Speed is important to good skiing but so is learning to control it. The Counter Turn helps you control your speed when you’re skiing steep terrain and moguls.
This turn is also known as a ‘J’ turn or ‘S’ turn, since the track in the snow resembles either a ‘J’ or ‘S’. To make this turn you use your feet and ankles to turn your skis up the hill just before making a downhill turn.
We talked about sidestepping but this is a turn that allows you not to have to break your rhythm. Instead you twist and untwist your skis. When on a mogul you can control your speed by doing ‘counter-turns’ around the bumps. You will lose speed on the plateau of the mogul and turn in the trough around the bump.
‘Counter-turns’ can be made with the weight over the outside ski or over both feet. Practice this move until you’re good at it. Or, get a coach and have them help you master the technique.