Skiing at Manali

Downhill or alpine skiing is a recreational sport involving sliding down snow-covered mountains with long skis attached to each foot. It is one of the most thrilling sports and is very popular in the European Alps and the American Rockies. The Himalayas offer the best place in India to try out this exhilarating activity.

Some of the techniques that are covered in basic courses :

1) Learn to balance and walk on skis.
2) The act of traveling across a slope is called Traversing. Traversing uses both the inner and outer edges, ie., one ski will be using its outer edge while the other one will be using its inner edge.
3) Snow plough: the tips of your Skis point inward, making an inverted V. Bend your knees a little and position your hands above your thighs.
4) The snowplough turn (also dubbed the "wedge" or "pizza") is a braking and turning skiing technique. 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.
5) Short and long turn crusty are the techniques of turning while coming down the slope.