Choose Your Ability Level

Watch our videos on How to Determine Your Skiing Level or How to Determine Your Snowboarding Level.

Skiing

• Level One (First Time): I have never participated in this activity before

• Level Two: I can stop, and I’m learning to turn and ride a chair lift

• Level Three: I can stop, turn and ride a chairlift. I’m refining my wedge (pizza) turns on easy (green circle) terrain

• Level Four: I am learning to control my wedge turns that finish in a parallel skid. (I start my turn in a wedge. I’m in a wedge in the fall line, when my skis point downhill. At the end of turn, when I’m traversing across the hill, I bring my skis together, parallel.)

• Level Five: I can ski parallel in the middle of a turn. (I start my turn in a wedge. I am parallel when my skis point straight down the hill in the fall line. I am still parallel as I finish the turn.)

• Level Six: I can ski parallel at the start of the turn and use poles to time my turns. (I usually need to traverse across the hill to control my speed before I start the next turn.)

• Level Seven: I can link (skid) parallel turns in the fall line. (I don’t need to traverse as I set up for the next turn.)

• Level Eight: I can carve short, medium and long turns in a variety of conditions. (I have worked on varying my carved turn sizes.)

• Level Nine: I can execute dynamic parallel turns in all conditions on any terrain. (I can link any size carved turn that is appropriate for the terrain, steepness and snow conditions.)

Snowboarding

• Level One (First Time): I have never participated in this activity before

• Level Two: I can stop, heel slip and toe slip on easy terrain. (I usually keep the snowboard across/perpendicular to the hill as I slip down the hill. I can usually use only one edge, either only the toe edge OR only the heel edge, also known as “Falling Leaf”.)

• Level Three: I can make linked turns on easy terrain and ride the lift. (I can point the nose of the board straight down hill, and keep it pointed straight down hill, and use BOTH the toe edge and heel edge while I make linked turns on easy, green circle terrain).

• Level Four: I can make linked (skidded) turns on more difficult (blue square) terrain. (I can still link skidded turns when the terrain gets steeper, like on the blue square runs with no side-slipping.).

• Level Five: I can carve linked turns with varied terrain and conditions. (I am comfortable and can link my carved turns on Advanced/Expert, black diamond runs with no side-slipping.)

• Level Six: I have varied riding styles in all conditions on any terrain. (I can link carved turns on anything, anywhere, anytime!)