Quick answer: The most common ski technique mistakes visible on video are a backseat stance, no separation between upper and lower body, a late pole plant, A-framed knees, banking instead of angulation, rushed turn initiation, and arms dropping. Each one has a distinct visual signature on camera and a specific drill to correct it.
Skiing technique is notoriously hard to feel accurately in the moment. You're managing speed, terrain, and balance all at once, so subtle habits like a backseat stance or a late pole plant can persist for seasons without you noticing, because they don't feel wrong. They just feel like how you ski. Video changes that. A camera from the side or below shows you exactly what your body is doing, independent of how the run felt.
Here are seven mistakes that show up again and again on ski footage, what each one looks like on camera, and the drill to fix it.
Mistake 1: Backseat Stance
What it looks like on video: Your hips are sitting behind your heels, your shins aren't pressed into the front of your boots, and your upper body looks like it's leaning back to compensate. The ski tips often look light or floaty.
Being in the backseat robs you of control over the front of the ski, which is what initiates and steers the turn.
The fix - shin pressure drill: On a groomed, easy run, focus on keeping constant pressure from your shins against the front of your boots through every turn. Exaggerate it if you have to. On video, you should see your hips move forward over your feet instead of trailing behind them.
Mistake 2: No Upper and Lower Body Separation
What it looks like on video: Your shoulders and hips rotate together with your skis on every turn, so your whole body swings as one block instead of your upper body staying quiet while your legs turn underneath you.
Without separation, you lose the ability to anticipate the next turn, and your skiing looks stiff and blocky rather than fluid.
The fix - hands-forward drill: Hold your poles out in front of you, roughly shoulder width apart, and keep them pointed down the fall line as you ski a series of turns. Your legs turn the skis while your upper body and hands stay facing downhill. On video, check that your shoulders stay quiet while your hips and legs do the rotating.
Mistake 3: Late Pole Plant
What it looks like on video: Your pole touches the snow well after your turn has already started, or not at all, instead of right as you initiate the new turn.
A late or missing pole plant usually means your turns are being driven by rotating your upper body rather than a clean, timed initiation, which throws off your rhythm turn after turn.
The fix - exaggerated timing drill: Practice reaching your pole forward and planting it deliberately at the exact start of each turn, even overdoing the reach. Film a run and check whether the pole plant lines up with the moment your skis start to turn, not before or after.
Mistake 4: A-Frame or Stemming
What it looks like on video: Your knees point inward toward each other, or one ski pushes out into a stem (a wedge shape) at the start of a turn instead of both skis staying parallel and rolling onto their edges together.
This usually points to weak edge control or a lack of confidence committing both skis to the new turn at the same time.
The fix - parallel edge-roll drill: On easy terrain, practice rolling both knees and ankles into the new turn simultaneously, keeping your skis hip-width apart the whole time. Go slow enough that you can consciously feel both skis tip onto their edges together. Video should show two parallel ski tracks with no wedge shape at turn initiation.
Mistake 5: Banking Instead of Angulation
What it looks like on video: Your whole body leans into the turn like a motorcycle banking through a corner, with your hips, shoulders, and head all tilted the same direction and your upper body collapsed toward the hill.
Real angulation keeps your upper body more upright while your hips and knees angle into the turn, which lets you generate edge grip without losing balance. Banking looks similar at low speed but falls apart as speed or steepness increases.
The fix - upper body stacked drill: Ski a series of turns focusing on keeping your chest and head roughly stacked over your skis, even as your hips flex into the turn. Think about bending at the hip and knee joints rather than leaning your whole torso sideways. On video, you should see a visible angle between your upper body and your lower body at the peak of each turn, rather than one straight lean.
Mistake 6: Rushing Turn Initiation
What it looks like on video: You jump or hop into the start of each turn, or muscle the skis around quickly at the top, instead of letting the turn unfold progressively from initiation through the finish.
Rushed initiation usually comes from anxiety about speed or steepness, and it tends to make turns feel and look jerky rather than round.
The fix - patience drill: Pick a run a notch easier than what you'd normally choose, and count "one, two, three" through the initiation phase of each turn before letting it come around. The goal is a round, patient start rather than a sudden jab. Watch your video back and look for a smooth arc at the top of the turn instead of a sharp, sudden direction change.
Mistake 7: Arms Dropping
What it looks like on video: One or both hands drop low and behind you as you ski, especially through turns, instead of staying up and forward in your peripheral vision.
Dropped arms usually follow a backseat stance or a rushed turn, since your body uses your arms for balance when something else is already off. It's rarely the root cause by itself, but it's an easy tell on video that something upstream needs attention.
The fix - hands-up drill: Ski a run consciously keeping both hands up and slightly forward, as if you were carrying a tray. If you notice your hands dropping on video, check first whether your stance (mistake one) or your turn timing (mistake six) is the actual cause before assuming it's an arm problem specifically.
How to Use Video Review to Fix These
The reason these seven are worth naming separately is that they often get lumped into one vague feeling of "my skiing feels off," which doesn't tell you what to change. Film a few runs from the side, ideally with a tripod or a friend positioned below the run rather than following you, and step through the footage turn by turn. Match what you see against the seven mistakes above and pick the one that's clearest in your own footage. Several of these are connected (a backseat stance often causes dropped arms, for example), so fixing the root cause can clean up more than one issue at once.
If you'd rather get a direct diagnosis instead of comparing against a list yourself, upload a clip to Glydeo and it will analyze your technique frame by frame, then tell you the single most impactful thing to fix, why it's happening, and a drill to correct it, along with what's already working well in your skiing.
Analyze Your Own Clip
Set up a phone or camera at the side of your next run and capture a handful of turns. Run the footage against the seven mistakes above and pick one to work on. For a specific, drill-based breakdown of your own technique, upload your clip to Glydeo and see exactly what to fix next.