5 Reasons You Suck at Skiing Powder | Lets Fix It!

Thank you again for a great video.
Do you ski off piste in hard pack on the big mountain skis ?
Or do you ski in the park when there's no power ?

Still think the best ski ever made was the Atomic Theory from 2012, a true all rounder. Was great everywhere, maybe only not so good if your thing is dropping cliffs bigger than 10-15 foot. But a 95mm twin tip that is directional is excellent in lots of situations. Tiny amount of rocker a tip and that's all you really need. Most folks don't live in resort and defo dont have 5 pairs of planks, nor do they want the inconvenience. This sort of specificity is only likely to turn poeple off the idea of owning their own stuff and learning because of the expense (and inconvenience of 5 different pairs) and lack of multi-tasking.

For me the main problem of beginners is speed. They go way to slow and they are sinking. So they cannot turn because the skis become too heavy by behing under the snow. It's like water skiing. If you go too slow it's just not possible. So for powder you need a bit more speed and beginners can be afraid of that...

If you can't properly drive a ski on a groomed run, you can't effectively ski powder. Regardless of the equipment you have, if you're not forward on your skis and flexing forward into your boots, you're going to struggle. Slaying powered on a rockered ski is reminisent of driving a fully cambered ski down a groomed slope.

6th reason- you live in the northeast and never get to ski powder. We are great at skiing ice 😂

Just had over 20 inches of fresh pow in Whitefish. I ski a 92ti Armada declevity and it will eat this coming pow day. Technique over gear.

Number one skill for powder skiing is springboarding or compression,then up and turn, and then linking this motion in shallow arcs.. You can ski on straight 80 cm skis and do this, like in the 70s. Equipment helpful, but not key.

I was using Carving technique in real powder last wk, and flowing and ripping like never before. And Carving helps in the skied out & hardpacked, even on my old now rock ski Head 99s that don't edge for shit!

Great tips, and competely agree. Equipment actually does matter, need some speed, and keep hips 45% or more downhill(for all skiing). I skied in 2 feet of powder with some all-mountain skis with 75mm waist and had to lean slighly back in order to not get propelled forward. I remember asking people "howdo you ski powder"? I wish someone would have said go rent some wider skis.....

As someone who used to suck at skiing powder, but is better now … the reason is lack of experience. I couldn’t ski powder until I spent 4 days at Niseko (on Armada JJs) and it was like an aha moment, an epiphany, like learning to ride a bike … it was just BANG that’s how you do it. Most people only rarely get to ski powder. Do a trip to Niseko or snowbird and get some experience. Once you figure it out it’s easy.

I think of my skiing as the course of a creek. Not a C or an S Smooth, flowy.

Something that I rarely see being addressed are the actual conditions. Skiing new snow is so much different from one storm to the next or from region to region. Skiing new snow in Utah is a completely different animal vs skiing new snow in the PNW where the water content of the snow is much higher. In Utah every decent skier looks like a hero. The snow is light, fluffy and you can simply steer your legs and feet and it feels really effortless and easy. In the Northwest it requires considerably more skill and effort. You have to get the skis up out of the snow to get the turn started and then inertia allows you to continue through the shapping phase. Add in an icy layer of bumps, trees, steeps and a semi tracked out hill and now you've got a formidable challenge. I don't see many people post videos about these variables.

One of the biggest probelms I have with skiing powder is that it never snows often enough where I live to get good practice in. I only get to ski powder maybe one to 5 days a year if I'm lucky. I never get the chance to properly implement all this advice. It really sucks tbh. But last year I did ok in the powder. I just need to work out more to keep my muscles strong.

Great video! And yes, getting powder/soft snow specific skis is the biggest part imo as well. I always talk to people on the chair during pow days who tell me how hard the skiing is and how they keep falling and their skis wont move, and I tell them look you might now want to hear this but the biggest part is having the right skis that are designed to turn with snow engaging the tips instead of underneath your feet.

I wish I could suck at powder, but I’m stuck in a place without powder to go through

Thanks Jens is was doing a lot of these mistakes!

Sinusoidal turns. Geez... You are annoying sometimes...

Why do most people I see stink at powder? I never see anyone on a powder day, who's asking...... (Said from somewhere lost deep in the trees) 😊

Main reason, is they do not understand what is happening. Piste skiing is always some version of ice skating with a little more or less top dressing.

Powder skiing is an intermediate fluid between solid and actual water skiing. In fluid mediums, you need to build momentum in order to create float to carry your weight (and proper displacement).

Same principle applies. Once you get momentum, the proper skis (100+ underfoot) begin to rise up in the fluid powder and "get on the step" in boating parlance.

Once on the step, it's soft turns with perfect (or nearly perfect) control, but down in the fluid, you need to bounce to pump power into the skis to switch edges for turns.

Bounce bounce bounce... 😊

Very useful. However, probably underestimating how much I suck at skiing powder. 🙄
King of the faceplant.

I remember someone in Japan once asking me why is powder skiing so hard? I took at look at his skies and they were just bog standard rental piste skies and was like mate you need to switch up, those will provide about as much lift as a stone.

Personally I like all mountain skies with around 90mm under foot. My wife is still getting her ski legs so I need something that can actually turn on piste when I'm teaching her, but they are still fun when I pop off into the side country for a little adventure through the trees. For piste skiing 70mm suits me best as I love the tight carving feeling

Sucking at skiing powder because can't ski is on point. Skiing is so fun because it is so dynamic; snow and terrain difference don't change the principles of skiing well. Using the propper equipment for the application of good skiing makes skiing well easier and more fun!

is it just me or does he sound a lot like Mike Boyd??

굿👍

I was playing on slalom skis one time and tried to take them off piste for the craic. I'm a very experienced skier, so I knew it was going to be a bad idea but it was just for fun. I looked like a fool and had some ignorant old English tosser try to tell me off.
The point being, its about having fun and playing with it. When you improve, it becomes the most enjoyable experience. So ignore what other people might think and go for it. Enjoy the falls, then get up and go again.

My Faction Prodigy 2 might not be the best ski for powder but its so fun to me. I got it this year and love it on and of the piste. For someone who only had race skis in the past its a blessing

A guide I had a week in Flaine laughed and shook his head when he saw my DPS Wailer 112RP Pure and said (imagine the French accent): "People come here thinking they can ski powder when they have skis like that." I replied saying that I learnt skiing powder on a 65 mm wide Salomon Crossmax, but that the Wailers were just so much more enjoyable. :)

The Wailers were not very fun in the somewhat harder conditions inbounds. But when I found the Extrem Opinion 88, my problem with needing two different skis disappeared. They really are a blast and a very enjoyable and fun ski both inbounds and in the off piste!

I suck at skiing powder....because there's never any powder when I go skiing.

Good on you for raising avalanche awareness🤙

Are the 110s good for piste ? So can you carve them well

I’ve never heard anyone say “powder” so sensually lmao

As an east coast skier I don’t have to worry about this

All this time and now i find out i am just using the wrong font. I wish somebody told me sooner!

What is the name of the skis which you ride in the video?

What goggles are they

I think snow conditions also matter a lot. It is hard to find pristine, deep enough powder at the right steepness to practice. Tracked terrain is a whole different thing

Well. Ive been skiing since iwas 4-5 and I'm a competent skier. But skiing pow is often a workout for me. Then again I ski everything with Volkl Ledge Skis from 2013. (park twintips) 85mm waist and centraly mounted bindings. Theyre a workout in powder. but good fun.

I can't afford 5 different skis. Thanks for the info

Props to your cameraman, it is super hard to film in powder lol

I suck because I never get to...

I feel like most people are trying to initiate theturnfrom the upper body instead of shifting weight and rolling/turning the ankles.
With just skiing, i don't have any problem. For me, it's always the mind kicking in once i start or try to catch some air. But would be very helpful for my goals of nosebutter 360 in pow an 360 double safety on a windlip.

The number one reason skiers suck at skiing powder is that most of them are weekend warriors and see a 20cm+ powder day three times a season 😬😬😬

Thanks Fabio, appreciate it my man! ;)

I do agree having powders skis makes for the best ride, although saying roughly 60% of the skis on the market are “meh” to “very bad” in powder is a overstatement. Skiing makes you a good skier not the skis, and while I do agree that all mountain skis are “meh” I own them because they CAN do anything. I’ve only had a handful of powder days with them and the rest being normal groomers, while it hasn’t been as enjoyable, the ability to go on and off trail without any issues is something everyone should experience. At the same time some of the best skiers I know use true center mounted skis and carve though powder better than I will for the next decade. It’s how you ski at the end of the day, yes skis makes the world of a difference, although if you can’t ski in powder it doesn’t matter if you have 115s or 90s. Still love this channel and not saying I am a expert by any means. Simply trying to provide the most information to those who need it :)

Can someone tell me if its okay to take a freestyle ski for powder

here's my criticism for this video : it's well put together and gives good advice (from my lifelong skiing experience POV at least), but i don't think it's a good idea to start out like that with "get the right skis". it does play a big role, but learning to ski off piste straight away with skis designed just for that might just make it... too easy. i'm not saying this because i want to see the newer skiers struggle, but i think it's really important to start on not so good gear, get good with it, then move on to good gear. if you learn to PROPERLY ski powder with piste skis, then you almost for sure can ski powder with ease on any skis, then, new skis designed for that use only make it more pleasant and easy. just look at the skis our parents were riding, those were straight as a stick and not wide at all. i learned to ski on that because for a long time, my dad's old touring gear was all i had, a pair of 190cm dynastar Arno Adam pro model from a while ago. and they're not even that old, but man did it make me improve my technique

How far forward is your bent 110 mounted?

As someone on the US east coast, it would be a dream to have these endless fields of untracked powder to practice on!
Then again, as someone on the US east coast, I rarely have to worry about being good at skiing powder anyway 😅