How can I improve my skiing?

How to improve slalom skiing?

• I'm on the ski team at my school, i can ski gs fairly well but when i comes to slalom i can't do it!! any tips?

• Answer:

  Be early for the gate. Make your turn before the gate. Finish the turn as you come around it. The easiest way to do this is to go straight across the fall line before going straight down. Your turns will look somewhat L-shaped. This works for the top of the run. NEVER reach for a gate. It causes your upper body gets ahead of your skis, which frantically try to catch up. I did this at States last year and DQed on my first slalom and injured my knee. The only time you should hit the gates is when the other alternative is letting them smack you in the face. Consider getting shorter skis. While slalom can be done on long skis, it's a pain. I'm 5'4 and I use a pair of 150s for my slalom skis, but I spent most of last year racing slalom on a pair of 168s. That wasn't fun. Work on rhythm. That's what slalom is all about. Listen to the really good slalom racers. Don't be late for the gate.