Carrying equipment
- Your best strategy is usually to get your boots on as
soon as possible. Putting them on at your car will save you a lot of hassles
when carrying boots, poles, and skis.
With your boots on, you can concentrate on the skis and
poles: "Slide-and-clip" the skis together (the rental shop can
demonstrate) and sling them over your shoulder with the tips pointing forward.
The bindings should be behind your shoulder.
- Be careful not to take your neighbors' head off!
In more confined spaces or in crowds, carry your skis
vertically in one hand. Poles (clipped together at the baskets, if possible) go
in the other hand.
Putting the skis on
- First check with the rental or ski shop on how to
engage your bindings.
Place your skis parallel to each other on a flat area of
snow, about a boot length apart.
Cock the heels of the bindings to ensure they are
"open," ready to accept the heels of your boots.
Clean the snow off your one boot by scraping it on the top
of your bindings. Use your poles to get the stubborn stuff off. Ensure that no
snow gets trapped between the boots and the bindings - this is dangerous as
trapped snow can affect the timely release of the bindings!
While balancing yourself with your poles, place the tip of
the clean boot into the front of its binding and firmly step down with your boot
heel until it snaps into the heel piece.
Clean the second boot and repeat the process.
Poles
Poles may seem a hindrance at first, but they'll make
climbing and maneuvering easier and later on form an essential part of advanced
skiing technique.
During your first lesson, the instructor may suggest not
using the poles. If you do use your poles, it's extremely important to put them
on properly.
To put on a strap, put your hand through the strap, from
the bottom.
Then tilt your hand downward and grasp the grip.
If you've done this correctly, the strap will be inside
the palm of your hand, between your thumb and forefinger, cradling your hand.
Wearing your pole straps incorrectly can result in a wrist injury if you fall.
Use your poles to balance yourself when putting on skis,
climbing up hills and maneuvering into a skiing position.
