Powder hacks?

[dloveski]

I wouldn't go with the widest ski, no matter the brand, as most of your powder ski day will be on trails and chopped powder---so I find I need a ski that I feel comfortable in on all of the mountain.

Pure powder runs are magic, but getting rarer.

I'm not one to preach form (ahem), and I have no idea how to tell someone to ski powder other than, if you are lucky to find it, just go as straight down as you can and put both hands forward and move the feet up and down like pedaling a bike. I don't know how that translates in technical terms.

 

[marzNC]

The tips for dealing with powder from a L3 instructor in the Catskills reminded me of this discussion. The article was inspired by the fun to be had skiing at Plattekill after a snowstorm. Plattekill usually gets more snow than the nearby ski resorts (Windham, Hunter, Belleayre) that are a bit farther east.

Jan. 13, 2021, Times Herald-Record in NY
Neubert: Why learning how to ski deep powder takes practice
https://www.recordonline.com/story/...-learn-ski-deep-powder-plattekill/6632992002/
" . . .
I asked my tips pro, Nick Pera, a Level III instructor at Windham, for some advice when encountering deep and untracked powder, even if it is a rarity in the East.

Pera laid it out as follows.

“Here’s the scenario: The forecast is for a nor’easter tonight. You go to bed early and you have your skis waxed for a powder day. You wake up to 18 inches of fresh fluff and a blue sky — it doesn’t get any better in the East," Pera said. "You head to your ski area, let’s say Plattekill, since there will be untracked powder for most of the day.
. . ."

 

[marzNC]

Does anyone have any tips to make powder skiing easier, outside of actual practice in it? I know I know, there are usually no short cuts to good technique.. but it’s also really hard to get the hang of powder technique in New England. I go out in it as much as I can, and I absolutely exhaust myself trying to ski it every time, and I feel no further along in learning how to ski it each time. I’m always so excited for a powder day, but I’m pretty darn miserable in over probably 10 inches of snow when I actually get in it truth be told. 6 or 8 inches, yay. Too much more and I’m struggling! I did take a lesson on a powder day at the very end of last season which was helpful at the time, and I’m hoping will translate this year but we’ll see.

So what is a girl to do?

When I was looking for something totally unrelated to skiing, YouTube suggested this PSIA video with drills to do on groomers that are related to powder skiing.

November 2020

 

[MissySki]

When I was looking for something totally unrelated to skiing, YouTube suggested this PSIA video with drills to do on groomers that are related to powder skiing.

November 2020

Thanks! I still need all the help I can get in powder.

 

[AJM]

Thanks! I still need all the help I can get in powder.

I'm rubbish in powder too if its any consequence, we just had a powder day (20 - 30cm ) and for the first time ever I managed it and had great fun !
I tried to stay more centered and evenly balanced on my skis and slowed everything down and it all seemed to click into place. Previously I've always tried to rush it and have been unevenly weighted which has ended in disaster.
I was on my Sheeva 9's and they were fine, hubby was on his Fischer Rangers which I think are mid 90's under foot and he had a blast. He actually dosent even bother with his dedicated powder ski's anymore unless he's hopping in a heli.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

I love Ann, she is the coach in the video above. She is a 3rd generation instructor who is so curious and open minded about her craft. Lucky to have her as one of my favorite coaches on snow.

Balance is such an important foundation from which to then explore the deeper snow. The old adage of good practice is more important than just mileage holds true even in powder, though nothing beats getting real and multiple days of practice to try out all the skills and drills in it.

 

[Mudgirl630]

Hoping that this video is helpful to you

 

[liquidfeet]

Hoping that this video is helpful to you

This video is very good. Much more useful than the PSIA one posted upthread.

 

[MissySki]

@lisamamot please watch the Ski Co video so you can help me with the little drill of pulling my skis when the snow flies!

 

[liquidfeet]

When I was looking for something totally unrelated to skiing, YouTube suggested this PSIA video with drills to do on groomers that are related to powder skiing.

November 2020

Does anybody else find the powder skiing advice in this video odd?

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@liquidfeet my guess is that the three drills are adressing the tendency to bank, park and ride on an edge, and turn too fast and sharp which can be problematic for some in powder. It would be fun to try the drills in a before and after situation and see if they help or not. I do at times struggle to find actual drills for powder, versus just talking about approach and technique. The stepping side to side encourages flexion and extension, the ghost turn promotes good lateral balance while using both skis, as the weight remains constant on the same ski turn to turn in the drill, and the drift turn encourages people to stay in the fall line for a few nanoseconds longer which is such a key skill in deep powder where rushed movements across the hill kill all momentum and flow and joy. I am guessing a little here, but the PSIA videos are alway so short.

 

[Mudgirl630]

Does anybody else find the powder skiing advice in this video odd?

Very.
Not only strange, but it made me wonder about what she was saying in regards to the amount of weight on skis. Don't mean disrespect to this person in the video.

I try to ski 60/40 or so weight on skis in powder, not 90/10 or so as when I am on groomers. So, this exercise on ghosting one foot would make too much weigh on one ski, hence skis will separate and/also sink in.

???

 

[badger]

Does anybody else find the powder skiing advice in this video odd?

I did. Left me confused a bit since I've always been told to weight the skis more evenly in powder. However the drills might be good to gain a sense of really understanding what you are feeling under the ski on the snow. My biggest problem in powder is getting stuck, but that's me.

 

[santacruz skier]

Very.
Not only strange, but it made me wonder about what she was saying in regards to the amount of weight on skis. Don't mean disrespect to this person in the video.

I try to ski 60/40 or so weight on skis in powder, not 90/10 or so as when I am on groomers. So, this exercise on ghosting one foot would make too much weigh on one ski, hence skis will separate and/also sink in.

???

Not to mention be completely off balance..... the "soft" ski will either sink in or fly up in the air. 2nd video made a lot more sense to me.

 

[marzNC]

Left me confused a bit since I've always been told to weight the skis more evenly in powder. However the drills might be good to gain a sense of really understanding what you are feeling under the ski on the snow.

What I understood from the PSIA drills was that they were a way to feel differences in balance in a dynamic mode . . . on a groomer. The OP lives in the northeast. Hard to get in enough days with fluffy powder even if live next to a mountain that gets powder a few times a season. Could take decades.

What does 40% on one ski feel like? I can work on 50-50 or 90-10 but the idea of 60-40 is an ideal, not any sort of reality for me.

Skiing on 1 ski can be useful to enhance fundamentals. I've had more than one Level 3 instructor demonstrate drills that involve having a ski off the ground. Do I ski that way? No. Do I do the drills every so often? Yes. Do I learn something? Yes, even though sometimes I'm not exactly sure what and would be hard pressed to explain what I learn to anyone else. YMMV

 

[Mudgirl630]

What I understood from the PSIA drills was that they were a way to feel differences in balance in a dynamic mode . . . on a groomer. The OP lives in the northeast. Hard to get in enough days with fluffy powder even if live next to a mountain that gets powder a few times a season. Could take decades.

What does 40% on one ski feel like? I can work on 50-50 or 90-10 but the idea of 60-40 is an ideal, not any sort of reality for me.

Skiing on 1 ski can be useful to enhance fundamentals. I've had more than one Level 3 instructor demonstrate drills that involve having a ski off the ground. Do I ski that way? No. Do I do the drills every so often? Yes. Do I learn something? Yes, even though sometimes I'm not exactly sure what and would be hard pressed to explain what I learn to anyone else. YMMV

Yes, one ski up to learn the balance and to know the difference in how much weight you are putting on each skis on groomer or close, but not in decent amount powder. That is where I had problem with this video.

 

[marzNC]

Yes, one ski up to learn the balance and to know the difference in how much weight you are putting on each skis on groomer or close, but not in decent amount powder. That is where I had problem with this video.

Many of the drills I've learned that I practice on groomers in the southeast are not how I ski in bumps, powder, or trees. The drills are still very useful for improving fundamentals. The first few years I took lessons regularly, I was only working with instructors at Massanutten in northern VA. A long run there takes at most 3 minutes even when making lots of turns to go as slow as practical. What I found is that the work I did at Mnut on manmade snow paid off when I took trips to big mountains. I was an adventurous intermediate when I started those lessons. By the time I started taking semi-private lessons more regularly at destination resorts, I was low advanced. Didn't consider myself much of a powder skier though.

In the last dozen years, I've worked with about 20 instructors with 20+ years experience, mostly PSIA Level 3. There are times when what the instructor is working on doesn't make too much sense. I give it a try any way. After 5-6 years, things that didn't make sense started to come together in ways that were unexpected. I got passed the "I don't know what I don't know" stage and made it to "I know what I don't know" and even "I know what I know."

For people who have been skiing deep (6+ inches) powder for decades, many are in the "I don't know what I know" stage. I'm pretty sure that's true of my primary ski buddy, Bill, who can ski deep powder on relatively narrow skis. He rarely pulls out his powder skis. For quite a while I wondered how he could do that. After improving my technique in general, my powder skiing was better when I was lucky enough to catch a deep powder storm. That's happened more often in recent years when I've been able to ski 25+ days out west each season. Skiing in fluffy powder over my knees at Grand Targhee on my Stormrider 85s was great fun a few years ago. Couldn't have done that a decade ago.

 

[AJM]

Does anybody else find the powder skiing advice in this video odd?

It confused me no end, I'm picking up that it was more about getting balanced than actual powder skiing techniques. I think I've crashed so many times in powder due to weight distribution so that on my most recent attempt my brain said "wait lets try something different this time" and I evened it up and BINGO it worked.

 

[Mudgirl630]

It confused me no end, I'm picking up that it was more about getting balanced than actual powder skiing techniques. I think I've crashed so many times in powder due to weight distribution so that on my most recent attempt my brain said "wait lets try something different this time" and I evened it up and BINGO it worked.

Bravo.

What we call "powder" and start to get excited is typically 10" or more out West. Less than several inches, just another day in the fresh snow.
So, just several inches of the fresh light snow, pretty much not that different from skiing the groomer. I am sure it is a different story in East.

Even light fluff, when it gets knee high, gets tricky if one does not know how to. The pitch, the speed, and putting your skis together with almost equal amount of weight, and for me, hopping down a hill like a bunny are the way to go. Easier said than done in some cases. Yes, I know! Personally, not crazy about heavier, tracked out deep, 10" or more snow myself.

What helped me was thinking like "bunny hop" and make more straight turns instead of curvy ones. Put the weight almost equally on both skis and hop hop hop, sort of, instead of pushing and making the high edged rounded curbs.

 

[AJM]

Bravo.

What we call "powder" and start to get excited is typically 10" or more out West. Less than several inches, just another day in the fresh snow.
So, just several inches of the fresh light snow, pretty much not that different from skiing the groomer. I am sure it is a different story in East.

Even light fluff, when it gets knee high, gets tricky if one does not know how to. The pitch, the speed, and putting your skis together with almost equal amount of weight, and for me, hopping down a hill like a bunny are the way to go. Easier said than done in some cases. Yes, I know! Personally, not crazy about heavier, tracked out deep, 10" or more snow myself.

What helped me was thinking like "bunny hop" and make more straight turns instead of curvy ones. Put the weight almost equally on both skis and hop hop hop, sort of, instead of pushing and making the high edged rounded curbs.

We had about 10" the other day possibly a bit more in some areas, I did pretty much what you described ie "bunny hop" , more evenly balanced with smoother less rounded turns, slowed it right down and ski's closer together.
Our snow can be tricky as its generally not as light and dry as yours and often has a ghastly crust which has caused me no end of grief in the past. This last snowfall was lovely and light with no crust so it was a real treat .... esp as it is now our Spring !
The next day however it was tracked out crud and had got a lot heavier ...... see my post about how to ski crud

In saying that I was still finding stashes of fresh 4 days later tucked away in quiet areas which was fun.
People are funny, as soon as its a "powder" day they all head out to our big faces (Bluff Face and Big Mama) to get first tracks and bragging rights and forget about all the other fabulous lines out there hence I was still finding "fresh tracks" a few days after the storm