Hockey Stop
You'll be able to stop on a dime from any speed, giving you confidence on steeper green runs.
An aggressive braking technique — pivot both skis perpendicular to the fall line and dig your edges in to stop instantly.
Watch & Learn
Key Moments
Equal weight, knees bent before the stop
Rotate both skis together 90° across the fall line
Drive knees uphill to dig edges into snow
Practice stopping left and right equally
What It Should Feel Like
- ✓Like you're slamming the brakes — decisive, not gradual
- ✓Your uphill edges biting hard into the snow
- ✓Your upper body staying calm while your legs pivot
Common Mistakes & Fixes
Stopping only to one side
Drill on your weaker side every session until it feels equal
Sitting back during the stop
Stay centered — lean back and you lose edge control entirely
Rotating shoulders with the skis
Counter-rotate — shoulders stay downhill, only legs pivot
Practice Drills
Speed 1-2-3 drill: ski at walking pace and stop, medium speed and stop, then faster — progressively build confidence
Left-right parity: count your stops each direction — keep drilling the weaker side until you feel equal on both
Touch-the-snow drill: after each hockey stop, reach down and tap the snow with your downhill hand to confirm you got low enough