skiing harder: having the weight over the tails of the skis makes them dig into the snow. Another result of leaning back is that you lose the flex in your ankle joints. In both cases, your skis become harder to steer.

However nervous you may be, it is important to keep all joints flexed and functioning, as you would on a flatter slope. Always be aware of maintaining a little flex throughout your turns.

You also need to be more sensitive to the pressures acting on your downhill leg. If these build up too much, you may lose the edge, the downhill leg will skid sideways away from under you, and you could fall.

Here are some tips for keeping in dynamic balance, for releasing the back of your skis on turns, and for holding a good edge grip.

A common problem for skiers tackling steeps is that they don�t adjust their body position for the steeper gradient. If you are to maintain the same level of control in your skiing, the angle between your thighs and the skis needs to stay roughly the same, whether you are skiing a flattish slope or a much steeper one.

Many skiers, however, flex their knees more and more the steeper a slope gets. One reason they may not adjust their position for the steeper gradient is a fear of moving their hips down the hill � which can be a very intimidating feeling.

The best way to get the body in a correct position for the steeper slopes is to think �thigh high�. This basically means raising your thigh to maintain the angle it makes with the slope.

To learn to do this, practice on shallower slopes: the video shows you how. Once you are used to the feeling, move to the steeper slopes: you should find that you feel much more in control.

For more information on this topic please visit the following: Suunto Ambit, Garmin fenix and GPS watch