The uphill christie on skis: turn uphill out of the traverse, let the skis run out and stop – the building block that links turns and speed control.
In the uphill christie you turn from the traverse with parallel skis uphill until you stop: the skis turn across the fall line toward the hill and slow you down. It is the first turn where you control speed yourself, without the wedge.
Why does it pay off? Because it contains the building blocks of the parallel turn in small form: turning the skis, edge and pressure on the downhill ski, a quiet upper body. In the teaching-practice topics for instructors exactly these elements appear under "improve turn steering": varying edging movements (foot, knee and hip tilting) and upper-body counterbalance [1]. The name "uphill christie" itself does not appear in the DSLV excerpts I read – the technique description here is practice from ski teaching methodology, the building blocks are documented.
How hard is it? If you can traverse securely, the uphill christie can be learned in one or two sessions – that is experience, not a study figure.
Ski a calm traverse: edged uphill, downhill ski loaded, shoulders downhill. Milestone: you ski 20 metres across cleanly.
From the traverse you rotate the legs uphill. The knees move into the hill, the toes follow, the upper body stays calm and faces downhill. The skis stay parallel. The turn is created by the legs, not by the upper body.
The skis turn up the track and lose speed. You keep the edge but do not take pressure away. Look at a point on the hill ahead, not at your tips. The skidding while turning is wanted here: it is the brake.
You skid out uphill until you stand still. The skis stand across the slope or slightly uphill. After stopping you look up and down the slope before you ski on [4]. Milestone: five uphill christies in a row, each time stopping without help.
Turn uphill without the skis sliding sideways: the ski runs "on track" in the curve. That is harder and comes later.
At higher speed and with deliberate edging you ski the arc uphill without skidding. That prepares carving.
Fix: turn the legs, quiet upper body, reduce speed beforehand.
Go into the hill instead of into a squat. Turn the knees actively uphill as if aiming your kneecaps at a marker pole. That aligns the legs without the upper body rotating.
A practice plan for one session (practice, no study evidence):
Whoever masters the uphill christie in control has the base for every turn where you want to control speed.
A turn in which you rotate with parallel skis from the traverse uphill until you stop. The skis turn across the fall line into the hill and slow you down.
First master the traverse, then rotate the legs uphill out of the traverse, keep the upper body quiet and let the skis skid out until you stand. Edge and pressure stay on the downhill ski [1].
The skid is wanted in the uphill christie – it is the brake. If you skid uncontrolled, you have too much speed or too little edge. Then choose a flatter slope [2].
The hockey stop brakes abruptly across the direction of travel. The uphill christie runs the arc uphill and brakes through the curve. Your speed decides which variant is safer.
Garlands: The Rhythm Trainer Before Your First Real Turn