1. Feel the Sensation
In order to ski carve correctly, you must learn where you are making your slip-ups. Most often, when a person thinks he is carving correctly, he is actually skidding. If you slow down when carving, you will discover exactly where these skids are occurring. Start on flat terrain in order to move at a slower pace. Start with quarter turns making sure to dig your skis deep into the snow. Practice until you can ski a parallel turn in a full circle without skidding.
2. Know Your Body
Ski carving involves performing a move called a cross over. This is where your body moves across the skis to tip the skis to the opposite edge. You begin the cross over at the end of one turn to begin the next turn. In order to perform the cross over you have to know your body. The hips are an integral part of crossing over. To learn how your hips operate when you are ski carving, practice skiing on a slight slope with your hands on your hips. Feel how they move when you turn and carve. You must also pay attention to your knees. They need to be equally spaced apart with your hips and feet at all times. Check that your knees are spaced properly by skiing without your poles and placing your hands between your knees as you attempt a cross over.
3. Just Relax
One of the biggest problems people have when they ski turns is they just can't relax, preventing them from leaning in far enough. This can cause you to skid out of your turns. In order to carve smoothly move your hips towards the inside of your turn and bend your inner leg. Practice this on flat ground then slowly progress to the slopes when you are able to move your hips to the inside at the beginning of the turn and increase your lean.
4. Get a Power Boost
After you learn how to carve a ski turn, you can increase your power by steering with your thighs. There are times when you will still have to steer with your feet, especially when you ski short-radius turns. To get more speed and power on the turns it is best to use your thighs as often as possible. Using your thighs for steering reduces your mistakes and increases your effectiveness.
5. Conquer the Ice
Beginning ski carvers usually ski on soft, groomed snow. Once a skier has become proficient at soft snow, it is time to conquer the hard, icy snow. Icy snow is a lot less forgiving of error. When carving on this type of snow, keep your body centered over the arches of your feet at the beginning of the turn. To prevent the tail of the skis from breaking loose at the end of the turn, apply pressure at the beginning of the turn and pull out a little bit sooner.
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