21st December 2011

five tips for beginner skiers

If you are going on a skiing holiday this year and not sure how to ski, the chances are you are feeling a little apprehensive. Whilst there is nothing quite like learning how to do ski when you are actually on the slopes, there is a certain amount of pre-ski holiday advice that you can take on board to help prepare yourself for that first and albeit daunting lunge down the piste.

Below are five tips for beginner skiers.

Master the art of walking in skis

One of the first tips for beginner skiers is to learn to walk in skis. When you put on your ski boots, push most of your weight between your heel and the arch of your foot as this will help you to keep your balance. Practise walking around in your boots and skis by alternatively sliding one ski ahead of the other.

Practise a straight run

“Walk” to the top of a gentle slope. Whilst your skis are facing sideways, position your hands and shoulders so that they are facing down the hill. In small steps slowly point your skis downhill also, while putting your weight on the ski poles. Bend your knees and lean forward a little. Lift the poles out of the snow and slowly glide down the slope in a straight line.

Control your speed

Skiers control their speed using a “gliding wedge”; a “V” shaped position that creates resistance as you travel downhill and therefore slows you down. You can form the “gliding wedge” position by sliding both ski tails apart at an equal distance while keeping the tips of the skis together. The wider you position the ski tails apart the slower you will go, giving you more control over the skis.

Practise stopping

To actually stop your skis from moving you simply have to apply more pressure on your left ski while gliding down a hill in a glide wedge position. Make sure that you keep your body straight whilst you turn the left ski slightly and the pressure you have created will steer you slightly to the right until you come to a stop.

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8th December 2011

Best Skiing Safety Equipment – The Arva Axis Avalanche Transceiver

The Arva Axis Avalanche Transceiver – Skiing  safety equipment at its most advanced.

Since the 1950s, avalanche-related fatalities have been on the rise and according to geography.about.com, avalanches claim approximately 150 lives each year worldwide and hundreds more are injured by being trapped in an avalanche.

The Alpine countries of Switzerland, Italy, France and Austria experience the greatest number of avalanches and loss of life by avalanches in the world each year.

Without meaning to alarm you, if you are off on a skiing holiday this winter then you may be interested in taking the Axis, one of the most advanced skiing safety equipment on the market, which, without seeming paranoid, could help to save the lives on anyone who has got into trouble off piste.

Designed by snow safety specialists Arva, the Axis is the company’s third avalanche transceiver to be launched, its predecessors proving to be extremely popular in both Europe and the US, a popularity that can be pinned primarily on its user-friendly interface.

This highly sophisticated avalanche transceiver enables skiers and rescuers to locate anyone who may be buried in an avalanche. Featuring both analog and digital search modes, the Axis is able to search an area of 50 square metres and detect multiple victims.

Being powered by the latest 16 bit processor, the latest Axis avalanche transceiver provides real time direction and distance information, which could prove to be crucial in complex search situations.

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