How to Ski Powder, Sofa Ski School

Skiing the powder, let me give you a quick lesson on how you can do better in the powder, how all the good things we learned in the other chapters relate to what you need to do in the soft snow. There is no different technique required it all builds up on the skills that you have seen in the other chapters. Where are the problems that recreational skiers often have with the powder? One of the main things that happens is that skiers get nervous about the fact that their skis are all covered in snow In difference to a groomed run where I am standing on a nice corduroy and I can just turn my skis being here in soft snow I cannot just turn my feet and people have the feeling as if they are locked in and they find it hard to get the skis into the fall line Feeling stuck in the powder skiers often use their whole body to force the skis into the turn and as a result often lose their balance So being able to ski the powder comes down to basic skiing skills. In my new ski instructional I will show you how you can improve your skills to be able to create a clean release in the turn initiation and how to be able to find a stronger platform in the second half of the turn. These skills will first be practiced on groomed runs, and once improved will help you to progress in all other areas In order to improve our performance in the powder We therefore often need to make a step back to an easier environment where change can happen. Little mistakes that don't show on an easier groomed run will hold you back in the off piste and therefore need to be changed first. The biggest secret about skiing the powder happens in the pressure phase of the turn When we are using our whole body to push the snow underneath our skis together And if I push snow together what happens is that it changes from a fluffy consistency to something firm. If kids for example make snowballs They will never make snow balls that look like this, kids know I push the snow together I apply some pressure, and then I can actually get something that will have an effect if you hit someone. Same with skiing the powder. I want to use my weight to push the snow underneath my skis together. and if I do that then I will have a solid plattform that I then can use to come up and forward, that I can use to initiate a turn in exactly the same way as we have done it on the groomers. So exactly the same skill of building up pressure, balancing against something down there with the only difference that in the powder I need to do it a little softer, I need to adjust a little bit to the snow So the feeling is KEY in skiing the powder and that changes with how much snow there is and with the consistency of it. Have a look at these exercises here that will give you a good idea and help you improve the feeling of how you can actually push the snow together and how long it takes until until you find a solid platform and once you have found that feeling that there's something underneath you that you can then step on then you will feel much more comfortable to also link some turns. So look into these exercises first, and then we will take you to the next step. The first exercise I want you to do is to traverse across a hill with a little bit of fresh snow on top Then just push first your left then your right leg down and see how far you're actually sinking in. How much you will sink obviously depends a lot on what kind of skis you're on. The wider your ski is, the bigger that surface is, the less it will take until you feel some resistance if you're on skinny slalom skis it will take a bit longer and it will take a little more skill to find that pressure plattform So left, right, left, right and try to feel where is the moment where I get some resistance? In the next step we push both legs down at the same time When we can feel the platform we come up and forward and let ourselves float to the top again By doing this a little more dynamic we will be able to get more out of the snow try to get more release to get out of the snow as much as possible before you go down again. As we're coming up and forward our tips will start to build up pressure first resulting in a slight dolphin move similar to what we have practiced in the short turn chapter These exercises are all about getting a better feeling for how much I can push the snow together when do I feel a good plattform that i can use to push off from If we want to walk up on snow we are doing the same thing We don't just push our legs in we try to very carefully make one step after the other we make our movements a little softer we don't try to be hectic and run up there as if I'm walking on eggs find out when do I have enough resistance to make the next step And that's very similar to what I do in my powder turns. I build up the pressure and then use that balance Platform to come up and forward into the next turn I don't want to be too hectic, too wild. I want to make my movements as soft as the snow is. No Movement - No pressure build up - No release If I stay static in the same position and just try to do my turns by turning my feet I will find a lot of resistance down there and I will realize it's not working that well I could do it quite okay on this one because there's not that much snow If there's more snow, and I try to just turn my feet Then I will also need to use my body to force them around Just think about it. If I force my body around in this direction there's a lot of unpleasant strain on my knees and the ligaments in there. if you have to feeling that powder skiing is hard on your knees then you're doing something wrong, and you should join us for a little lesson! Supa Dupa

Channel: Klaus Mair

Views: 661,571

Rating: 4.7983446 out of 5

Keywords: Klaus Mair, Sofa Ski School, Powder, Ski lesson, Powder ski lesson, how to ski, how to ski powder, ski instruction, ski improvement, powder skiing, learn to ski powder, off-piste skiing, off-piste, skiing lesson, learn to ski, ski tips, how to ski tips, how to ski better

Id: 0eXnB04zKqE

Length: 8min 8sec (488 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 03 2016