• You'll probably experience chattering on steep and especially on hard snow--so be ready for it when it happens!

Chattering happens when your ski's edge breaks away and re-engages in rapid succession because of too much pressure buildup. It's like a car with bad shock absorbers--your skis bounce all over the place. Check the racers and you'll notice that it even happens to the best in the world.

To alleviate chatter, you'll have to soak up the excess pressure with your legs, rather than brace against it. If you start chattering, it's almost certain that your outside leg has straightened and is braced against the pressure--you need to flex in the knees and ankles.

Imagine jumping and landing stiff-legged as opposed to flexing upon landing to absorb the pressure. Your house cat knows which is the better landing.

Another cause of chatter is too much edge too suddenly. 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!