Skiing downhill with the skis kept parallel rather than in a snowplough is called parallel skiing.
In parallel skiing, both skis remain approximately side by side while the skier turns by edging and rotating the legs. The technique is a central goal of alpine ski instruction because it allows efficient control on steeper slopes and at higher speeds than a basic wedge, or snowplough, turn.
Beginners commonly learn the snowplough first, positioning the ski tips closer together and the tails farther apart. As balance, edging, and pressure control improve, they can bring the skis closer together and progress toward parallel turns. The transition is not a single universal lesson step; teaching methods vary by ski school and terrain.
Parallel skiing should not be confused with a stem christie, an older turn in which one ski briefly forms a wedge before joining the other. Modern recreational skiing often uses parallel turns as the foundation for carving, short turns, and steeper-terrain techniques.