Skiing Made Easy

Skiing Made Easy is a practical guide to learning to ski, based on many happy seasons of ski teaching in Val Thorens.

Most of the demonstrations are performed by my friend and fellow Val Thorens ski instructor Marina.

How to Buy Skiing Made Easy

Paperback Direct from ValThorensGuide (£5.95)

The cheapest way to buy the paperback is direct from ValThorensGuide for £5.95 + P&P.

Buy Skiing Made Easy in paperback direct.

Paperback on Amazon

Skiing Made Easy is available in paperback on Amazon. There's:

the original premium colour edition (£10.95) or
the standard colour edition (£8.95)

Kindle Ebook on Amazon

There's also a Kindle ebook of Skiing Made Easy on Amazon at £5.50.

As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Apple Books and Google Play Books

It's also available as an ebook on Apple Books and on Google Play Books.

Photo Gallery

Since the book was first published I've updated it with new, improved images and diagrams. The images in the book are also in available on this website - see the photo gallery.

What's In the Book?

Skiing Made Easy takes you through the beginner's progression from snowplough to parallel turns. It starts at the very beginning, with a chapter about putting on your skis and boots - important, and an area where mistakes are sometimes made!

I suggest relevant exercises to develop and improve your skills, and I identify common faults and how to correct them.

'By the way' sections contain information about many of the little things that people often assume you just know, but you may not.

Who Is the Book For?

The book assumes no prior knowledge, so it's suitable for complete beginners and people who are in the early stages of learning to ski. It's not a substitute for ski lessons, but it will help you make the absolute most of your tuition, and understand why you're being asked to make movements or do exercises.

Even if you've been skiing lots of times, Skiing Made Easy will enable you to understand more clearly why you use certain techniques, and you'll almost certainly learn things you never knew before.

For an experienced skier who is planning to help a novice friend or family member, or a trainee ski instructor, this book could be invaluable.

Buy Skiing Made Easy.

Happy skiing!

The Chapters of Skiing Made Easy

Skiing Made Easy, Chapter One: Putting on Your Boots and Skis

A lot of people have painful feet or shins on the first day of ski lessons simply because nobody has showed them how to put on their boots properly. Don't make that mistake!

Chapter One is all about equipment: how to put on your boots, putting on your skis and taking them off again, and the names of the different parts of skis.

Skiing Made Easy, Chapter Two: Snowplough

Chapter Two is about the snowplough - snowploughing in a straight line, and making sure your plough is the right width and not lopsided.

I include a useful snowplough exercise, and 'by the way' sections on getting up after a fall, how to carry your skis, going uphill with your skis on, and magic carpet ski lifts.

Skiing Made Easy, Chapter Three: Snowplough turns

Chapter Three explains how to do snowplough turns.

I suggest an exercise to make sure your weight stays on the outside ski when turning, and run through a few common faults and how to avoid them.

'By the way' sections include the correct way to put on your pole straps, and using the chairlift.

Skiing Made Easy, Chapter Four: Plough Parallels

Chapter Four covers the next stage - plough parallel turns. This is an intermediate step on the way to parallel turns, and involves a snowplough at the start of the turn and parallel skis at the end.

As well as explaining a plough parallel turn, I suggest a heel-lifting exercise, a side-slipping exercise, and a skidding exercise.

Skiing Made Easy, Chapter Five: Parallel Turns

Chapter Five is about parallel turns. Everything in the book has been leading to this.

I explain the elements of a parallel turn - weight transfer, simultaneous edge change, steering the skis round the turn, and skidding at the end to control speed - and show you the turn as a whole.

As usual, I suggest exercises (falling leaf, skid to a stop). 'By the way' sections include pole plants, posture, and drag lifts.

Skiing Made Easy, Looking Ahead

The explanations and exercises in Skiing Made Easy, together with quality ski instruction, should give you a great foundation for your skiing.

Being able to do parallel turns is a brilliant achievement, but it doesn't mean you've learnt everything there is to know about skiing.

In the short 'Looking Ahead' chapter, I simply mention the more advanced skiing techniques beyond basic parallel turns. They are carving, short turns, bumps and off piste.