Learn how adjusting your ski tilt helps control movement on slopes. Tilting skis uphill aids traversing, while flattening skis enables smooth sideslipping.
When you’re starting out skiing, understanding how your skis interact with the snow is key. This cue—tilting your skis uphill to traverse and flattening them slightly to sideslip—is all about managing your edges through body position.
Traversing means moving across the slope without sliding downhill. To do this, you tilt both skis uphill. Imagine your skis as blades that need to bite into the snow to hold your position. By tilting them uphill, you engage the edges, creating grip. This feels like you’re gently pressing the inside edges of your skis into the hill, giving you control and preventing unwanted sliding. If you don’t tilt enough, your skis will feel loose and you’ll slide downhill instead of moving sideways.
Sideslipping is a controlled slide straight down the hill with your skis parallel. Here, you want to flatten your skis slightly. Flattening reduces the edge angle so the skis don’t bite into the snow but instead slide smoothly. It’s not about laying your skis completely flat on the snow; a slight flattening lets you control the speed and direction of your slide. If your skis are still too tilted, they’ll catch unexpectedly, which can throw off your balance.
A common mistake is confusing these two positions. If you try to sideslip with skis tilted uphill, you’ll catch an edge and stop suddenly. Conversely, if you traverse with skis too flat, you’ll lose grip and slide downhill unintentionally. Practicing this cue helps you feel the difference in edge engagement and builds confidence moving across and down gentle slopes.
For more on controlling your skis and body position, check out the Traverse & Sideslip skill page and related cues like “Keep weight evenly distributed” and “Flex ankles to adjust edge pressure.” Turn Lab highlights this cue as a simple yet effective way to improve your basic ski control early on.
Tilting your skis uphill engages the edges, giving you grip on the snow. This prevents slipping downhill and helps you move steadily across the slope.
You want to reduce edge angle just enough so the skis slide smoothly without catching. It’s a gentle flattening, not completely flat, allowing controlled sideways movement.
If your skis are too flat while traversing, you’ll slip downhill. If they’re too tilted during sideslipping, the edges will catch and stop your slide abruptly.
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