Snow Skills

The most wonderful thing about Spring is that, just when it looks like it’s over, Mother Nature comes through in an awesome way! After weeks of little natural snow, the Western Maine mountains received 14 inches of the white stuff yesterday. Winter over? Heck no!

When hitting the slopes in powder conditions, a good tactical focus for skiing powder is to make turns that keeps the gear mostly facing downhill.

With over a foot of new powder, you won’t need to be concerned about speed control. Quite the opposite; maintaining a constant speed is tough because the very weight of the snow will drag on you to the point where you’ll need to alter your turn shape just to keep moving (!). If you typically end your turns so that the tips/nose face across gravity (toward the trees at the side of the trail), you’ll want to focus on ending your turn so that the tips/nose face down gravity (toward the trail below you). By adjusting your direction out of the turn, you’ll be able to increase or decrease your speed as desired to mostly maintain a constant pace. Think conservation of momentum and translate that into a steady turn tempo.
Other adjustments in your skiing will include lower edge angles and slightly more steering effort. Now, be careful, because too much of anything is bad in skiing and riding: the slightly more steering effort needs to be applied in a gradual manner throughout the turn. A good sensation will be when your outside hip (rear hip for riders) feels constant tension without any sudden twists or imbalances.