One footers are one of my favorite drills for developing upper level skiers of any age. I also use them for teaching bumps and powder. You can do these on most terrain, but the easier the better to start. I usually start by doing  traverses standing only on the uphill edge of the uphill ski, holding the downhill ski off the snow. This let’s you start getting used to balancing on the little toe side of your foot. It will feel strange! After 4 or 6 of those I start angling the traverse a little more down the hill and finish the traverse with a small turn up the hill to stop. Again, I’m only standing on the uphill edge of the uphill ski. After some more practice, I start trying some shallow turns. Here is where you want to be on very easy terrain. Hands wide for balance and a flexed ankle with pressure against the boot tongue will help a lot! After some practice you’ll be ready to try the advanced version like Bode Miller in the video.

Take your time practicing these and pretty soon you’ll find you can turn left and right standing on either foot. Using more two footed steering, edging and pressure will help your powder and bump turns as well as carving on groomers. Have fun with these and making the jump to expert skiing.

See you on the hill, Chris