dixie dean wrote:Hi Dan, if you have a few minutes, there's a great set of videos on You Tube "Learn to Ski". This link takes you to the main page. Watch 3, 4 and particularly 5. As you improve watch the next few.
http://www.youtube.com/user/LasseLyck
We all have difficulty turning in one direction, when I was having lessons I couldn't turn left, only right. One thing nobody explained to me was that the key things are i. to get your stance right - the goal keeper, and ii. that turns are made simply by applying pressure to what is going to be your downhill or outside ski in each turn. So when you are ploughing, try doing the cross slope sections more in parallel and consciously begin your turn by pressing harder on the left ski for a right turn and the right ski for a left turn, and you'll start to a make a nice neat turn. Don't stand back in your skis, you should be leaning forward onto the front of your boots and keep your weight low and forward.
Have a great time!
Sounds like a good reason to find a ski school that teaches some form of direct to parallel, instead of the snowplough. Those concepts you mention would have been obvious on day one. You may not be able to ski as much terrain as soon, but you'll have good technique from the start.