Snow Skills

Skiing on hard snow conditions requires that you modify your movements to compensate for the slicker surface under foot. It’s like being under a magnifying glass; any small loss of balance is signaled by a much larger movement by an arm, leg, or torso as you try to regain control. You don’t have to always be in a reactive mode when skiing hard snow, however; there are a number of adjustments you can make to your skiing to create steadier balance and increase grip.

One primary adjustment for skiing hard snow is to widen your stance. The typical suggested stance width with shaped skis is hip-width; regardless of who you are, that’s generally a stance where the outside edge of your boots is roughly even with the boney part of your hips. By opening up your stance by another 2 to 3 inches between feet, you’ll be creating a broader base for maintaining balance while keeping your athleticism to effectively steer and edge your skis through the turn.

Another adjustment is to rely more on how you pressure your skis than steering them to turn the skis. Using a lot of steering effort to force your skis to turn is is fairly counter-productive on hard snow; it usually results in a skid followed by a loss of balance backward or to the inside of the turn. Focus instead on steering your skis with your legs only a little and paying attention to putting almost all of your weight on the outside ski. You can accomplish that by keeping the joints of your outside leg soft so that your body moves more fully over the outside ski. Any stiffness of the outside leg will probably have the same negative effect as over-steering the skis; you’ll fall backward or the inside of the turn and feel a loss of grip on the hard snow.

You may instinctively want to edge the ski more on hard snow, but higher edge angles require even more balance to retain control on a pitched, even slope. Use only as much edging as necessary and apply it by dialing it up and immediately dialing it back down to prepare for the next turn. If you try to set your edges and hold them while moving over hard snow, you’ll probably lock up your joints and lose your athleticism (and your balance). By keeping your edges continually tipping to each side, you’ll be more likely to stay in balance and have enough control to redirect yourself on hard snow with confidence.