• If you brace with your downhill leg on ice, it will either chatter or simply slip away from under you--neither is an attractive option. By bracing we mean keeping a stiff, almost straight outside leg as you cross the flow line. Most of the time its cause is either fear or an inability to absorb the pressure that builds up at the end of a turn.

To overcome chatter or edge slippage on the steeps, you'll have to soak up the excess pressure with your legs, rather than brace against it. If you start chattering, that means that your outside leg is braced against the pressure--flex in the knees and ankles!

Imagine jumping and landing stiff-legged as opposed to landing and flexing to absorbing the pressure. You already know which is the better landing.

Another cause of chatter is too much edge, too soon. Instead of pivoting and edging abruptly, try to progressively edge the outside ski as you enter the flow line. Use more of a feather touch.

• Learn to land and edge like a CAT!
• Build pressure gently.

Print this out for future reference and remember to have fun!