Skiing with poles

WisconsinDogfart

WisconsinDogfart

Member
I never learned how to ski with poles. I tried it last season, but I have no idea what to do with them. I plan on using poles this season, but I still don't know what im supposed to do with them? Any pointers on using poles?
 
Look up a YouTube vid or something, but the poleplant is what positions your upper body to initiate a turn. It keeps your weight forward and your shoulders square down the mountain.

The steeper or more bumped out the run is, the more you'll appreciate the pole plant.
 
uses for ski poles:

open a beer bottle

make a shotgun hole in your can of beer

hold my skigee

hold my voile strap

carry emergency duct tape

pole whacking

4-point landings on cliffs

bash tree branches out of the way

pole-plants for jump turns when skiing steep stuff

change my risers on my touring bindings

Tap my wife in the butt when I pass her on cat-tracks

& most importantly, I had a coach that said:

"reach for your next turn with the same hand as your downhill foot"



This keeps you forward and thinking of the next turn you're about to make. It also puts some mental thought into what you're doing with your upperbody, which acts as a reminder to keep your shoulders perpendicular to the fall line. I literally poke my ski pole forward just a little bit with each turn. Usually when I'm doing lots of quick turns... it adds more rhythm to the whole motion of skiing. It feels really good when it comes second nature.

This year will be 27 years on skis for me. It took 25 to confidently say i know what i'm doing with my hands.

**This post was edited on Oct 30th 2020 at 4:05:12pm
 
Ive never been a fan of skiing with poles but it does look better and makes rail tricks easier to balance so i started using them, but no poles is super dank if you have the right style
 
my pops always has said they don’t really do anything when you are actually skiing and you should be able to ski without them just as good as you can ski with them

they are just to get you through the lift line
 
"Drive the truck and stab the polar bears!"

Drive the truck: Have your hands out front, wide like youre driving a big rig. This will put you in a comfortable, agile position to turn/pivot around the noses of your skis instead of just waiting for the turn radius of the ski to push you. And while you keep those hands out front, you might notice how easy it is to simply flick each pole down as you make a turn. A poleplant shouldn't be a big motion (unless you're legit ski racing), it's just a slight re-centering of your weight every turn.

Stab the polar bears: Ever notice how moguls kinda look like the back of a big sleepy polar bear? Well they do and you gotta stab em as you ski around them. Use the "Stabbing" motion to pivot around each obstacle and prepare your self for the next one. Ask any mogul skier about stabbin bear backs and they'll probably remember being told that was a youngin.

Having a big, dramatic stance might look/feel more silly than standing like up link a plank, but it's a habit one needs to get into to be a fast skier. Look at any super-g racer or big mountain ripper. You'll often hear skiers compliment each other on one's racing form when skiing powder. or "race arms". It's a good thing!!
 
14190625:Biffbarf said:
Look up a YouTube vid or something, but the poleplant is what positions your upper body to initiate a turn. It keeps your weight forward and your shoulders square down the mountain.

The steeper or more bumped out the run is, the more you'll appreciate the pole plant.
Click to expand...

this and doing a pole plant forces you to stand up between turns. The reason why some swerve skiers look like shit skiing is cause they aren't standing up between turns
 
I've never been a huge fan of poles myself, I like having my hands free to do hand-drags and grabs and such. Sometimes I wish I had them on long cat-tracks but I can always just skate.
 
I think of poles like whiskers. I never really put weight on them except when skating but they help a lot with balance.
 
Tuck them under your armpits while straightlining a groomer. The higher they point, the more stable you'll be at speed.
 
14190709:rubberpantaloons said:
Ive never been a fan of skiing with poles but it does look better and makes rail tricks easier to balance so i started using them, but no poles is super dank if you have the right style
Click to expand...

No poles done right definitely looks super sick, but it's hard to do right. A lot of the time people look like they're T-Posing every rail without poles
 
14190658:SEABURN said:
uses for ski poles:

open a beer bottle

make a shotgun hole in your can of beer

hold my skigee

hold my voile strap

carry emergency duct tape

pole whacking

4-point landings on cliffs

bash tree branches out of the way

pole-plants for jump turns when skiing steep stuff

change my risers on my touring bindings

Tap my wife in the butt when I pass her on cat-tracks

& most importantly, I had a coach that said:

"reach for your next turn with the same hand as your downhill foot"



This keeps you forward and thinking of the next turn you're about to make. It also puts some mental thought into what you're doing with your upperbody, which acts as a reminder to keep your shoulders perpendicular to the fall line. I literally poke my ski pole forward just a little bit with each turn. Usually when I'm doing lots of quick turns... it adds more rhythm to the whole motion of skiing. It feels really good when it comes second nature.

This year will be 27 years on skis for me. It took 25 to confidently say i know what i'm doing with my hands.

**This post was edited on Oct 30th 2020 at 4:05:12pm
Click to expand...

Don't forget using them as a fake pecker to make hip thrusts at all your friends.
 
I honestly feel to clunky while skiing park with poles, I often hit myself in the air and they flail around a lot....
 
14191338:little1337 said:
No poles done right definitely looks super sick, but it's hard to do right. A lot of the time people look like they're T-Posing every rail without poles
Click to expand...

I don't look like I'm T-posing, I'm asserting dominance over all the local 12 year olds. They know what the T-Pose means
 
Poles when using skis

No poles when using snowbladez

The main use for ski poles is pretending they're your dick and doing hip thrusts.
 
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