Snow Plow Stops

When your toes are pointed in the direction you’re going you will glide. To stop you need to turn your skate blade. To do this push out your heel.

Lift a little weight off your heel so you can pivot your skate blade.

When stopping you need to angle the skate blade so you can scrape the ice.

If you have too much weight on the heel while you try to turn your skate blade it may dig into the ice or chatter. You will briefly move your weight closer to toe of your skates while pivoting the skate blade

If you don’t have the right angle on your skate blade then your skate may dig into the ice, rather than scrape ice. This can cause you to stop instantly and fall. The idea is to scrape ice and stop gradually.

If you’re just learning, a good drill is to stand still and try to scrape ice with each skate blade. This will help give you a feeling of where your weight should be, and how to angle your skate blade.

Remember to practice on your left and right leg. As you get a feel for the technique try going faster.

There’s a lot to think about, but try not to. Thinking can slow you down. Understand what needs to be done, but then try to focus on the feel and adjust accordingly.