Skid Angle

Skid angle of a turn refers to the difference between the way you are travelling and your skis are pointing. If I employ a large skid angle my skis are pointed more across the direction I am travelling and so I make a wider track and travel slower. A traditional sideslip down the fallinehas a 180 degree skid angle

This refers to how far the skis are deflected and pointing away from the skier’s actual direction of travel as they go through the turn.  The larger the skid angle, the wider the skid track that will be left in the snow, and the slower the skier will go.  Skid angle skills are an important speed management tool to possess.  By managing your skid angle, you can ski any shape turned you like, at any speed you desire.