Let's clear up some of the terms associated with downhill skiing. When put in the proper perspective, expert skiing is very different than advanced or extreme skiing. The definitions below are based solely on my observations over the years, and are not cast in stone.

Expert Skiing

Expert skiing means being adept at handling varied terrain and different snow conditions on marked trails. The terrain may include steeps, trees, and moguls, or a combination of the three on black or double-black runs. Snow conditions might include hard pack, ice, crud, or powder, as well as groomed or un-groomed snow.

Expert skiing requires that you make quick adjustments to your speed, turn radius, and balance to maintain control at all times. The challenge for the expert skier is to ski all the terrain in the descent of the mountain.

The essence of expert skiing is to be able to comfortably handle a run with a 40-degree pitch containing dense trees or tight moguls on un-groomed snow when there is no way out on either side.

Advanced Skiing

The term advanced level skiing is usually reserved for the higher level steps or classes normally associated with ski school programs. Here, the terrain may consist of blue or black runs, widely-spaced glades, and smaller bumps on intermediate-level slopes.

In addition, snow conditions are normally hard pack and groomed. At this level you would be comfortable skiing mid-radius parallel turns on groomed hills.

Extreme Skiing

This term is the domain of the daredevil. These guys are the ones in the Warren Miller movies. They normally ski off-piste and in the back country, but can also be seen dropping off of steep cliffs in the back bowls at some mountains.

I have the utmost respect for extreme skiers. They are one part tough, one part skilled, and one part courageous with a sprinkling of nuts thrown in for good measure. Extreme skiing is usually out-of-bounds skiing and risky, to say the least. Besides, we all have a job to go back to the next day.

Jim Safianuk

Jim Safianuk is an online writer who has written extensively about the sports of inline skating and downhill skiing. He draws his experience, ideas, and zest for both sports by being an avid, inline skater in the summer, and a certified ski instructor and racing coach in the winter.

In addition, Jim is currently the Inline Skating guide for the online magazine About.com where he's gained extensive experience as a writer and editor of inline skating articles, tips, how-tos, reviews, and quizzes.

He graduated from the Long Ridge Writers Group in 1999 with a Diploma in Article Writing and from George Brown College with a Certificate in Technical Communications in 2000. This provided the background he needed to write the prose contained in his articles, newsletters, and e-books, and the procedures found in his lessons, modules, and courses.

In 2002, Jim graduated from Centennial College with a Foundation Certificate in Web Programming, which set him up well for the development of his own web sites, feedback mechanisms such as forms, e-zines, and RSS feeds, and the delivery of information products.

Jim has recently published a new, web-based, training course for the 2004-2005 ski season entitled Skills of the Expert Skier. He decided to write the course because he wanted to fill a void that he feel exists in recreational skiing. There are coaches at the local, regional, and national levels who train adults to become slalom racers, mogul experts, and aerialists with an eye towards World Cup competitions. There are instructors at ski resorts, camps, and clubs who teach adults to be good parallel skiers on groomed trails. But what happens to the adult skiers who aspire to become experts on moguls, in trees, and down steeps? Who can they turn to for guidance?

He is convinced that the single, biggest factor is that these skiers know they need help, but can't find anyone to turn to for guidance, weekend to weekend, month to month, and year after year. But this is not there fault. A void exists. That's why he wrote Skills of the Expert Skier.