How to ski pow

equinn

equinn

Member
So as an east coast rider who has been out west to utah only twice (in 5th grade and last season when they had no snow), I have no idea how to ski in knee deep and steep powder. I am most likely taking a trip to Jackson Hole this season and to be honest, Im pretty intimidated. I know to all you westerners, I sound like a total jerry but I honestly dont know how. I hit some powder last trip but I didnt really know how to ski it properly so I kinda just went backseat and tried to stay in control. Do I have to keep a lot of shin pressure? plz help
 
Yeah it sounds pretty simple but as a Midwesterner, the pow in Steamboat was like another planet to me.
 
keeping the forward pressure on the tongue of your boots but dropping your femur down and back causing your back to straighten and your quads to probably burn like hell.

A good way to practice is doing a wall sit with your quads and back at a 90 degree angle but bring your feet under you a bit causing a bend or angulation at the ankles.

-P.S.I.A. cert 3 if you care about that stuff.
 
Honestly powder skis help. You shouldn't have to lean back, but if you don't have the proper skis, you might have to.

On another note I'm making a trip to JH in late February. Maybe we can meet up if you're gonna be there that time as well.
 
13586761:skebumw said:
keeping the forward pressure on the tongue of your boots but dropping your femur down and back causing your back to straighten and your quads to probably burn like hell.

A good way to practice is doing a wall sit with your quads and back at a 90 degree angle but bring your feet under you a bit causing a bend or angulation at the ankles.

-P.S.I.A. cert 3 if you care about that stuff.
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Maybe were saying the same thing, but I disagree very much with the femur deal. That'll create a whole bunch of backseat Billy's the way I'm understanding it.

Ride with 2 skis, not thinking about edging, but instead turning with the bases of both skis acting as a unit.

It is an up and down in the snow as much as a side to side. Forward pressure is key, and speed is very, very much your friend.

Remember to ski not with your edges, but with your bases.

Basically, if you don't know how to actually ski and just wanna enjoy your trip, rent something fat and rockered.
 
I learned to ski powder on skinny skis. It was tough, but once I got it I found out what the fuss was about. I started out as an east coast bump skier, so pow was pretty humbling at first, but once you get it you won't be able to get enough of it.

I would start by skiing it the way I skied it on skinny skis. Start with pow on mellow terrain, and bounce from side to side. Keep your feet together and don't go too much out of the fall line. Don't try to carve like you would on a groomer. If you are making big turns you can separate your feet a bit, but don't try to split your feet until you get some speed up. Try to keep your speed up, but don't try to make huge turns yet. My learning techniques might be out of date, being as I learned on skinny skis, but these worked for me and should still work today. Like I said I could be wrong, it is possible that fat skis have people learning in different ways and on fat rockered skis I ski powder very differently than I did on skinny skis, able to pressure the tongues etc., but these techniques will start you off in the right direction. Remember to keep up your speed, as you will need it to plain over the snow. The bigger your skis are the easier it will be to plain and keep your tips up.

Good luck and have fun. Although many won't admit it, lots of park skiers are terrible when it comes to powder and steeps. When you go back east try to ski bumps as much as possible, as those skills translate much better to big terrain compared to park skills.
 
13586777:californiagrown said:
Maybe were saying the same thing, but I disagree very much with the femur deal. That'll create a whole bunch of backseat Billy's the way I'm understanding it.

Ride with 2 skis, not thinking about edging, but instead turning with the bases of both skis acting as a unit.

It is an up and down in the snow as much as a side to side. Forward pressure is key, and speed is very, very much your friend.

Remember to ski not with your edges, but with your bases.

Basically, if you don't know how to actually ski and just wanna enjoy your trip, rent something fat and rockered.
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We are saying the same thing. If you keep forward pressure in your boots than you can drop the femur without getting backseat I actually went out with my coach today and worked on this. He made me take out my pair of 75 underfoot skis to ski the fresh 16 at Brighton today and I actually went over the bars about 4 times before I finally listened to him and dropped the femur and straightened my back.

It does not put you back seat though because your shins are still putting pressure on the front of your boots. However if your calf's put pressure on the back of your boots your fucked.

Also yes it is a up and down like a trampoline almost

But yeah if you don't want to work for get some fatties and pow is super easy.
 
What is the width of your skis and are they rocker or regular cambered?

Rockered skis the tips will stay above the surface and help with flotation and the width of the skis helps with flotation also.

You need speed , go super fast, straighter more riding type surfy turns .

Keep forward pressure on your shins if your skis are fat and rockered.

Don't try it on flatter pitches as it's easier to ski pow on a steeper pitch .

Just let er rip.
 
If its thick then make sure that you lean your whole body over when you turn, rather than making racer turns and keeping your weight centered.
 
The main issue I see in people who can't ski powder is they go too slow and try to turn too much. As mentioned above speed is your friend . Momentum and pitch are your friend .
 
It will definitely be a learning experience for you. Your first day just sit back and enjoy the ride. Go for big open runs at first and then slowly ease yourself into it. As a Midwesterner I had a hard time until I found some local guys to go with. Take your time and find some friends on the lift. Let them show you. You'll get good advice and have the time of your life.
 
I wouldn't recommend learning to ski soft snow with a pair of center mounted skis. Heavy or chopped up snow can be hard enough without the added difficulty of trying to stay light on your feet so you don't go over the handlebars while going through various snow densities. I used to get really sore calves while skiing fresh snow, if I put too much weight forward I would stuff a tip so I was constantly having to correct my balance to stop myself from going backseat.

Find some steep terrain that you feel comfortable making consistent turns in the fall line and let 'er rip. Linking turns and carrying momentum through each turn is key because it helps you plane up instead of wallowing in the snow.
 
It's the same as everything else if you ski like a ski racer does with forward pressure and don't break at the waist and have disciplined shoulders you just ski everything the same way and it works
 
13586766:.lencon said:
Honestly powder skis help. You shouldn't have to lean back, but if you don't have the proper skis, you might have to.

On another note I'm making a trip to JH in late February. Maybe we can meet up if you're gonna be there that time as well.
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im gonna be going march 1st prob
 
Advice for skiing pow? Dont worry about it. Pow doesnt hurt so have fun trying to work it out! Back in the 80's, pow skis didnt exist!
 
13586816:Pachankz said:
What is the width of your skis and are they rocker or regular cambered?

Rockered skis the tips will stay above the surface and help with flotation and the width of the skis helps with flotation also.

You need speed , go super fast, straighter more riding type surfy turns .

Keep forward pressure on your shins if your skis are fat and rockered.

Don't try it on flatter pitches as it's easier to ski pow on a steeper pitch .

Just let er rip.
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for pow I would use my revision talismen...they are 122-96-132 i think with camber underfoot and early rise noses...same shape as the al dentes but I also got some filthy riches...would they be any good?
 
13587802:equinn said:
for pow I would use my revision talismen...they are 122-96-132 i think with camber underfoot and early rise noses...same shape as the al dentes but I also got some filthy riches...would they be any good?
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Those should be fine.

I left Tahoe and finished my ski bum career about 12 years ago. My pow day ski was a Volkl Explosiv, which was 95 under foot which was considered big then. I pretty much skied them everyday, regardless of the conditions. I thought they were as big as necessary for powder, and they did not have any rocker. I loved them and could fly through pow on them.

The point is that you don't need a ski that is giant to have fun in pow. What we considered fat 12 years ago is now midfat. 96 under foot is plenty of ski to float you. It won't float as well as modern big skis, and I'm not going back, but it will still float you just fine.

I am a weekender now and ski a 4frnt EHP in a 186 for pow. EHP's are 116 underfoot. I ski it during and after storms, and when there is good windbuff at Mammoth. My skinny skis are 99 underfoot, but I only ski them if it has not snowed in a couple of weeks or if I know the windbuff is not good. My rule of thumb is that if there is any doubt I take out the EHP's. While I love the rocker and width for float, I don't need them. 99 underfoot is plenty to float me. Like I said, back in the day a 99 or a 96 underfoot was considered a pure pow ski. Things have really changed.
 
13587802:equinn said:
for pow I would use my revision talismen...they are 122-96-132 i think with camber underfoot and early rise noses...same shape as the al dentes but I also got some filthy riches...would they be any good?
Click to expand...

Yeah those should work fine . Just point it and get speed and momentum and don't overturn . Charge!
 
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