The straight run on skis: a stable basic stance, choosing the right speed and stopping in the wedge – so the fall line stops feeling threatening.
A straight run is skiing straight down the fall line on flat skis: you stand in the basic stance, the skis run parallel, and you let them glide. You control speed by choosing the slope, not through muscle power. That sounds trivial but is the prerequisite for everything that follows.
In the curriculum of the German Ski Instructors Association, "straight running in a stable position" sits right next to "gliding and braking in the wedge" at the very start of the beginner level [1]. The point: only once you can run straight and stop again do you get turns for free.
The honest answer to "How fast am I actually going?": beginners on groomed pistes at US ski areas averaged about 20 km/h (19.9 ± 7.2) [2] – like a brisk cyclist. Advanced skiers, at about 44 km/h (44.5 ± 11.7), are more than twice as fast [2], roughly the speed of a car in city traffic. Important: it is not the slope that determines speed but ability; slope explained very little in that measurement (R² = 0.15) [2]. So you decide how fast you go.
Stand in the basic stance at the top of a very flat stretch. Push off with the poles and let the skis run. You do not have to "do" anything. Milestone: you glide ten metres without losing your stance.
Keep the skis about hip-width apart and equally loaded. A wedge brakes instead of gliding, and crossed tips end in a fall. The edges stay flat.
Look at the end of the stretch, not at your skis. Hands hold the poles loosely in front of the body, elbows relaxed near the hips. Your head decides your balance.
Increase the slope step by step: from the run-out to a gently sloped stretch, later a blue run. The progression rule: only after three wobble-free glides do you take a steeper stretch. Your speed must suit you.
At the end of the stretch push the tails apart and tilt the inner edges slightly. The tips stay close together. You brake gently until you stand. Milestone: five calm stops in a row at a marked spot.
When gliding is secure, ski over small bumps and then lift one ski briefly. That trains balance, not courage.
Fix: shins on the tongue, eyes far, choose a slope where you can stop.
Make the straight run a balance test. Ski the same run-out with eyes closed for the last five metres or with hands on your thighs. If that does not unsettle you, you learned centred stability, not just clinging on.
A practice plan for one session (practice, no study evidence):
Whoever controls speed consciously is less afraid of the fall line later when turning.
Find a flat slope with a run-out, go into the basic stance, set the skis parallel and hip-width and let them glide. Look far ahead and keep hands in front of the body. Only when that works calmly do you take a steeper stretch [1].
Beginners were measured at about 20 km/h on average (19.9 ± 7.2), advanced skiers at about 44 km/h (44.5 ± 11.7) [2]. Speed depends more on ability than on slope angle.
Push the tails apart and form a wedge with slightly tilted inner edges. The wider the wedge, the stronger the brake. Practise braking before you get faster [1].
No. While gliding the skis stand flat. You only need edges for braking, traversing and turning.
The Traverse: Skiing Across the Slope Without Sliding Down