This is how the marketing message of iSki Instructor begins. Although I have seen already quite a few similar ads I got curious and wanted to know more about this particular application, so instead of reading and trusting the whole marketing bribe I wanted to hear more from the company behind iSki application. I contacted  Pernille Slot who runs the Danish company and shot few hot questions.

Interviewing Pernille Slot – the creative founder and owner of Danish iSki company

[Hometown Boy]: Pernille, what’s the purpose of iSki application? As a self-learned skier, snowboarder and telemarker I’s like to know what kind of benefits such an application provides to skiers?

[Pernille]: I believe you “Homeboys” are already experienced and skillful skiers, so I wouldn’t recommend iSki exactly to you, but people who are learning to ski can benefit from using iSki application. Having iSki on your iPhone or iPod Touch you can listen to how you get into the most optimal skiing position and you can also watch live on the screen how your are doing the exercises. This way you can start preparing yourself at home or on your way to the destination and listen to iSki’s guiding when you are on the slopes. If you find special interest in certain chapters you can choose to practice them as many times as you like.

[Hometown Boy]: All right, I see. I’d like to dig this a bit more, so could you describe who exactly needs “a ski instructor in a pocket”?

[Pernille]: I would say iSki Basic is for you

• who have been skiing more than 3 weeks
• who would like a dynamic skiing style
• who would like a nice relaxed and stable skiing style
• who would like to learn how to control the speed during turning
• who would like to learn how to carve ski

In fact iSki is not meant to be used only by beginners. It could also help experienced skiers who have been away from the skies for a little while, to find there balance point again. It`s a good brush up for everybody who is not standing on skis several months a year. So for the common ski enthusiasts who have few weeks a year time to ski, and who would like to develop their skiing from the beginning, I would say iSki brings them faster to the point where they can start developing instead of using a day or two to adjust body to the new environment. Start with iSki and develop to the level you want.

[Hometown Boy]: May be my next question is a bit silly, but do you personally use your own product?

[Pernille]: No, it’s not silly at all. I do use iSki when I go skiing. I have the opportunity to do my ski lessons when I like to and as many times as I like. Basically with iSki you get your own personal ski instructor for less than the price of one ski lesson, and iSki you may use again, again and again.

[Hometown Boy]: Does this mean we won’t need real ski instructors anymore in the future?

[Pernille]: No, because iSki is not meant to replace a real human ski instructor. Anyhow, it can prepare you so that you will get the absolute best out of your skiing also when you are with your local ski instructor.

[Hometown Boy]: Ok, I see. iSki seems to be an additional tool for learning to ski. Pernille, how did you come up with the idea of iPhone or iPod Touch teaching people to ski?

[Pernille]: Well, it’s a long story, but let me tell you..

I had been away from teaching skiing for a couple of years when I was invited to come along on a trip with teenagers. The first day I had 16 beginners on a cold frosty northside of the mountain. I started teaching without thinking too seriously about all the ski teaching or technicals trueness. It was just me teaching these kids and having fun. After 1,5 hour of balance training all 16 beginners could ski.. All this happened without talking anything about technics such as “This is how you break, this is how you turn”, but only by letting them play with there balance on skis and guiding them to the good feeling of balance. That was amazing to me, and I acctually thought it was a coincidental.

Later on the afternoon a pair wanted to get a ski lesson. In the beginning the of the lesson the lady told me that she was a little bit scared because she was ran over by a snowboarder earlier that day. We started out nice and easy, and I did the same way as with teenagers. I communicated with my tools from my knowledge about how the human brain works and the fact that the body is learning faster than the brain. I trained them balancing in 2 hours on all diffrent kind of terrain. In the end of the day I was waiting on the side of the slope when she came down to me doing nice big curves, while suddenly a snowboarder approaced behind here and came really close to here legs. She just continued with the same peace and dynamic as before. I was affraid in that moment on her behalf, but she just continued and told me afterwards: “I saw him but It’s fine now, I have the control. I know how it feels when I’m running good, and I knew he would stop because he had the giving way.”

Then it stroke me. This is to good to keep in my mind. I had to find a way to provide this information to anyone who wants to learn to ski. Afterwards some of their friends said to the male “Soren, what have you done? You ski like a whole other skier than for 2 hours ago!” They have been skiing together for over 15 years.

[Hometown Boy]: Interesting story, Pernille. Thanks for giving us your time and sharing your story. Is there something more you would like to say?

[Pernille]: Well, my bottom line is that the strategy of my work is to do it as simple as possible, and to make it work most places possible. People can see the video at home, on the road, in the lift or even on the slope. They can plug in the earplugs and let them be guided for just 1 hour to their best balance point where all good skiing begins. In the future I will add some software technical features as speedometer, altitude meter, trailtrack and even a movement sensor. So it will become an interactive ski instructor.

[Hometown Boy]: All right, thanks! All the best for you and your iSki Instructor application!

What do YOU as a reader think about apps like iSki? Is this the future of learning to ski? Please have your say.

This the third article in my six article series of skiing beginners tips will teach you how to make the very first turn with skis. Before making your first turns I also tell you how to get on and off a chair lift. Before getting to a slope remember to protect your skin from sun and cold! Use plenty of sun cream, preferably some well-known and high quality sun cream. There is lot more ultraviolet radiation up in the mountains, you can easily burn your skin badly in one day. Also use goggles or sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Now that you have learned how to slide with your skis, it is time to get on a lift and go to the top of the piste. Start with beginners or family pistes; don’t go directly to advanced skiers piste. All pistes in Europe are marked with color codes as shown below.

Green – Beginners

Blue – Little advanced skiers

Red – Intermediate skiers and experienced skiers

Black – Very experienced and skillful skiers

Learn to ski – Getting on and off a chair lift

When clicking your boots into the bindings of your skis, use your poles to scrape off any snow of the bottom of your boots. Then use your poles to join the chair lift queue. As you approach the ski lift, look at people ahead and see where the launch spot is where they wait for the lift. Once its your turn, you should go stand at that same spot as well. If you cannot see it or you are not sure, ask the lift personnel. If there is no lift personnel, ask other skiers. Next take your poles in one hand and go stand on the line in order to catch the lift. Look over your shoulder, wait until the ski lift touches your knees and then just sit on the chair. Pull down the safety bar. And do not try licking the cold metal bar because your tongue will immediately get stuck to the metal! This might sound funny but believe me; I have seen people doing it. They just had no clue what happens if you stick your tongue to cold metal?

While enjoying the lift ride you can think about the skiing beginners tips that you have learned. As you approach the upper landing spot, push the safety bar up about 10-20 meters before getting off. Beware of falling! Slide your butt to the edge of the seat and prepare to get off the lift. As soon as your skis touch the ground, stand up and push yourself away from the lift. Keep gliding away from the landing spot because the next chair will be coming soon after you. Slide to a safe area where you will not collide with other skiers that are getting off the lift. Then take your poles and prepare for your first ski run. It is time to learn to ski.

Learn to ski – Making the first snowplough turns

Start sliding down the piste, not straight but towards the other side of the piste so that your velocity won’t get too high. Keep your feet apart so that they form a V-shape (angle in front). This stance is called the snowplough stance and turning your skis like this is called the snowplough turn. This stance helps you to stay in control over your skis and prevents you from gaining too much speed. Some folks call this a “wedge” or a “pizza” turn. As described in Wikipedia “The front tips of the skis are brought together and the tails pushed wide apart, with the knees rolled inwards slightly. By applying pressure against the snow with the edges of the skis, speed is reduced and the skier can stop completely”.

As you approach the other side of the piste with your skis in V-position, start moving your weight to the uphill ski. When you do this you notice that your skis are going to turn downwards. Keep your arms relaxed and poles positioned in front of you. As you make a 180 degree turn your uphill ski will become your downhill ski. As soon as you are done with the turn continue back to the other side of the piste. Repeat the same procedure on the other side but this time other way round. As it is said, one picture tells more than one thousand words. I believe one video clip including 24 still pictures per second tell more than a zillion words. Check out the video below provided by YouTube user called filibo. It shows pretty well how to make a snowplough turn. It isn’t actually so hard to learn to ski, but it might require some time and patience.

If you ever hire a skiing instructor, you will hear these same tips from him/her as well. These are not invented by me. Instead these tips are generally known as good practices for learning to ski. I learned to ski by myself because my parents never had money to hire an instructor, but I have tuned my skills later on with these same tips. I encourage you to hire an instructor if you can in order to learn to ski the right way. If you do it alone, just like I did, there is a high risk of learning poor skiing techniques. Learning good techniques later on is possible but usually requires lots of efforts, and unfortunately many people fail to do it. As we use to say in Finland, “it’s difficult to teach an old dog to swim“. Anyhow, check out below my techniques and tips for learning to ski. Understanding those techniques before you go skiing and before you hire an instructor is a great benefit.

Learn to ski – Lesson #4: Find a Balanced Position

Let us assume that you have just put the skis on and this is your very first time standing on alpine skis. Now you need to find a stable position in which you feel comfortable. Bend your knees a little so that you feel a little pressure in your thigh and buttocks. Do not stand straight so that your knees are “locked” because it is not a natural skiing position and in that position you cannot control your skis. The balanced position is such a position in which you are standing with your knees bent a little, back straight, arms in front of you and relaxed, and skis about 10 centimeters apart from each other. It is a position in which you feel good and you know that you can control your skis.

Learn to ski – Lesson #5: Start Sliding With Your Skis

Next step in learning to ski is to learn to slide. Use your poles to push yourself forward in order to slide. Do this on a very slightly leaning ground, not on a steep slope. As you start pushing with your poles, you notice that you can easily fall if you do not control your balance. Lean slightly to your boots, do not lean back. Keep your weight a little in front in order to keep your balance. You should feel a slight pressure in your shanks. If not, then your position might not be optimum in order to keep your balance when sliding. Remember to keep your knees bent as you slide with your skis. Do not “lock” you knees straight and do not lean back. Keep an eye on your surroundings. There are lots of people in slopes and you must learn to observe other skiers to avoid accidents.

Learn to ski – Lesson #6: Sliding And Breaking On A Slope

Now that you have found your balanced position and you have learned to slide with your skis on “non-steep” ground, it is time to go to a slope. Start in a family slope! Find the easiest slope in your ski resort and start there. As soon as you have reached your starting point on the slope, start learning to slide and break on a slope. Your goal is to move from side to side by sliding. Do not try to make any turns yet, just focus in sliding and breaking in order to control your speed. Use your poles to get a little bit speed. As soon as you gain speed and your skis start sliding, start breaking by turning the tips of your skis downwards. This causes that the nose of your skis turn upwards. Simply said, you are breaking against the direction of your skis. Keep your knees bent, look ahead, and lean forward slightly to keep your weight in front. The idea is to slow down and control your speed by breaking against the direction your skis are pointing to. As soon as you have reached the other side of the slope, continue by sliding backwards. Do this sliding as long as you wish, at least as long as you feel you are ready to try learning controlled falling.

Learn to ski – Lesson #7: Controlled Falling

Today’s articles last lesson discusses about controlled falling. Skiing can take some time for some people, especially for those who have never been on any kind of skis. That is why it may time few days to really learn to make turns. It can be dangerous in the slopes sometimes, especially if you cannot control your speed. That is why we learn to fall next. Controlled falling is your “emergency button”. If you loose your control on your skis and you quickly gain a high speed, you’re only way to stop that madness is to fall. It might hurt a little, but it is helluva lot better than crashing with trees or falling from a cliff. So, let us learn to fall.

As you continue sliding on a slope, begin practicing falling. Make sure you have no other skiers close to you! Gain speed a little bit, keep your feet 10-20 centimeters apart, hands close to your body, and start falling to your backside. Have you ever trained martial arts, such as Aikido or Judo? In those sports falling is done in same way. The idea is to get your feet touching the ground before your buttocks as well as your buttocks touching the ground before your back, etc. Think of yourself a rope that falls down centimeter by centimeter. First your tights touch he ground, next your buttocks, next your side and finally your arms. Falling down little by little helps you to avoid injuries. It is important to fall controlled, not “just fall” because you might break your bones. It is also important to keep your hands close to your body and not to fall by touching the ground with your hands first. If you do it this way, you might easily break your arms and wrists.

This was our second article on tips and tricks for learning to ski. If something was unclear, please ask by leaving a comment. If you have different ideas for learning to ski, please point them out. All feedback is warmly welcome!

Have you just started skiing or are you planning to start skiing? Have you already tried skiing? If you are a beginner, this article series is right for you. We provide you some valuable beginner’s skiing tips in this article series. We here in the “Homeboy Headquarters” are all very experienced skiers on all terrains from race tracks to backcountries and moguls to powder fields. We know a thing or two about skiing, snowboarding, telemark skiing, moguls skiing and even monoskiing and ballet skiing. We have crawled many backcountries and we have been to races. We are not alpine champions but we have a broad experience in skiing.

Beginners tips for skiing – Learn to ski straight from the beginning

Ok, was this good enough self-promotion? I think it is time to move on with our beginner’s skiing tips. So this article opens a series of 6 articles on beginner’s skiing tips. We will tell you everything we know about learning to ski, based on our experiences. In this first part we start from the very beginning.

Learn to ski – Lesson #1: Think about your motivation to learn to ski. Why are you interested in skiing and do you think your motivation will remain?

It all starts from motivation. What is your motivation to start skiing? How did you come up with the idea of learning to ski? I am not asking you to say if it is a good idea or not, I say it is a great idea. You have discovered a great sport. Instead I want you to think about your motivation and the level of your enthusiasm. What is your driving force to start skiing? It is important to make the motivation clear for yourself, because if your motivation is weak, you might quit skiing in a couple of weeks.

This happened to me when I tried to learn golf. My motivation was purely ridiculous. I wanted to play golf just because it was so fancy sport (yeah, honestly), but I did not understand my motivation on that time. After few days of practicing I realized that it’s absolutely not my sport. I started to think about my motivation to the sport, and I found out that in fact I don’t have any real motivation or enthusiasm to play golf. I do not like it. I actually hate it! So, I quit. I lost some money with this experiment, but hopefully not much.

Learn to ski – Lesson #2: Rent all the equipment for the first ten times. Do not purchase immediately

The second lesson is related to investments. After you have figured out your motivation to ski, you probably would like to rush into a ski store and purchase all the possible skiing equipment. Hold your horses! Skiing equipment are pretty expensive, so consider renting the equipment for the first ten times. Yes, not less than ten, because if you go skiing ten times during the same year, you most probably will continue the sport. If you go over this point, you will not loose your investment to ski gear.

Learn to ski – Lesson #3: Read books and DVD’s on skiing in order to understand the basics

There is one thing more to do before you actually go skiing, which is the reading part. I encourage you to read a couple of books and watch at least one instructional DVD of skiing before hitting the slopes. As with any other thing you do, it is reasonable to read and watch what experienced people say about the sport. I encourage you to borrow books from your local library or buy them online. Although I recommend you to read books, it is certainly reasonable to read Homeboy, because we can provide you lots of useful beginner’s skiing tips.

We have discussed the very basics so far, your motivation to skiing, renting equipment rather than purchasing immediately, and reading books and watching DVD’s in order to understand the basics of skiing. This was the boring but important part. Next time we go straight to the basics of skiing techniques! Meanwhile, check out these books and DVD’s we recommend.

Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 1: The New Way to Ski (Includes Bonus DVD) Book ($16.47)

Inner Skiing: Revised Edition Book ($13.50)

Breakthrough on Skis I: Expert Skiing Simplified DVD ($29.95)

All Mountain Skiing Tactics (Set of 4 DVD’s) (Check the current price)

Why do you want to learn to ski – What’s your motivation?

First of all, think about your motivation to ski. Are you really willing to go to slopes and ski? Are you willing to be out there in cold weather? Especially you need to think if you are ready to accept that in the beginning you will not be a good skier, just like it has been with every single skier. I ask you to think about your motivation because I have seen so many people quitting just because they haven’t been really motivated, and they have felt it embarrassing to be a beginner.

So you think you are motivated and ready to start learning to ski? Good! That’s the right attitude. Next you should start surfing in the Internet and look for articles such as “learning to ski”, “skiing techniques”, “how to ski” and “skiing basics”. By reading “what skiing really is” you can create yourself a picture of the whole sport. Skiing is very natural for people in northern countries, but think about those in cities like Mexico City, Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Sevilla.. Skiing is not obvious or natural for them and therefore it’s good to understand what this sport really is. So, go surfing in the Internet and read books in libraries or order them from the Internet.

Learn to ski with someone who knows how to ski

What next? Skiing? Yes, it is time to start! First of all, hire yourself an instructor (such as Megeve-Mike) who helps you with equipment renting and getting to slopes. It is best to rent the equipment in the beginning, because there is a risk that you loose your motivation to ski and the first time skiing can be your last time skiing. By renting the equipment you make it sure that you will not loose the investment to pretty expensive equipment.

As soon as you have hired the instructor and you have rented the needed equipment with the help of your instructor, you will go to the slopes with him/her. Your instructor will probably give you a “theoretical lesson in skiing” before you actually go skiing, but soon after that you will start skiing for real. It is very important to hire an instructor. Learning by yourself is very difficult because you cannot see yourself and therefore you cannot “monitor” yourself. Your instructor will look after you and gives you advices all the time. He/she is an experienced skier and instructor who knows the best skiing techniques and the best ways to learn to ski. Let your instructor help you at least the first few hours in order to learn the right technique.

Why not asking for your buddy to help you to learn to ski? Asking a non-instructor to teach can be a bad idea. Your buddy may quickly get bored and frustrated and therefore cannot give you the right help. Although a professional instructor has a price, it is always better to invest to an instructor. Your instructor is also very needed in case you get injured. Yes, it is possible to break your leg or arm as a beginner. A professional instructor knows exactly what to do in an unexpected situation. You’re buddy might have no idea what to do in that kind of a situation.

Learning to ski by skiing more advanced slopes

As soon as you have learned the basics, you’re instructor will bring you to more advanced slopes to learn more. He/she teaches you the slope-etiquette and those “unwritten rules” (how to behave in certain situations) of skiing. After few lessons you should get back to your books and Internet sources, such as Homeboy Read again the techniques and “how to ski”-types articles and mirror that information to your skiing and your experiences. This helps you to understand the technical side of skiing. Read also about the equipment and start looking for equipment for your needs.

As soon as you’re skiing lessons are done and you are still willing to continue, it is time to buy you’re own equipment. Come up with an idea of the equipment you would like to buy, but remember to take someone experienced with you to a shop. He/she might be helpful when you don’t understand some details.

Well, then what? Simply go skiing as often as you can and try to enhance you’re skills every time you go skiing. If you do this properly, you will be a good skier one day.

Here are few good beginners books of learning to ski:

Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 1: The New Way to Ski (Includes Bonus DVD) ($16.47)

Anyone Can Be an Expert Skier 2: Powder, Bumps, and Carving(Includes Bonus DVD) ($16.47)

The Essential Guide to Skiing: 201 Things Every Skier Must Know ($16.46)

The New Guide to Skiing: A Step-by-Step Guide in Color, Revised Edition ($15.61)

Inner Skiing: Revised Edition ($15)