What term describes a method of moving down the hill with skis perpendicular to the fall line?

What term describes a method of moving down the hill with skis perpendicular to the fall line?

• A. Sideslip
• B. Sidestep
• C. Skidding
• D. Unweighting

Answer: (A)

Moving down the hill with the skis across the slope, perpendicular to the fall line, is sideslip. In this technique you keep the skis across the hill while your body and torso stay roughly facing downhill. You control speed and direction by using the slope and the skis’ edges to slide sideways rather than straight down the fall line. It’s a controlled, deliberate way to manage steep terrain and scrub speed without turning. This differs from a sidestep, which is more about moving laterally across the slope or uphill on flatter terrain and isn’t about descending straight down while the skis stay across the hill. Unweighting involves lifting weight off the skis to shift balance or prepare for a jump, not the specific cross-slope descent. Skidding is a broader term for sliding with the skis across the snow, which can be uncontrolled; sideslipping is the intentional, controlled cross-slope descent described here.

Moving down the hill with the skis across the slope, perpendicular to the fall line, is sideslip. In this technique you keep the skis across the hill while your body and torso stay roughly facing downhill. You control speed and direction by using the slope and the skis’ edges to slide sideways rather than straight down the fall line. It’s a controlled, deliberate way to manage steep terrain and scrub speed without turning.

This differs from a sidestep, which is more about moving laterally across the slope or uphill on flatter terrain and isn’t about descending straight down while the skis stay across the hill. Unweighting involves lifting weight off the skis to shift balance or prepare for a jump, not the specific cross-slope descent. Skidding is a broader term for sliding with the skis across the snow, which can be uncontrolled; sideslipping is the intentional, controlled cross-slope descent described here.