Learn how to find the right style & size of ski in this free beginner skiing lesson on video.
Dave Smith has been skiing for more than 21 years. He lives in Wood Village, Ore., and has been working at Hillcrest Ski and Sports as a salesman and buyer for more than five years. He was an instructor with the Mt. Hood Meadows ski school. Despite working full time at Hillcrest, Smith manages to get 30 to 40 days on the snow each season.
Hi! This is Dave Smith with Hillcrest Ski and Sports in Gresham, Oregon on behalf of Expert Village. In this tutorial, we will cover beginning skiing. In this clip, we'll cover how to select the size and style of ski. Selecting a size of ski is a matter of personal preference. However, there are some general guidelines that may help you out. The longer a ski is, the faster it will go and the harder it will be control. The shorter a ski is, the slower it will go and the easier it will to turn. For this reason, many beginners should start out with a ski that's a little shorter. Generally, something that's between your chin and your nose is a good size to start out on. This ski will be a good choice for me if I was a beginner. It has a relatively soft flex, which you can see as I flex this ski, and a nice side, which means it' s relativity wide in the tip and tail and slightly narrower at the waist. This makes the ski much easier to turn. Skis are a lot like tools in a tool box. They're different tools for different jobs. There's different skis for different styles of skiing. This particular ski is a race ski. It's much shorter. It's also very stiff for stability at high speeds. It has a very wide tip and tail and narrow waist, which means it will turn very quickly for someone that's trying to get around. This is a powder ski. As you can tell, it's very wide throughout. Wide in the tip, wide in the waist, and wide in the tail. It also has a softer flex than the race ski. This allows it to float better in deep snow. It's also a much taller ski, which gives it a more surface area so the ski will float on top of the snow instead of sinking beneath it. As a beginner, try to stick with something that's sized between your chin and your nose and has a relatively soft flex pattern. This will help you build confidence on the slope. You can always get some more advanced skis later when you've learned some more advanced techniques.
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