Skiing In powder Vs. Skiing Groomed Runs

[rob56789]

I was just wondering what things you do differently when you ski in powder or on a groomed trail. And are there any big differnences that would help someone make the best out of a good powder day.

 

[ChileMass]

I may not be describing it right and I only have a couple of days experience at it, but my brother in law out at Copper in CO told me to exaggerate my pole plants (hands way up and then way down) when weighting/unweighting each turn to get your body going slightly up and down. He said it helped to get your skis more up out of the powder when turning so you didn't submarine your tips. I also found that I did better skiing pretty fast through the deep stuff so I didn't get bogged down in it. All I know is it worked for me......

 

[dmc]

To make the most of a powder day - get a snowboard... And you won't have to worry about anything...
As long as you have the speed in deep stuff - you just ride...........

 

[56fish]

Amen, DMC.

 

[AdironRider]

So true. Powder on a board just plainly cannot be beat.

 

[roark]

Longer, slower turns. Don't stop until you're at the lift.

 

[rogue rider]

I'll second, err fourth DMC's response.

And with a snowboard, you never have to worry about your ski coming off and spending time trying to find it.

 

[andyzee]

My only real experience was this past March in Utah, so I'm no expert. I found keeping your tips up was the biggest difference.

 

[Geoff]

I may not be describing it right and I only have a couple of days experience at it, but my brother in law out at Copper in CO told me to exaggerate my pole plants (hands way up and then way down) when weighting/unweighting each turn to get your body going slightly up and down. He said it helped to get your skis more up out of the powder when turning so you didn't submarine your tips. I also found that I did better skiing pretty fast through the deep stuff so I didn't get bogged down in it. All I know is it worked for me......

With wide modern shaped skis, you don't have to fool with exaggerated unweighting like in the old skinny ski days. You do need to slow down your turn initiation so you don't set too much of an edge. That's a very big deal on steeps where your eastern instinct is to slam the turn to get the ski out of the fall line as quickly as possible. Exaggerating your pole plants would do that though I'd think it would tire you out skiing like that all day. I just ski lazy GS turns in the fall line and trust the powder to slow me down. Powder skiing is supposed to be easy and relaxing.

 

[riverc0il]

the instinct to dig in an edge is the hardest issue to over come when learning powder skiing. you gotta get the "feel" for turning on light fluffy or loose snow compared to packed snow that requires an edge. staying centered instead of having a forward lean is also important and as others mentioned, get those tips up. i often see powder skiing (if it is deep enough) as having a bit of a vertical bounce which you don't do on the groomers. your body posture shouldn't change, not that type of bounce. but you sink down into the pow and then rise back to the surface as you make your turn, it helps get a rhythm going that way. but you can always just get the tips up and point em' straight that is kinda boring though. oh yea, get those boots a bit more together than normal. you don't need to lock your ankles together, but it helps having a larger "platform" to float (which is the advange the boarders spoke of, though they can have fun when they get to the run out ).

 

[rjc1976]

I'm going to have to agree with the folks saying snowboard on a powder day. Anyone who has done both in the deep stuff will probably never choose their skis over a board on a powder day...at least I haven't met them.

 

[David Metsky]

As long as you have the speed in deep stuff - you just ride...........

I was in deep powder at Sugarbowl and at the bottom of some runs there was a long ungroomed runout to get to the groomed. We (on tele boards) had to kick and glide (more like shuffle) to get out but the boarders were having a heck of a time. They were basically laying on top of their boards and paddling like a surfboard until they gave up and just waded through.

Pick your slopes carefully.

Snowboards on powder looks like a lot of fun, but I'll stick with tele for now.

-dave-

 

[JD]

Rent the widest skis you can find. Or learn to snowboard....but do you really wanna take the "easy" way out?

 

[mattchuck2]

Yeah, screw a snowboard . . . just get these bad boys:

http://www.k2skis.com/skis/ski.asp?ProductID=7

 

[JD]

Exactly.

 

[andyzee]

Yeah, screw a snowboard . . . just get these bad boys:

http://www.k2skis.com/skis/ski.asp?ProductID=7

Or these: http://www.skiphantom.com/main.html

 

[Birdman829]

Actually, the pontoon has been getting trashed in a lot of reviews over at TGR for what its worth. But anyways, I definitely agree with what other people have said about trying to overcome the instinct to dig in the edges. Whoever said "lazy GS turns" is spot on in my experience. Even in tight trees, you've got to make your movements a bit slower and trust the snow to check your speed.

 

[loafer89]

Fat powder ski's seemed to work just fine in the deep powder when I was heli skiing in B.C years back. The snow was 2-3' feet deep and I had no trouble skiing it. I tend to lean back alot when I ski, so I do not have many problems with deeper snow.

I think that the biggest problem with skiing in really deep snow is the potential to have your bindings come loose and lose your ski's in the snow. I have seen this happen to people a few times and you can spend alot of time trying to find them.

 

[roark]

I think that the biggest problem with skiing in really deep snow is the potential to have your bindings come loose and lose your ski's in the snow. I have seen this happen to people a few times and you can spend alot of time trying to find them.

Yup, my first (and only) time at Kirkwood we traverse over to one of the chutes, I make 2 turns before losing a ski and tumbling a way down. Took me ~45 min to find the darn thing. Powder straps are your friend.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Powder

the instinct to dig in an edge is the hardest issue to over come when learning powder skiing. you gotta get the "feel" for turning on light fluffy or loose snow compared to packed snow that requires an edge. staying centered instead of having a forward lean is also important and as others mentioned, get those tips up. i often see powder skiing (if it is deep enough) as having a bit of a vertical bounce which you don't do on the groomers. your body posture shouldn't change, not that type of bounce. but you sink down into the pow and then rise back to the surface as you make your turn, it helps get a rhythm going that way. but you can always just get the tips up and point em' straight that is kinda boring though. oh yea, get those boots a bit more together than normal. you don't need to lock your ankles together, but it helps having a larger "platform" to float (which is the advange the boarders spoke of, though they can have fun when they get to the run out ).

Yes to "staying centered." No, to "get those tips up." You have to have trust that the skis will "plane" and not submarine. Once you do, you will be amazed that they work just fine even if you really can't see them. Keep in mind, the drier/fluffier/deeper the powder, the deeper your skis will run. That doesn't mean they aren't working. Trying to lift your tips will only put you in the back seat, overload your tails on a turn, and rapidly burn your quads. Yes to a rhythmic, flowing, up and down motion that helps you maintain your proper position over your bindings as opposed to "setting an edge." A tighter stance is mainly useful for keeping your skis as parallel as possible and helps you to not bury your "downhill ski" under spillover from the "uphill" ski, but doesn't change your actual base surface area. It is what it is. Has anyone ever seen any sort of "extreme" or deep powder skiing where the skier is "running straight?" Going straight will very likely result in one or the other ski deciding to take an independent direction that will result in the infamous "Face Plant" maneuver. Great for amusing your friends watching you! It is difficult for most eastern skiers to work on their powder technique. Conditions rarely exist here that allow most of us to experience "bottomless" powder. Mostly, it is a few inches of some nice fluff on top of either groomed or crud. It took me a long time to develop the confidence that as long as I maintained my proper stance, the skis would do their job regardless of what they were running over. And, of course, don't stop on a "flat." You can't pole and skating is not too effective either.