Simon Calder - Top Tips for Skiing
Video Playing Now: On the Road with Simon Calder: Top Ski Tips
Get some skiing tips for free! Simon Calder is in the French resort of Morzine and is talking to his ski instructor for some insiders information. Take a look here.
By Simon Calder
"Bend ze knees": that is the standard instruction from any ski teacher to a novice on the slopes.
It makes sense: you need your legs to be sufficiently supple and flexible to absorb the imperfections of the ski slopes and allow you to control most effectively those two slim and expensive planks that seem, when you are learning, to have a mind of their own.
But even before you hit the slopes, you need to make sure you're well equipped for the challenges ahead.
When I met Paul St Romaine, Director of The Edge Snowsports, in the French resort of Morzine, I was keen to find out the basics.
Clothing, sunscreen and water topped his list. The rest, he says, all follows if you get a good ski instructor.
Paul specialises in personal tuition. He told me his rates have not increased in sterling terms in the past year, in order to make life more manageable for British skiers.
And he also told me that when ski instructors say "lean forward", what they actually mean is "keep directly above your feet" - but, because of our instinctive tendency to lean back, they have to give an order that they know will rarely, if ever, be obeyed.
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