Snow Skills

O.K., today’s blog is surely a pet peeve of mine in skiing; too many people have no idea how to carry a pair of skis comfortably! Let’s face it, the gear can be heavy and you’re probably wearing heavy layers of clothing and might be in your ski boots and it’s likely that you’re walking uphill or on uneven terrain and yeah, sure, it can be a challenge! With all that adversity, folks tend to make things worse by contorting their bodies and limbs in all sorts of combinations that usually aren’t very efficient and lead to almost immediate fatigue. These folks are almost human porcupines, in that their gear is sticking out in all directions and likely to hit anyone and anything close by. To learn how to carry skis comfortably, watch the professional skiers from your local ski school and ski patrol: they’ll show you how it’s done!

To carry skis outdoors, place them bottom to bottom and secure them with the brakes. With the skis standing on their tails, place them behind you, just over your stronger shoulder (i.e. the right shoulder if you’re right-handed) and reach back over your shoulder with that hand. Grasp the skis just below where the tips end by sandwiching the skis between your fingers. Now, CHECKING THAT THERE’S NO ONE STANDING BEHIND YOU, pull the skis upward a few inches and then pull the tips forward and down over your shoulders. Your shoulder will act as a fulcrum and tails will lift easily off the ground. Continue to pull the skis forward until your hand is almost fully extended and the skis are resting comfortably on your shoulder, with the binding toepiece just touching the back of your shoulder. You can now keep the skis balanced on your shoulder simply by pressing your hand down on the tips, keeping the tails slightly higher than your shoulder. Voila: your body supports the weight of the ski while your arm allows you to control the swing and height of the skis so that you don’t strike anything or anybody. To put them down, just reverse the process. Carry your poles by the shaft just below the grips in the other hand.

To carry skis indoors, place them bottom to bottom and secure them with the brakes. With the skis standing on their tails, place them in front of you, just in front of your shoulder. Reach forward and grasp the skis about 6 inches below where the tips end by sandwiching the skis between your fingers. Now, pick them up and move the tails forward a few feet, taking a step forward as you do so. Repeat with each step, such that you’re moving the skis forward and then stepping up to them. It’s similar to how you’d use crutches, not that any skier wants to have that experience(!). The skis stay mostly upright, so there’s almost no chance you’ll strike anyone or anything. Again, carry your poles by the shaft just below the grips in the other hand, keeping the poles mostly upright.

Follow the lead of the pros, they know how to do things safely and efficiently!