How to ski the powder progression

okay guys finally we have a powder day all right so uh powder day is the kind of day that a lot of people love okay but there's some folks that aren't too psyched about it because they don't know how to ski it so let's go over some of the basics for skiing powder okay while we're just standing here right now I'd like both of you to lean way back okay and now jump how's that that's tough isn't it okay now let's get nice and centered your ankles bending and your shins are way pressing into the front of your boots we kind of Bounce while we're standing here okay now let's jump while we're standing here is that a little easier than it was when you were way back yeah yeah this bouncing idea is really works to our advantage when we're skiing powder okay so we're going to go straight down this moderate pitch all right you'll get a little bit of speed and I want you guys to Just Bounce like a trampoline and notice and feel when you sink into the snow that you slow down and then you come up and then you sink into the snow and you slow down all of this snow around your feet helps you with your speed control and powder okay so let's get this bouncing feeling happening did you too by any chance see my video where I I carved out a little Hollow in the snow I put my skis on edge and I bent the ski and then you kind of get this trampolining effect when you carve it's a similar sort of thing when we're in the powder when you bounce up and down your ski bends it bends down into the snow and then you've got some energy that that bent ski actually helps Propel you and that can help almost bounce you out of the the snow so when you have your momentum going through the powder you're making your te your your turn and you press into the snow with both your feet bang it can help bounce you out of the snow then you press and it bounces you out of the snow and pressing it bounces you out of the snow and with these traversing and the bouncing it's giving you that feeling of flexing and extending flexing and extending so we're going to make a few turns on the firmer snow and do one more little exercise and then bring it back into the powder okay I'd like you to make make a line in the snow now you could make a line in the snow you know how we do that we sit on our poles we drag our poles and we make a line right behind us we could do that but I want to be able to do a demo so if you can go straight ahead skis together you're going to give us kind of a rinch line that we we're going to use for this exercise what we're going to do guys jump over the center line land and turn we're going to get this bouncy action happening in our turns okay so where's the middle line going I'm I'm going to show you cuz I'm going to give you a demo okay and ceder's going to make it just right down the fall line Cedar you're going to be jumping over that line good bouncy out of the ankles and your knees we're not bouncing with through our back and arms okay we're just nice and quiet upper body bouncing out of our ankles and knees okay we're turn and bounce over the line there we're kind of seeing the timing of the bounce nice turn bounce turn bounce turn bounce turn bounce turn bounce there's some good bouncy action happening you know what they say Cayman no friends on a powder day you sure you want to show me your special stash let's draw the line down the fall line and make our turn and hop over the line and make our turn and hop over the line just so we can we got a little more pitch remember you guys when people are skiing powder and they're less experienced and maybe they're a little scared they get back here right and what how is it to jump from back here hard yeah it's hard you're just plowing through this heavy snow and you're stuck you can't make your legs long you can't make your legs short right when we're nice and balanced we get this hopping effect happening our skis get lighter then we can turn our skis get lighter and then we can turn okay it's really important to be athletic and active and when I say active I mean your legs are short and long short and long short and long and you can't do that from back here okay so I'll make the line and then afterwards you guys make your turn and hop make your turn and hop here's your line down the fall line let's see make your turn and hop over that line nice and centered over your skis don't forget our pole plants Cayman nice and bouncy with your pole plants go ahead woo oh yeah the natural Next Step you guys we traversed and we bounced we did the fall line turn and bounce now we're going to be on a groomed run well a run that was groomed last night that has nice fresh powder on it so you know what to expect in terms of the surface so go ahead and eye your line and let's get that nice bouncy flowy feeling through this powder Cayman Go Big Woo okay Adrien nice job good job guys it's time to take it into the mles one thing that is for sure about you two is you guys love this it is awesome and it shows in your skiing guys okay so MGA run what we're going to show all of your U1 buddies is really awesome pole plants which you guys have really awesome absorption of those bumps in the powder and uh also you guys have really good tactics which means you're not coming across the hill too far and slowing down you're keeping your momentum while you're turning going down the hill which is really helpful in this deep snow so uh let's see it guys just like you've been skiing all morning we're uh as eight and nine year olds we we have our one pair of skis we might have two at the most right and on Powder days there's folks that have really fat big skis and you can just sort of squiggle down and stay on top and are floating over this powder for us with with just our our one pair and that definitely is not a fat ski uh all this very active Dynamic skiing is important and it's good I mean people you're age can be totally centered as you guys are really active good pole plants you don't need a really fat ski you can use whatever tool you've got and rip this stuff up and this is what we have so let's have fun with it Freshies Adrien practicing getting bouncy then you can just ski the spirit of that EX size flexing and standing without actually jumping hey Adrien I see you really practicing that which is awesome and then once you feel like you've really got the timing and tempo of it you don't actually have to jump but you can ski the spirit of that exercise you extend and then you flex and extend and bounce it's kind of a it's just a a soft subtle bouncing through this powder so fun this right here is really good terrain For That trampolini Bouncy introduction to the powder progression this is perfect bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce well in seeing the powder come up around your feet you guys that's something that's so unique about powder because that helps slow you down all that powder around your feet uh is a lot of resistance and some friction and it helps control your speed in the powder when you're on groomers you use your turn shape you know and you're making those nice carve turns so that you don't get going too fast when you're when you're in the powder you can in your turn you sort of press down into that poof and then you come up then you you Flex the knees and you press down into that poof and you're so you're working extension and flexion and that's what helps control your speed in the pattern you don't have to come across the hill so much does that make sense and that's what you guys do really well what came in you don't have to um make too big a turns you don't have to exactly cuz there's all of that poof around your feet and flying up into your face and kneading a snorkel just turn in your legs and absorbing the Moguls it was awesome

Channel: Deb Armstrong

Views: 504,267

Keywords: teaching powder skiing, learning to ski powder, teaching kids skiing, powder skiing, Deb Armstrong, Debbie Armstrong, Olympic Gold Medalist Debbie Armstrong, Olympic Gold Medalist teaching powder, PSIA Alpine Team teaching powder, skiing, alpine skiing, ski, powder, ski powder, PSIA, ski instruction

Id: c2ScKSMGvtc

Length: 13min 51sec (831 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 27 2015