Random thought on skiing powder

[Chris V.]

Well, there's powder, and then there's powder. And of course--there's powder.

I'm talking here primarily about the denser stuff, deep, that pushes back on you. Not wet, not sticky, not crusted--just dense. So, how does our interaction with that kind of snow differ from our usual interaction? I've been thinking about the fact that not only does such snow push on the bottoms of our skis, it also pushes pretty hard against our legs. Hmmm, that's sure to make a difference to how we need to respond.

 

[Rod9301]

This is my favorite snow

I ski it just like i ski groomers, pressure outside ski much more than the inside one, flex to release, patient in the turn, high speed.

 

[Chris V.]

I ski it just like i ski groomers, pressure outside ski much more than the inside one....

That's a recipe for disaster in the stuff I'm talking about.

 

[Josh Matta]

If it’s just denser and not super deep I agree with rod.


If it is deeper and just dense I start think about heels pushing down and making sure my skis are tipped before turning.

If it’s really deep and really dense and or wind affected into a slab conventional skis even conventional fat skis become useless, and I go grab my bonus or renegades.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

patience and trust.

 

[Rod9301]

That's a recipe for disaster in the stuff I'm talking about.

Doubt it, that's how i ski it.

Why do you say it's a recipe for disaster?

 

[Bad Bob]

Smooth is good.
The more extreme the motions the made, the stronger the pushback from the snow. The more you must compensate, the more the reaction from the snow............

 

[slowrider]

I ski the base, keep a solid platform under my skis and flex in transition . Let your legs absorb any resistance. The pnw powder is wack.

 

[HardDaysNight]

If it is deeper and just dense I start think about heels pushing down and making sure my skis are tipped before turning.

This! The sense of pressure coming up through the heels (how I think of it) keeps ankles flexed and your hips stacked over your BOS. Not back and not levered too far forward. Tip the skis without pivoting them. This screws most people in these snow conditions because they can’t even do it properly on groomers.

 

[Coach13]

Tip the skis without pivoting them. This screws most people in these snow conditions because they can’t even do it properly on groomers.

For sure. As a developing skier this is what I remind myself when skiing 3D snow. I try to couple that with being more patient in finishing/starting turns and allowing my skis to spend more time in the fall line. As a mental cue I think “S” shaped turns vs “C” shaped turns fwiw.

 

[Mike King]

When it gets dense and grabby, it is imperative to have the tail follow the tip. Pivoting the ski is probably not going to end well, even if you are on something 115 under foot. So it’s really important to have a clean transition, rolling the skis onto edge and establishing bend early.

My experience with denser snow is that you ski it more like groomer snow than deep powder. That means a bit more pressure directed to the outside ski. I’ve also found that early rise skis don’t feel as short in front as they do in deeper less consolidated snow. Personally, I was able to control the hook up of the tip better in denser snow than n deeper unconsolidated snow where it was more difficult to find the sweet spot of the ski. In the deeper unconsolidated snow, I always am struggling to not put too much energy into the ski — it feels like the ski is going to fold and the radius tightens amazingly.

Mike

 

[Chris V.]

Doubt it, that's how i ski it.

Why do you say it's a recipe for disaster?

If you don't have substantial downward force on one of the skis, it will surface and go off in unpredictable directions, while the other will submarine.

 

[Chris V.]

I said deep. No one has followed up on my original thought.

 

[Rod9301]

When it gets dense and grabby, it is imperative to have the tail follow the tip. Pivoting the ski is probably not going to end well, even if you are on something 115 under foot. So it’s really important to have a clean transition, rolling the skis onto edge and establishing bend early.

My experience with denser snow is that you ski it more like groomer snow than deep powder. That means a bit more pressure directed to the outside ski. I’ve also found that early rise skis don’t feel as short in front as they do in deeper less consolidated snow. Personally, I was able to control the hook up of the tip better in denser snow than n deeper unconsolidated snow where it was more difficult to find the sweet spot of the ski. In the deeper unconsolidated snow, I always am struggling to not put too much energy into the ski — it feels like the ski is going to fold and the radius tightens amazingly.

Mike

A stiffer ski will not fold.

I ski the metal katanas and i find them very predictable in all conditions.

 

[Mike King]

I said deep. No one has followed up on my original thought.

Not sure what you think is different between heli skiing unconsolidated snow and your definition of “deep.” Snow without a compacted base by definition is deep.

 

[CalG]

In all manner of dense 3D snow. I keep the two skis moving as one. Old sckool... boots touching.

Like skiing bumps, only S L O W L Y!.

 

[Rod9301]

In all manner of dense 3D snow. I keep the two skis moving as one. Old sckool... boots touching.

Like skiing bumps, only S L O W L Y!.

Go faster and load the outside ski as needed

 

[Chris V.]

Not sure what you think is different between heli skiing unconsolidated snow and your definition of “deep.” Snow without a compacted base by definition is deep.

Deepness defined by how far your skis are under the snow at a given speed. Interesting stuff we had the other day. It had come down light and fluffy for quite a while, but then a pretty thick denser but still cold and dry layer fell on top forming a cap.

 

[Josh Matta]

Wind slab it’s impossible to ski it in tight wood on conventional fat skis. It didn’t fall there it was blown there.

 

[CalG]

Go faster and load the outside ski as needed

You do that...
and watch what that lightly weighted inside ski does to your groin muscles.

And then your face.

Unless the idea of deep and dense is third buckle and fluff on crust.