How hard to make the switch from ice coast to powder

i went out to bc this year fr 1st time. skiing in powder is alot harder than it looks. landing switch is REALLY hard
 
i ski in ohio an other than finding little stashes that the groomers missed after a storm, i had never skiied po. I skiied it for the first time in utah last month and it is alot different, but so much more fun once you figure it out. just start the day on a couple of blue runs untill you feel comfortable iwth the snow. i just tried to ski it like normal snow. make sure you stay forward- that was my biggest mistake at first. But its not to hard to make the transition, after a few blue runs, i skiied blacks confidently and by lunch i skied double diamonds conifdently. dont be afraid to fal either because its fun in the powder.
 
I skied for 15 years before I ever got to ski powder (or anything more then a couple inches), and it took me a couple days to get used to it to the point I felt comfortable. Took more to get to the point where I could rip hard, but I feel pretty comfortable on any terrain with pow now.
 
its a bit of a change, but itll be easy to get used to.

i remember when i first moved to mammoth from ny 4 years ago. the first pow day i went out with a roommate to get some freshies. i remember thinkin it was the same old dael. i went flying from a groomr into my first pow field and immediately my tips dug in and i was tomahawkin like never before. once i realized it was different and leaning was an issue, it came really quickly. just be areful at first
 
I can actually ski, cuz we have some steeper stuff where I am (we have one run called the devils dive, and the owner said it hits 55 degrees which looks about right) so Im not just pointing my skis at jumps and hoping I hit them. But when I got to Big white for the first time I didnt find pow hard at all. If anything its a confidence booster for going big. BUt like someone said switch landings are deffinatly not easy.
 
it really depends where you are skiing. to ski powder you need steeper runs that are more open. what ski you have also makes a big difference. if you have solid skiing fundimantals it shoudnt be that bad. ifr you are in colorado it is going to be alot easier than in tahoe because for one the snow is lighter and for two you can just ski to the bottom of the run worry free but in tahoe and utah you might have a 50' cliff below you that you need to worry about
 
It sure as hell is a lot easier then going from perfect powder to ice. People on the west are spoiled with good snow whereas on the east we take what we can get.
 
i think it is easier to ski west coast than ice coast. personally anyways, we have skied shit snow our whole lives and can ski on almost anything. youll be straight.
 
don't lean too far either forward/backward, and if you can link any turns at all you'll definitely be fine
 
Form is essential. I took some eastcoast, small mountain, friends to the BC interior for a week of BC riding, and they adapted within 2 or so days. Their form was good to a point that all they needed to do was adapt to the modifications to form powder riding required.

So, if you have the classic east-coast racer form and skills, then you should rip within a few days.
 
when i went out west i went in powder its not to hard it just gets you alittle out of breath but once you get the bouncing rhyem down its not bad
 
Adapting to steeper terrain is more difficult. The terrain at big western mountains (squaw, jackson, whistler) is MUCH steeper than anything in the east.

I grew up back east, and the first time I skied out west I was on skinny bump skis. I thought I could ski anything, after icy vermont bump runs, but I was wrong. You will have a huge advantage if you have skis that are at all fat. Even park skis nowadays are about 85 or more under foot, the skis I learned on were 63 or so. Skiing chopped up refrozen crud, or breakable crust is a whole lot more difficult than skiing pow, or east coast hardpack for that matter, but once again we have the advantage of fat skis, which makes learning much easier. Trying to learn to ski deep snow on skinny skis was really tough. It took me several trips west and alot of effort before I found it fun. My first two trips out west I longed for east coast ice and bumps, where I felt like I could ski.

Even on fatter skis, it helps to keep your skis together at first. You ski much more down the fall line. Keep the speed under control though, their can be plenty of junk under the snow that you do not see. Start conservatively, work up as your confidence gets better and you get more comfortable.

It's good that you ski the mountain, as opposed to the park all day. This will help you adapt. Have fun, skiing steep lines in deep snow is the greatest thing in skiing.
 
just go for it man, its not hard at all, its just west coast egos trying to tell you your gonna suck on our big bad mountains. i say 4 runs of anything like true pow and your fine. except for our super gnarly epic storms. may god have mercy on your soul.
 
A lot good racers come from the eastside because they have to perfect the technique to hold turns on ice. There are a lot of people out here in Utah that never learn that technique because the snow is more forgiving. Modern fat ski tech allows good groom/park skiers to transition their game to the pow a lot quicker.
 
I think it would just be all about your ability to ski. But I also have no idea what its like living on the east coast, or how hard it would be for you guys just to ski park. I can't even imagine.
 
wtf, do they label they bc slopes black, blue etc?

And, the idea of never having skied powder seems absurd to me. If you haven't you definitely haven't experienced skiing as it should be
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top