sking on steeper terrain

Hi all, great to have joined this forum. :) I am a "beginner intermediate" skier, can navigate the less steep terrain with ease, making these nice S shaped turns and going at a decent speed. However, in order to better ski the advanced "blue" hills, without my thigh muscles screaming for oxygen I think I need some pointers. One instructor told me that the reason why my thigh muscles get so tired (where I literally have to stop half way down the mountain to rest and I am in a good physical shape!) is because I am not engaging the right muscles. I am not sure if it is a simple matter of "keep on skiing and you will get it eventually" or implementing better techniques. Any advise?
Best, Monika

Keep skiing and you will get better.
Keep having lessons every season.

And keep your speed down from the first turn when going onto slightly steeper slopes. Your muscles are probably aching because you get faster and faster and then expend more and more energy "braking".

Keep slow from the start, finish properly every turn, take it easy and focus on turning efficiently.

Make sure you practice "beautiful" skiing on easy runs some of every day. This will help you lock in your good technique and be very flattering - nothing beats knowing you have just done some lovely turns!

Oh and don't forget to enjoy yourself.
:D

Thank you "OldAndy" for the tips. I think another ski lesson may be in order for me anyway and who said "you cannot teach an old dog new tricks". :-) Monika (40-something)

Hi Mtrzcinska, it can be very difficult to explain why things may not be right without actually seeing someone, but in my case, the "screaming" thighs was due to me not allowing my weight to go forward properly. I was sort of "sitting" on the skis, as as we know while that position may be good for warm ups before we go on a holiday, it is not what you want when going down a piste.

Make sure that your balance is not towards your heels, it is one reason why we use the poles to "reach" for the start of a new turn. It helps us to push our weight forward.

Like OA says, it will come. One day, suddenly everything will click together and you will ask yourself why you had all the issues before. Enjoy your skiing.

Far Queue wrote: One day, suddenly everything will click together and you will ask yourself why you had all the issues before.

I have been awaiting that day for the last 2 seasons, maybe this will be the one!

Thank you all! After reading your replies and doing some additional research, I think the problem might very well be that I put too much weight on the back of my heels and not pushing myself forward enough when on steeper terrain. The trouble is all the instincts tell me to stay back because I am afraid that if I put my body more forward I will fall. I am skiing on the east coast of USA, where conditions vary greatly during a given winter and it gets icy often. I realize that in order to become a better skier I need to overcome that fear. I will try next time, perhaps during evening hours when I do not have to navigate slower skiers and children who fall in front of me at times :-)
Monika

The hardest thing to master in skiing is getting your weight properly balanced over the skis. It goes against instinct. The steeper the slope, the greater the instinct is to lean into the mountain. Just keep practising, it will click.
The trick is to relax (much easier than said than done I know), but you won't ski well if you are too tensed up.

Hi Monica, I went through similar with being scared of the ice and tensing up. It wasn't helping that my skis were just too wide for the ice and my less than perfect technique.
Have you done the drill where you hold your poles together out in front of you with your elbows down by your sides as if your poles are a tray and your holding the tray out as if to offer someone a drink? If you have not, try it, pretend you are a waiter, for some inexplicable reason someone has put a $50 dollar bill down the front of your ski boots between the tongue and your shin, you have to anchor that money in place whilst you ski down the mountain offering people drinks from the tray. Take it nice and slow, after all a good waiter glides gently round the restaurant, You should keep the poles nice and level so you don't spill the drinks, and don't lean back in your boots or the money will blow away and so will your chance of a tip. :-)