Learning how to ski on edges can help you to become a better skier overall and prevent you from falling down a hill or cliff. Skiing on edges is difficult and can be very scary, but it is also necessary to do so sometimes in order to avoid ski traffic or obstacles in the way. You should not attempt this unless you are an experienced skier or the edge is relatively safe, just in case you do make a mistake and fall.
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When you ski on edges you need to make sure your knees are bent and you are ready to make quick adjustments. Sometimes you will have to ski around a group of slow moving people and this will require you to ski along an edge. You need to be able to turn with proficiency to ski on edges without making any mistakes and hurting yourself or someone else. You should, however, avoid the edge if you can because it is taking an unnecessary risk, and even the best skiers can make mistakes.
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Keep your eyes ahead and look for bumps or obstacles on the edge. When you are skiing on an edge you need to be extra aware of your surroundings. Try to also pay attention to what the other skiers around you are doing. Someone could accidentally bump you, or you could lose your balance if you hit an obstacle you do not see and this could cause you to fall over an edge.
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Learn to break well before you ski on edges. You should be able to slow down using both the pizza method and the turning method. If you are still only doing pizza to break, you should not attempt to ski edges. You may need to stop suddenly, which the turning method is better suited for.
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Practice as if you were skiing on an edge even when you are in the middle to improve your ability to ski on edges. You can pick a narrow path to follow along and if you can follow it reasonably well then you are probably ready to ski on edges. You should practice this before actually skiing on edges just in case you are not ready, and this will prevent you from seriously injuring yourself or someone else.
