Turn mechanics in nasty snow

[Wilhelmson]

Sometimes steeper is easier. You cant get lazy and ride out a turn in junk.

 

[Bendu]

lots of misinfo being said in this thread. I would love to see video of someone anyone really skidding in really thick wet snow....

Heavy snow, I love heavy snow.

First equipment matters normal sidecut skis, with min rocker and lots of sidecut are bear in heavy snow no matter the equipment. The ideal ski is a fully rockered, VERY stiff ski, with minimal sidecut or even reverse sidecut(think DPS138 or 4frnt Raven.) Also good luck using the sidecut on a reverse sidecut ski to make turn, you are going to use some sort of active rotary and that is entirely ok.


Tactics generally in all snow conditions tail following the tip is great rule of thumb. This doesnt mean carving and this does nt mean skidding, it just means that generally speaking you are going to point your ski where you want to go, and you are going to GO there. To take the concept one step further our skis turn us(via are manipulation of the ski via the boot interface), I know I said we use "active" rotary up above but in a great sense we actually actively resist that rotary being generated by the ski/snow interaction, and use that resistance to shape a turn. In fact in many way people try to do "Too much' especially while the skis are on the snow.

Another tactic if you are unable to generate a turn via ski/snow resistance is to hop out and redirect the skis in mid air. To do this requires the skier has the ability to load up a ski to generate pop, a strong blocking pole plant with properly worn pole strap, and knows to move down the hill and not up. Again good hop turn are always done 100 percent offensive with go to movements.

Do you have any video of you skiing? A video of short turn done anywhere even a blue groomer will make it clear if you possess the skills to be able to ski heavy powder.

 

[Henry]

The two main trains of thought here seem to be as shown in the videos where strong up-extension is used to clear the skis above the snow, with the alternative being down-retraction where the skis are allowed to flatten and float between turns.

I'm a retraction guy. I agree fully with Francois that softer skis are a big help. Wider and rocker also help, but the skis that'll flex easily are tops in my opinion. Relax both legs, let the skis flatten and float up, then roll them over to the other edges, allow the legs to extend, let the skis flex in the snow, and they turn you. Lots of angulation and counter where you balance over the skis...as someone said above, balancing over the skis keeps one upright when the skis slip out from under you. I spend a couple of days in the snow described here at Whistler recently, and I was on my Stöckli Laser AX. 78 mm and no rocker that I can see. They worked fine. What's wrong with the jump extension to clear the skis above the snow? It's less efficient. If one has the skill and strength and agility to ski that way, great. But, it just feels like a lot more work to me. And there are some conditions that just require the hop turns.

 

[Mike-AT]

^^Thanks for all the replies in the meantime. I'm back from my skiing week with my family in the Alps. It was a fun time, however interrupted by 2.5 days of rain, snow and thunderstorms. The first good day after the snow was amazing. Riding fresh snow was wonderful and I was fairly happy with myself. Lots of skiers off-piste, as usual the race to the untracked snow; but even the runs through fresh tracks were fine.

Next day was way more challenging - also almost no skiers off-piste. I was back in my struggle to find balance and ski smoothly. However I do think it has something to do with insecurity and falling back into old habits. So a mental thing. On the groomers I learned to do retraction turns, focus on balance, hip placement etc. But this is not yet second nature to me. In challenging snow I am back in my stone age days of skiing