Traversing
The skill of moving across a snow slope rather than straight down it, holding speed steady.
Overview
Traversing means crossing a slope roughly sideways, with the skis or board angled across the fall line rather than pointing down it. It is how riders move between features, cross a steep or awkward section, and link one part of a run to another without gaining unwanted speed.
Because the slope falls away on one side, a traverse asks for the uphill edge to grip while the body stays stacked over it. That balance — weight toward the downhill ski, edges holding into the hill — is also the platform every turn starts from.
Key points
- A traverse crosses the slope, so it holds speed steady instead of building it.
- The uphill edges do the gripping; the downhill ski usually carries most of the weight.
- Traversing is how riders cross terrain that is too steep or narrow to turn on comfortably.
- It is a useful recovery move: traverse, settle, then start the next turn.
- On firm snow a traverse needs a stronger edge angle to stop the skis slipping sideways.
Where it’s used
Sports that use traversing:
Alpine Skiing
A downhill snow sport where you glide and turn down groomed slopes on a pair of skis.
Snowboarding
A downhill snow sport where you ride a single board sideways down the mountain.
Cross-Country Skiing
A low-impact endurance snow sport where you propel yourself across flat and rolling terrain on skis.
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Learning paths
Techniques
- Parallel TurnA turn in which both skis stay parallel throughout, steered together rather than wedged apart.
- Snowplough TurnThe wedge-shaped turn beginners learn first on skis, where the ski tips are brought together to control speed and steer.
- PlankA static core exercise that holds the body in a straight line supported on the forearms and toes.
- Carving TurnA turn where the edged skis cut a clean arc in the snow and follow their own shape with little or no skidding.
- Chest PassA two-handed pass thrown directly from chest height in a straight line to a teammate, the most basic pass in basketball and netball.
Disciplines
- Skate (Freestyle)Skate skiing pushes off angled skis in a V pattern, like ice skating, on firm groomed snow — the faster of the two main techniques.
- CombinedAlpine combined blends a speed run with a slalom run, adding the times together so the result rewards all-around skiers across both ends of the spectrum.
- Super-GSuper-G, or super giant slalom, is a speed discipline with gates set farther apart than giant slalom, blending high speed with sweeping turns.
- DownhillDownhill is alpine skiing's fastest discipline, run on long courses with widely spaced gates where skiers glide at high speed in an aerodynamic tuck.
- ClassicClassic is the original cross-country technique, with skis kept parallel in set tracks and a striding kick-and-glide motion.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Skill
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-08-30
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