Haha I will indeed be out in a little bit, didn’t feel the need to rush out this morning so I did some yoga and I’m having some breakfast now.
My focus areas when skiing spring conditions-
1) Make sure your tips are following your tails! i.e. if you push your tails around once things get too heavy and sticky, you’re going to have a bad time.. just like crud and deeper powder. That doesn’t mean you always have to carve, though sometimes in very sticky snow I find it helpful because it gives less surface area on the snow to suction down.
2) Try to stay relaxed in the knees and ankles to absorb the variety in terrain and also the warmer/colder areas of snow which helps with jerking. If you’re constantly bracing with the downhill leg it’s a lot of work and really tiring. I don’t mean this as forgetting about those parts of your body, you need to stay in a good athletic stance and then allow for absorption.
3) On super hot and sticky days I abandon groomers once things warm too much. Bump time! If you can’t avoid them though try sticking to steeper areas and any shade near the edges you can find.
4) I personally struggle with getting thrown into the backseat a bit in these conditions, try as much as you can to stay forward. Being too far back will kill your quads, it’s way too tiring. I do sometimes have my weight concentrated on my arches or heels when very sticky since it seems to help with sticking in some situations, but that is a super subtle shift of weight and not riding the backseat which again kills the quads and I think puts your knees in a precarious position in heavy snow as well.
5) Get the mileage in.. there’s no quick fix, you just need to work on it. I used to find spring skiing MISERABLE. I now really enjoy it and only occasionally find it annoying lol. Up to around 50 degrees I’m good. Our recent 60 degree day was at times more tiring because I was fighting with the backseat, and at other times awesome. Definitely still a work in progress, but a long way from where I used to be so, progress!
6) Have fun, no pressure! If you find yourself getting too tired and having really poor form you can and should stop! Take a break or be done for the day and enjoy the sun and social piece of spring skiing. It’s really fun to have a snack, drink, and watch the show of other skiers from the base.