Why can't I turn left?!

Hi SkiNH09,
Welcome back.

I wrote out a very long detailed reply, only the computer swallowed it, but basically it amounted to what Tony has just said.

The first instructor I had, as an adult in ski lessons (I learnt to ski as a child), was very old school, and he kept all of us on green and blue runs for several days, although we were all already doing parallel turns, because he said we were not in the correct 'mid-position'. He said that we would be unable to progress properly on the steep runs until we had the fundamentals correct. It was frustrating to be kept on the easy runs, but I think he had a point. Eventually, he was satisfied with us, and he took us down some red runs, and then a black run.

I think you need to spend a lot of time on easy runs doing ski school exercises, and you really need someone else to look at what you're doing and check your position, ideally a ski instructor. That book I mentioned has some of these exercises in it.

Even if Trencher is right, and there is a problem with your boots, or legs, I'm sure you will have missed out on some basic techniques - e.g. pole planting.

I understand perfectly now why you find it harder on the less steep slopes -as you said, it's because you're jumping the turns on the steep slopes, which means you can jump both feet together and you don't trip over your uphill ski.

I know it's a bit depressing to be told you need to go back to the beginning, but you should progress really fast, and somewhere along the way you will correct whatever fault it is in your technique which is causing your problem with moving the weight off your uphill ski.

Ally

Hi, I would not worry about pole planting, the problem is obviously with your technique as you do your turn. It should be obvious to someone skiing with you.... Probably best to get a lesson .