It's a small range of motion for lateral rotation at the sub-talar joint, the "ankle" is made up of a few joints... But inversion/eversion are mostly foot deformations.
The OP knows that when we say "ankle flexion" people generally mean "dorsiflexion", i.e. bringing the foot towards the tibia, which creates shin contact etc.
The confusion was more around the instruction to "pedal".
That is bad instruction in any circumstance. Plantar flexion has it's place in skiing, but it is not to create ski engagement, it is generally a compensatory move, when you mistime something etc. It simply puts you back. And you know when you abuse it because the calves hurt
The proper way to ski is
not to push the tips down, but
to be somewhat centered/forward on the skis, which is accomplished with: closing the ankle (dorsiflex) and pulling/keeping the skis back (some may think push hips forward, but that implies pressure too early) and extending the leg. That's about it.
If someone tells you, in bumps, to pedal to push the tips down, find another instructor. You should indeed bring the tips down, but with pulling the feet back, not pedal. Pedal will put you on the back of the boots, so there is no forward nor balance in that equation.