Your Best "How To Ski Powder" Tips

[Nancy]

Why are hands so important for skiing powder? Just trying to glue all this together in my mind to visualize how it comes together...thank you!

 

[JimG.]

Why are hands so important for skiing powder? Just trying to glue all this together in my mind to visualize how it comes together...thank you!

The key to all good skiing is a tall athletic stance. Stand up tall, flex the knees and ankles to maintain good shin/boot contact. Avoid crouching, bowing forward or sitting back.

If you watch alot of folks who have poor stances, their hands are all over the place, usually behind their torsos and down around their knees. Part of their stance problem is the poor hand position.

Keeping your hands up and in front of you (you should be able to see your hands in your lower peripheral vision as you ski) will help keep your stance tall and athletic. Key for POW. Also, keeping your elbows up and away from your torso unlocks the center of your body, your hips. That's where all the power comes from for good solid turns.

As those hands stay up, your head and chin will stay up too, another key to all good skiing.

 

[tekweezle]

advice for powder skiing-

keep hands forward and remember to pole plant. if you have problems, try double pole planting to initiate turns. it works for me!

stay centered over your skis. don;t hunch forward too much. Tall athletic stance rather than typical "racer" stance.

don;t put your skis on edge. try to keep the flat area in contact with the snow.

get in rythmn to make your turns. exhale at the end of each turn with a huff before intitating a new turn.

i usually practice on the side of groomed trails where people have pushed loose snow onto.

have fun and goodluck!!!

 

[Greg]

1) Stay centered on your skis...do not lean way forward or way back! Keep your knees and ankles flexed, maintain good shin/boot tongue contact.

2) Be two footed. Don't keep too wide a stance, but don't lock your feet together either.

3) Hands up and in front, elbows up and away from your torso. Good hands are essential to skiing powder.

4) Make believe you're skiing the base of the snow, fake it if the snow is bottomless.

5) Head up, eyes down the hill; do not get obsessed with looking down at your feet!

6) Practice. Skiing POW POW is like a dance. You need to practice to get the feel for it. Point your skis down the fall line and go! If you make 5-6 nice turns, don't stop, keep going and make it 20 turns if you can. Feel the rhythm.

One could argue that 1, 2, 3 and 5 are good tips for any surface conditions, no?

 

[Nancy]

Why are hands so important for skiing powder? Just trying to glue all this together in my mind to visualize how it comes together...thank you!

The key to all good skiing is a tall athletic stance. Stand up tall, flex the knees and ankles to maintain good shin/boot contact. Avoid crouching, bowing forward or sitting back.

If you watch alot of folks who have poor stances, their hands are all over the place, usually behind their torsos and down around their knees. Part of their stance problem is the poor hand position.

Keeping your hands up and in front of you (you should be able to see your hands in your lower peripheral vision as you ski) will help keep your stance tall and athletic. Key for POW. Also, keeping your elbows up and away from your torso unlocks the center of your body, your hips. That's where all the power comes from for good solid turns.

As those hands stay up, your head and chin will stay up too, another key to all good skiing.

I confess, I do flail once in a while but have worked hard on keeping my upper body quiet yet somewhat dynamic too. I'm also taking tai chi in the hopes it'll help me get better upper/lower body separation.

Thanks for the explanation--helping with the visuals!

 

[JimG.]

1) Stay centered on your skis...do not lean way forward or way back! Keep your knees and ankles flexed, maintain good shin/boot tongue contact.

2) Be two footed. Don't keep too wide a stance, but don't lock your feet together either.

3) Hands up and in front, elbows up and away from your torso. Good hands are essential to skiing powder.

4) Make believe you're skiing the base of the snow, fake it if the snow is bottomless.

5) Head up, eyes down the hill; do not get obsessed with looking down at your feet!

6) Practice. Skiing POW POW is like a dance. You need to practice to get the feel for it. Point your skis down the fall line and go! If you make 5-6 nice turns, don't stop, keep going and make it 20 turns if you can. Feel the rhythm.

One could argue that 1, 2, 3 and 5 are good tips for any surface conditions, no?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh sooo young grasshopper! True indeed. Watch the best out on the hill next time...they look pretty much the same no matter what the conditions or terrain. Minor tweeks in form, hardly noticeable.

Good skiing is good skiing.

 

[mountaindude]

I might have missed it in someone elses post, but JIMG summed it up in one word...RHYTHM. Stay centered on your skis with shin to boot tongue pressure...absolutely. Do not lay your edges over and try to carve a turn in deep powder or you will overrotate your upper body and find yourself face down in a second. You watch so many people try to ski powder and talk to them and they are exhausted by the second run. This is because, well, one they are probably out of shape, but mostly because they try to muscle their way throught the powder and try to carve this way and that. You want to point yourself down the fall line, stay shoulders square to the fallline and let them go. Let the snow do the work. Create a nice up and down RHYTHM. Soon you will be linking turn after turn asking yourself why you didn't learn this much earlier in life. RHYthm, rhythm rhythm. have a blast. :beer:

 

[Nancy]

I might have missed it in someone elses post, but JIMG summed it up in one word...RHYTHM. Stay centered on your skis with shin to boot tongue pressure...absolutely. Do not lay your edges over and try to carve a turn in deep powder or you will overrotate your upper body and find yourself face down in a second. You watch so many people try to ski powder and talk to them and they are exhausted by the second run. This is because, well, one they are probably out of shape, but mostly because they try to muscle their way throught the powder and try to carve this way and that. You want to point yourself down the fall line, stay shoulders square to the fallline and let them go. Let the snow do the work. Create a nice up and down RHYTHM. Soon you will be linking turn after turn asking yourself why you didn't learn this much earlier in life. RHYthm, rhythm rhythm. have a blast. :beer:

You guys have really pumped me up to go out and conquer powder. Well okay, maybe not conquer it right away but at least not be paralyzed in it! 8)

I will try to remember all your advice and after I get my 'legs' back, I will play with some soft stuff and see how I float! Thanks, gang!!

 

[kickstand]

if you lean backward, you'll eventually end up doing a kickstand.

sounds pretty kinky to me..... :wink:

 

[riverc0il]

i couldn't think of a better word for it. when your skis go straight up and you're standing on your tail. then you fall very awkwardly if not painfully depending on how little or how much pow. don't twist a leg!

 

[Nancy]

I rescued my skis from the tuner--taking them out for a spin tomorrow! Wish me luck!

 

[SkiDork]

Nancy, I used to hate powder. Yes, believe it or not. Every time I would go into it (usually in the trees) I would immediately sink and couldn't turn, etc. The only thing I could do was to stay on other peoples tracks.

I actually went out to Steamboat and tried Closets and Shadows, and was cursing the deep stuff. "What the hell do these people see in this stuff? It sucks!!!!"

I normally ski on Fischer RC4 SL race skis - VERY narrow in the waist (65 MM)

Then, last February at Killington it had snowed a lot during the night. The next morning my wife says to me "why don't you try to demo some fat skis today"

I went to the K demo center and ended up taking out a pair of K2 Apache Chiefs - 98MM in the waist.

I took them over to Patsies (one of the tree runs) and immediately did what I know - skied in the tracks of someone else. I was not impressed - it was no better than my skinny waisted skis.

Then I said to myself "hey, maybe I should try this untracked stuff"

I went for it. IMMEDIATELY I started FLOATING in it. I was able to make turns effortlessly and it felt almost like flying (well at least floating). When I got out of Patsies, I yelled to everyone "I SEE THE LIGHT!!!!!!"

I told one of the crew that I finally see why there are "no friends on a powder day" etc. He said to me "welcome to my world"

The moral of the story is: Try out a pair of fat skis in the pow, I guarantee you'll love them.

P.S. - I just got myself a pair of Phantom Crystal Ships for my very own pow skis. Can't wait to try them out this season.

BTW - here is the post I made after that great day last February (over on the KZone)

http://www.killingtonzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2781

 

[tirolerpeter]

Powder

Hey SkiDork glad you discovered what those K2 "fat boys" can do in powder. But if you think they are awesome in 6" you are going to have to go out west to get the full experience. Last December my buddy and I caught a 49" dump at Alta/Snowbird. I jumped on a pair of those K'2s and as you said: "FLOATED". In fact, I felt absolutely weightless on some incredible steeps through the trees. There are some "purists" who insist on battling through anything with their "skinny's." More power to them. Give me those "fatties" when nature dumps on us. BTW, I did have to adjust a bit to ski them on stuff that was either groomed or skied flat. They obviously don't "carve" the way more normal skis do. You do have to work them more to make nice turns. But, that's not when you use them. You wear them to ski in the POWDER. That's why the powder hounds are out there at the crack of doom looking for "first tracks." I'm going to Salt Lake in the second week of January with some friends. We have our fingers crossed hoping for a real dump while we are there.

 

[SkiDork]

Re: Powder

Hey SkiDork glad you discovered what those K2 "fat boys" can do in powder. But if you think they are awesome in 6" you are going to have to go out west to get the full experience. Last December my buddy and I caught a 49" dump at Alta/Snowbird. I jumped on a pair of those K'2s and as you said: "FLOATED". In fact, I felt absolutely weightless on some incredible steeps through the trees. There are some "purists" who insist on battling through anything with their "skinny's." More power to them. Give me those "fatties" when nature dumps on us. BTW, I did have to adjust a bit to ski them on stuff that was either groomed or skied flat. They obviously don't "carve" the way more normal skis do. You do have to work them more to make nice turns. But, that's not when you use them. You wear them to ski in the POWDER. That's why the powder hounds are out there at the crack of doom looking for "first tracks." I'm going to Salt Lake in the second week of January with some friends. We have our fingers crossed hoping for a real dump while we are there.

Yeah, the Chiefs sure rocked. Also, there was a lot more than 6" when we went into Patsies and Low Rider.

Now I've got the Crystal ships (113 in the waist). I'm psyched to try them. It'll have to be in the Killington trees, though because I don't foresee any western trips in the near future.

 

[castlerock]

I almost forgot: nearly equal weighting on both skis.

Finally, someone mentioned it. This is the primary mistake of hardpack skiers new to the soft stuff.

You can only concentrate on one, max. two things when learning. For powder skiing:

1.) Stay centered on your skis (no lean back)

2.) Stay equal on your skis. (right to left)

If you think about it, it makes sense. Everything else is the same.

And on equipment, yes the newer stuff is easier, but people were able to ski pow on old hickory skis. Staying centered is the key, the stiffer/narrower the ski the more unforgiving it is to centering.

 

[JimG.]

I almost forgot: nearly equal weighting on both skis.

Finally, someone mentioned it. This is the primary mistake of hardpack skiers new to the soft stuff.

You can only concentrate on one, max. two things when learning. For powder skiing:

1.) Stay centered on your skis (no lean back)

2.) Stay equal on your skis. (right to left)

This was what I meant when I asked her to be 2 footed. Did a very poor job of explaining what I meant.

 

[castlerock]

This was what I meant when I asked her to be 2 footed. Did a very poor job of explaining what I meant.

who knows, being, "two footed" is probably a more intuitive way to convey the instruction. Everyone picks things up differently. There are probably more references in the thread to the specific technique, but I was blasting through four pages and no doubt missed a lot.

But in any case, IMO, it is THE single most prevalent mistake by powder neophytes.

 

[JimG.]

This was what I meant when I asked her to be 2 footed. Did a very poor job of explaining what I meant.

who knows, being, "two footed" is probably a more intuitive way to convey the instruction. Everyone picks things up differently. There are probably more references in the thread to the specific technique, but I was blasting through four pages and no doubt missed a lot.

But in any case, IMO, it is THE single most prevalent mistake by powder neophytes.

Oh, you're right on the money with both points...the "ski powder by sitting back" myth is almost as much of a problem.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Powder

This was what I meant when I asked her to be 2 footed. Did a very poor job of explaining what I meant.

who knows, being, "two footed" is probably a more intuitive way to convey the instruction. Everyone picks things up differently. There are probably more references in the thread to the specific technique, but I was blasting through four pages and no doubt missed a lot.

But in any case, IMO, it is THE single most prevalent mistake by powder neophytes.

Yes, no matter how you explain it, you have to keep both skis weighted at all times. The instant you put all your weight on one ski you risk "sinking" it and yourself. That is why it is essential to practice skiing with TWO FEET at all times. If you are used to turning on groomed stuff with two edges working in tandem (regardless of a wide or narrow stance) you will find transitioning to deep powder much more natural. Don't look for a "bottom" to get an edge bite, just surf with both skis. For lack of a better description, it is somewhat like waterskiing in terms of using both boards simultaneously.

 

[ski_adk]

some other points

First, I recommend this book...it's helped every aspect of my skiing.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/007140841X/104-8794069-9531921?v=glance

Second, I too hated powder at one point...and here are my reasons why...

1. I lacked carving skills - as a beginner/intermediate, I found myself pushing the tails out on my skis to turn them. On groomers, it's an "effective" mechanism, but in powder, you get caught up quick.
2. I was scared - I feared going "too fast" and "too steep". I was terribly stiff and unresponsive to the concepts of generating a dynamic turn.
3. I was inexperienced - powder takes a few tries to "get it". Keep after it and in a couple of outtings, you too will be shredding it up.