1. Choose fatter skis
With technology borrowed from snowboarding they’re easy to use and tend to float on the snow. Most modern fat skis are also rockered, which means they have a reverse camber (shaped like a banana) and turn more easily.
2. Spread your body weight across both skis
It is important to keep the outside ski weighted and active throughout the turn but it can help to focus on the inside ski. Once you feel a platform of snow under the inside foot ensure the ski is tilted as much as the outside ski and then steer it through the arc.
3. Move your centre of mass inside the line of the turn
This helps you to use the shape of the skis to steer them and make long open turns.
It feels a little like riding a bike round a fast open bend in the road. Have the confidence to let the skis run; the faster you go the more you can lean in. Get it wrong and it’s a soft landing, so go for it!
4. Let your skis do the work
When the terrain is less open, the rocker allows you to control your speed and direction by pivoting the skis, even in deep snow.
Smearing and skidding used to be ways to control things on smooth pistes but now you can use these moves in the deep stuff. Simply turn the feet across your direction of travel and see how much spray you can create.
5. Don’t lean back too much
Skiers often think they should lean back in deep snow, however too much will result in thigh burn and a loss of control. To maintain balance along the length of the skis try pushing them forward as they sink into the snow. This allows you to drive the skis rather than being taken for a ride.
6. Master your line
If you can stay balanced as the skis sink into the powder then there is no need to turn the skis too sharply across the slope. Choose a line which results in a speed at which the skis float, but they don’t run away from you. This might be slightly faster than you think!
7. Short Turns
Shorter turns in soft snow are suited to a narrower ski, like an all mountain type. Allow the skis to sink in to the snow and as they do, steer strongly from the thighs and hips. The skis will rebound out of the snow if you lift the tips of the skis at this time. The light period at the top of the rebound is the time to change edges and prepare the next turn.
8. Poles
Whatever skis you are on, use of the poles in the deep snow is essential. A strong pole plant will control the upper body and give you the confidence to let the skis keep moving through the end of a turn. It’s worth having larger baskets on your soft snow poles.
NB. Off-piste skiing should always be practiced with appropriate safety equipment and in the presence of a professionally qualified instructor or guide.
Tips and tactics for skiing that awesome phenomenon known as powder… leave your frustrations behind.
1) A more two footed approach…
Do you ever get frustrated skiing in powder because your outside ski plunges into the snow and runs away on you? The solution is to ski with a little more even pressure on both skis which will help to create a larger platform to stand on.
2) Round turns…
If you try to turn your skis too quickly across the fall line in deep powder… the result will be a face plant. Instead try to make your turn shape round like the letter “C.”
3) Speed is your friend…
You may notice that powder will slow you down quite a bit compared to a smooth groomed run. Unfortunately, if you are going too slow, you will not be able to float to the surface between turns and this will make it very difficult to initiate a direction change. Take a more aggressive line down the fall line then you would in harder conditions… Speed is your friend!
4) Groove to the Rhythm…
Whilst skiing in powder, making rhythmical turns will help you take the energy from one turn into the next… you’ll be bouncing right out of the snow.
5) Tight core…
Often powder will vary in consistency and you may not be able to see what lies underneath. Keeping a tight core will help stabilize your upper body and minimize how much you will get thrown off balance when you hit that unexpected bump.
6) Be mobile and ready to adjust the feet…
Keep the feet moving in order to maintain balance. As you enter the snow your feet will want to slow down so you may need to push them ahead a little. When your skis bounce back out of the snow between turns your feet will want to take off. Reign them in by pulling them back underneath your body.
7) Just like skiing the bumps…
Skiing powder is just like skiing in moguls. The difference is you are making the moguls as you ski. You will need to extend your legs through to the middle of the turn as you push your skis into the snow. This will compact the snow until it pushes back on you. Then you will need to aggressively flex your legs just like in the bumps.
8) Narrow it up a bit…
The trend amongst ski instructors these days is to preach a wide stance. This may be more stable, but narrowing your stance a bit in powder can help keep your skis from having a mind of their own. Don’t take this one too far… it’s not the 70’s anymore!
9) More inclination, less angulation…
In powder your goal isn’t to grip on a flat surface so there is no need to lay hard on the edges like on groomed run. In powder you are creating a bigger platform in the snow almost like riding a berm or a luge track that tilts with the turn. This means that turns in powder can have a little more lean with the whole body and a little less edging with the lower joints.
10) Pick your terrain…
As I said before powder will slow you down. So ignore your instincts! The steeper the terrain, the easier it will be to ski.
11) Fat skis and rocker…
If you want to make life easy in the powder you can always get yourself a pair of fat skis. Fat skis create a bigger platform and help you float on top of the snow making the skill set required much closer to that of skiing a groomed run. For even more float and easy turn initiation you can try a pair of skis with reverse camber at the tip and tail (AKA “Rocker”). They sure are a lot of fun and have opened up a whole new world of possibilities on snow… That being said, on certain days I still crave the old school style of sinking in and bouncing out of the white stuff.
As skiers and snowboarders who spend almost all of our time in the Canadian Rockies, naturally we have a love affair with powder. The magical lure of deep powder skiing is everywhere, in the winter it’s in movies, on posters, and in your Facebook feeds. The pros may make it look natural, but the truth is no-one is born an expert at powder skiing. Whether you’re a veteran skier who just needs a few reminders, a beginner skier, or an intermediate who is starting to venture off the groomed slopes these 4 powder skiing tips will have you skiing like a pro in no time:
4 easy powder skiing tips for your next ski vacation
1. create a large surface area to float on
When skiing on hard-pack or groomed snow you’d usually use your downhill ski to start the turn, but if you try that in powder you’ll just end up driving one ski down into the snow like an anchor. Instead, you need a body position that lowers resistance and increases floatation so you keep moving and don’t get stuck.
How to create a larger surface area with your skis in deep snow
Weight both ski evenly, keep a centred (but agile) stance and keep your shoulders over your toes. Spreading your body weight evenly across both skis will help you keep your tips above the snow.
2. Forget edging, learn to steer with your body weight
Edges are useless in deep snow because there’s nothing for them to grip on. To change direction without increasing resistance on your downhill ski, you have to switch techniques and focus on steering with your body weight instead. You do this by weighting and unweighting as you would in moguls.
How to turn using weighting and unweighting while skiing powder
In the apex of the turn bend at the knees and weight the skis as if you’re trying to push the snow away underneath you. Then when you’re ready to finish the turn and start the next one, extend your legs to unweight the skis making it easier for your body and skis to change direction.
3. Push yourself to spend more time in the fall line
In powder, speed is your friend. When your skis are on the top of the snow you glide along with little to no resistance, but when your skis are under the snow your tips will start to nosedive (as we’ve all experienced) grinding you to a halt. Think of your skis like an aeroplane… you need speed to generate lift.
How to use speed to stay afloat when powder skiing
On a powder day, on a piece of terrain that you’re comfortable with, practice turning your skis down the slope into the fall line to pick up speed. When you want to slow down start making a turn across the slope. Repeat this while each time increasing your time spent in the fall line.
It’s important to remember that speed is a relative term. What seems fast to you might not be fast to someone else, but the most important part of learning to be comfortable at speed is to always be in control. When practising, it’s very important to maintain the correct body position outlined in skill 1.
4. Lengthen your turns
Now you’re feeling better about skiing with a little more speed it’s time to link everything together. You’re going to go from fast fall line skiing with slow turns, to elongated, smooth, flowing turns that maintain the same speed throughout. This is best practised on wide open runs or in bowls where you have a long run ahead.
How to lengthen your turns to keep speed and momentum in deep snow
Make sure you have even weight on both skis, a centred stance with your shoulders over your toes. Start by completing whatever size turn you feel comfortable with, as you weight and unweight through the turn as described in skill 2. Once you feel comfortable, start allowing the radius of your turn to get longer and combine that with a shorter transition between turns. Shorter transitions between turns will keep your skis facing down the slope longer and help you keep momentum, rather than skiing across the slope which will ultimately slow you down.
If you still have questions about skiing powder or you have some great powder skiing tips of your own, please share them with us and our followers on Twitter , Facebook or Instagram .
Still having trouble? Maybe it’s time for powder skis
If, after all this, you still don’t feel like you’re floating, it might be time to look at your skis. What width underfoot are they? Are they too short? Too long? Skiing powder isn’t just about technique, having a ski that creates a large surface area but is also easy to move around is a sure-fire way to improve your powder skiing.
A brief history of powder skis
In 1988 Atomic tasked one of its engineers, Rupert Huber, to come up with a better powder ski. So, Huber sawed a snowboard in half, turned its steel edges inward, attached ski bindings and the fat ski was born. After few rounds of refinement the first powder ski was born, the Atomic Powder Magic (or Fat Boy as they lovingly became known). You might also say that he created the first splitboard.
At 115 millimetres underfoot the Fat Boys were the first super-wide powder ski of their kind and they revolutionised skiing forever. “They made it easier to ski fluffy powder snow because they had so much more surface area underfoot. They were also much shorter than the lengths people were skiing on in that day, making them easier to manoeuvre.” – said Jake Strassburger, alpine commercial manager for Atomic.
Photo courtesy of Wolf Creek / Jason Lombard
The Boneyard never looked better. It was mid-April, a week after Steamboat’s closing day, but winter wasn’t heeding the shutdown: Three feet of fluff had just fallen on top of the 489 inches we’d gotten that season. So I hiked up at dawn—well before the springtime sun warmed the cold, dry snow into sludge—to stand atop the Boneyard, where a glittering white blanket hid the nest of fallen trees that gives this stash its nickname. I gazed at the aspens’ pale, spidery branches, then tipped my skis over the ledge and dropped in.
And I kept dropping. Everything disappeared from view—the sky, the trees, and even my hands were hidden in a sea of white. The powder was deeper than I am tall, and for a second I couldn’t tell if I was moving or stalled in a snowdrift. But I felt my legs bobbing beneath me, my skis flying on autopilot while my eyes searched the fog for my intended line. Two turns, then three—all under the snow, until I gained enough speed for my head to broach the surface, like the periscope of a submarine. And not a moment too soon: The Boneyard is salted with trees, which I could now see in front of me. I gulped some air, mapped my next few turns, and savored waves of snow washing over my helmet.
Sure, I’d counted on powder that day. But I discovered something even wilder, a new type of deep snow that proved just how three-dimensional the white room really is. Pow isn’t a road you ride on top of but a sea you swim through. You’re in it, and it’s in you, stuffing your mouth as you hoot with giddiness. And when it’s really deep, the snow’s surface isn’t the earth beneath your feet—it’s your sky.
Want to experience the white room without getting lost in all that snow? Take a cue from the pros.
Powder Skiing Tips
Learn how to ski powder to reap the rewards off-piste.
Photo credit: Keri Bascetta
Speed is your friend
“Don’t be afraid of speed. Go too slow and you end up mired in the snow, fighting it. Speed lets your skis float to the surface, where it’s easier to turn. Think of your skis as the wing of a plane: You need speed to get lift.” —Aryeh Copa, ski photographer
Widen your stance
“Thanks to wider powder boards, you can keep legs farther apart in the powder than skiers of the recent past. Skis are wide and buoyant enough that it’s no longer necessary to clamp them together to make a bigger platform.” —Michael Rogan, PSIA Alpine Team Coach
Flex, don’t squat
“Your stance should make you look like a boxer, not like you’re sitting on the toilet. With your weight forward, over the balls of your feet, you’ll have much better balance and stability than when you sit back on the tails of your skis.” —Michelle Parker, pro skier
Load and unload those skis
Marcus Caston demonstrating his signature move: bouncing through pow.
Photo courtesy of Helly Hansen
“As you progress through a turn, exaggerate the weighting and unweighting of your skis so you feel like you’re bouncing. Don’t work too hard steering your skis with your upper body—instead, focus on loading and unloading them.” —Jessica Sobolowski, Alaskan heli-guide
“No longer do you have to keep your weight distributed 50/50 between skis. Trust your outside ski and stand against it.” —Rogan
Lengthen your turns
“Instead of making lots of short, thrashy movements, make smooth, long-radius turns that let you stay inside the white room for as long as possible. That way, your face shots last three times as long as they do with dainty little turns.” —Shroder Baker, pro skier
Aim for higher edge angles
Warren Miller athlete Kaylin Richardson knows a thing or two about slashing high edge angle turns in pow.
Photo credit: Scott Markewitz
“Get your skis out from underneath your body, where they can bend and work for you. When your skis stay under you, bending them only causes the tips to point up. When your skis are out from under you, they bend and arc in the direction you want to turn.” —Rogan
Practice patience
“In deeper snow, you have to be extra patient. It takes some time for the snow to compress enough to bend your ski and start the turn. Stay balanced against your outside ski and give your equipment and the snow a chance to work together.” —Rogan
Looking for more ski instruction tips from the pros? Check out SKImag.com’s Instruction channel.
Originally written by Kelly Bastone and published in Skiing Magazine in 2009. The article was updated in Nov. 2019 to reflect current ski instruction and techniques.
Photo credit: Keri Bascetta
Skiers have long chased after the sacred powder day. They anxiously await those times when the heavens open and blanket our mountains in white flakes, though those days are often few and far between. Despite how it may feel right now, powder days are just around the corner, so to celebrate the upcoming season, here are some of the best deep snow edits and ski films that will make any skier drool.
