Snow Skills

Skiing in Sping conditions is a challenge because of the heavy effect of wetter snow on your skis. Keeping your balance can be tough when it feels like the mountain is pulling at your edges; you’re likely to fall backward and your stance will naturally splay outward. You’re in the “back seat” and have lost all athleticism; how can you keep from getting in this situation? While skiing in spring conditions, keep your balance by focusing on using a narrow stance.

The typical stance width for skiing in shaped skis is hip-width; that’s the “gold standard” for a stance that provides the best balance of edging, steering, and pressure skills to turn the ski. Spring snow conditions require a change in that mix of skills, however, to rely more on your leg steering than the edging and pressure skills. In order to leverage your skis more with the legs, a stance which is about 2 inches narrower than hip-width is most appropriate. This stance will keep your body weight fully over your feet and help prevent your balance from falling back due to the extra drag of spring snow.

Keep your stance narrow through the turn by focusing on keeping the distance between your knees narrow. You can ether mentally focus on moving like you’re holding a ball between your knees or moving to keep a constant space between the knees. Either way, that mental focus will help keep your stance width steady and at the proper width all the way through the turn.
Along with a narrow stance, a good mental focus for spring skiing is “Two Feet, one effort”. By keeping a more similar weight on both feet in a narrow stance, you’ll be able to ski solidly with good balance and be more successful in spring conditions.