Skill Levels in Skiing Explained – What’s Yours? (Beginner to Advanced)

by Alaina Johnson | Updated: October 27th, 2022 |  Skiing Articles

If you've never heard of the skiing skill levels, don't worry! They're simply a way to gauge how much experience you have and how far your technique has progressed during your time on the slopes.

Skiing skill levels cover the most beginner skiers all the way to the most advanced and of course, everyone in between. Below you'll find a breakdown of each level and you'll be able to determine where your skills land on the chart and how to improve them.

Ski Camp

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What Are The Skill Levels In Skiing?

Many skiers may classify themselves somewhere in the range of beginner, intermediate, and advanced (or expert). However, there are many levels of ski ability underneath these titles and you'll soon understand how they're broken down.

Freestyle
Photo by Ruth Hartnup licensed under CC BY 2.0

Naturally, it's significantly easier to move through the beginner levels and it begins to plateau once you reach the higher levels — as it's mainly down to fine-tuning technique at this point instead of learning the basics.

Levels 1-4 are generally understood to be where beginners will fall and levels 5 and 6 are for intermediate skiers. Once you hit levels 7 and 8, you can confidently refer to yourself as an expert. The final and most extreme level is 9, which few make it to but it's definitely a respectable aspiration.

Level 1

First Time Skiers

Everybody at some point must begin at the lowly level 1, which is reserved for those who have never skied before and need to learn everything from scratch. The good news is that this is the easiest level to graduate from! You'll likely be moving on within a day or two, at most.

Level 2

Learning to Turn

Once you've had a couple of ski sessions under your belt, you're likely ready to move on to the second level. By this point, you know how to stop and perhaps have begun working on your turning maneuvers — though you may still be having some difficulty. You should also be familiarized with the chair lift.

Level 3

Building Some Confidence

At this point, you should be able to ski the green runs with relative ease and you can successfully make round wedge turns on the beginner terrain. At this point, you should be gaining some confidence in your skis and begin getting them parallel.

Parallel Ski

Level 4

Learning to Link Turns

At this level right before the intermediate stage, you should be nearly parallel on green runs and perhaps even a few easy blue runs. You're linking turns with a greater sense of control but may still find that you don't want to go too fast, for fear of losing your control. You can use your inner pole for timing.

Level 5

Parallel Skiing on Blue & Green Runs

You should be skiing completely parallel all of the time, with no wedge except for turns on occasion. You should be confident on all green and blue runs but may still proceed cautiously on some of the intermediate paths. You can use a pole touch to both times your turns and keep yourself steady.

Level 6

Tight Turns on More Challenging Terrain

By this level, you'll find yourself mostly skiing parallel on even the black runs. You'll be skiing off-piste and may even be experimenting at the terrain parks. You can handle different terrain and snow conditions, though with a healthy level of care. You should also be using your poles to make tighter turns and linking parallel turns.

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Level 7

Confident on Black Runs

At this point, you should be confident in your ski abilities and be able to tackle even the less-than-ideal conditions that the mountain sometimes throws at you. You can successfully maneuver parallel turns. You stay in control the vast majority of the time and can tackle the black runs with relative ease.

Level 8

Tightening Your Technique

You'll have a handle on all types of terrain and can execute both short and long runs. At this point, you're mainly focusing on tightening up your technique and making a few minor changes here and there. You can ski on black slopes and possibly even extreme double-black slopes.

Level 9

Expert Mastery

At the expert level, you'll have created your own style and have a strong mastery of all the techniques used frequently in skiing. You can tackle narrow and steep trails with confidence and even ski backward and catch major air off of jumps. You're able to ski more aggressively while staying in control of your body and skis.

How Do You Know What Level You Are On In Skiing?

skier with gloves

While it may be difficult to exactly determine which level you fall under due to the fact that many skiers may be especially adept in one aspect of skiing but may be falling short in another. It's rare that a skier aligns perfectly with a single level but it should give you an idea of where you're at and what still needs improvement.

If you're starting from the beginner stage, investing in some thorough lessons with a knowledgeable instructor can provide you with a strong foundation on which to build the rest of your skill set out. Without a good base, it will be a struggle to form proper habits and form.

Why Knowing Your Ski Level Matters

summer trip
Photo by Alex Grechman licensed under CC BY 2.0

It may not seem like a very big deal if you're just a casual participant and you want to enjoy the time with friends and family and the general ambiance of the resort. However, knowing what level you're skiing at can be helpful in terms of improving your skill set and becoming a stronger skier every year.

You'll be able to set small and realistic goals for yourself each time you strap on your boots and you may find that having a tangible goal enables you to ski with a purpose. As you improve your techniques and begin to ski more confidently, you may even need to upgrade your equipment.

It's important to ensure you're not picking up any bad habits that may be hampering your progress. Familiarizing yourself with the above levels can ensure that you are in fact gaining skills and confidence, while not holding yourself back due to improper turning technique, for example, and being overly reliant on a wedge turn.

How Do You Advance To The Next Level?

Beaver skiing
Photo by Snow Snow licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

The process of advancing through the ski levels is a continuous process of examining your progress and setting goals. As you achieve your goals, you can set more difficult ones until you reach the next level and then repeat the process.

If you're having trouble assessing your own skiing, ask someone with more experience in you to run you through some quick tests and they can make a more unbiased determination of where you need improvement. It can be difficult to judge your own technique without being able to get an outside view of it.

Those who advance to the very highest level often do so with a lot of dedication and diligence to their craft and it's not necessarily an accessible goal for everyone, especially if you only ski once a year.

During the off-season, you should be keeping your body conditioned as this will improve your core strength and the overall endurance you'll have on the mountain. If you want to advance your skills in a short timeframe, you'll need to log plenty of time on the slopes.

If you don't live near a ski resort and you only get the chance to practice once or twice a year, don't become discouraged if you are seeing slow improvements. This is the nature of the sport and as long as you're progressing each time you hit the slopes, that's something to be proud of.

Conclusion

ski instructor at a demonstration

Ski levels can give you a good idea of what areas of your technique you should be working on to become a more skilled skier. There is always room for improvement and it can be immensely rewarding to see yourself progress from the beginner to intermediate stage and even more so from the intermediate to the advanced stage.

Reaching the advanced stages is a huge accomplishment and not one that everyone successfully reaches. You can pat yourself on the back for your hard work and consistent commitment to refining your skills.