Border between Powder and normal slope

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Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby Eiszapfen » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:06 am

Hi,
Today I skied powder for the first time in Davos. Boy that was tough! I sure did some "facebreaks"...
Then I reread the powder chapter of expert skier one and found out what had gone wrong. I already pressed my legs together, but I tried to balance only on the stance ski. Mr Harb says you have to establish even pressure on both skies. I tried so and Powder skiing improved, but I still have a problem with 50/50 balance cause I have worked so hard on 100/0 and I just can't switch it off...
As a result I have the feeling my skis don't go straight but shake,what also makes it hard to keep a narrow stance without crossing the skis...
One of my main questions now is , when I do have to use "powder balance" and when I it is okay to ski to ski 100/0. Where's the border?
Also it would be very nice if someone could shortly explain other changes I have to make while skiing powder. I know they are not that huge because the pmts movements are always the same, but some additional tips would help me a lot.
Thanks and greetings from Switzerland
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby Max_501 » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:27 am

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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby Ken » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:19 pm

Here's what I do. For a drill, on a packed slope with a few inches of fresh snow, practice equal weight on both feet. Tip & turn as always, but don't lighten the inside leg. This feels wrong (and is wrong for that packed slope), but for a drill it will develop the equal-weight technique. When this feels like it is working, take it to deeper snow. Use the weight on the outside leg when you are skiing on a snow base; use equal weight on both for snow with no base under your skis where the skis are moving through the snow.

Balance, balance, balance in powder. You need to find the front to back balance where your skis float through the snow. Not on top of the snow, but float through the snow with no effort from you. And you need the even side to side balance. And the balance of the usual counter balance and counter acting movements over your skis.

Look at the videos of Diana skiing. As she makes the two-legged relaxing movement to end the turn, her skis pop to the surface (and it is OK if they don't surface). Then tip the usual inside foot, allow the legs to extend, and counterbalance and counteract as usual. Smooth, balanced, easy.

Was the ski shake you describe because you weren't smooth with the PMTS movements and trying to force the skis around, maybe in lumpy snow? Find an easier slope and practice the PMTS movements. Your skis will slice through the snow with ease.
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby jbotti » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:59 pm

Ken wrote:Here's what I do. For a drill, on a packed slope with a few inches of fresh snow, practice equal weight on both feet. Tip & turn as always, but don't lighten the inside leg. This feels wrong (and is wrong for that packed slope), but for a drill it will develop the equal-weight technique. When this feels like it is working, take it to deeper snow. Use the weight on the outside leg when you are skiing on a snow base; use equal weight on both for snow with no base under your skis where the skis are moving through the snow.

.


Here is a subtle but important distinction. In PMTS we always have the majority of weight on our outside or stance ski, even in powder. This can mean as little as 51% but never equal or more weight on the inside ski. If you look at the great off piste photos of Max and Heluva there is a large amount of counterbalance in their off piste turns even in pow (perhaps especially in pow). When we have this much CB in our skiing it is virtually impossible to be equal weighted as more weight will naturally fall on the stance ski. In pow the stance ski takes less weight than on hard snow, but it still and always has the majority of the weight.
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby Eiszapfen » Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:09 am

@ jbotti: that's a very interesting aspect... Sounds logical.
I'm working on the weighted release right now, but putting weight on both feet still feels akward :)
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby BigE » Tue Mar 25, 2014 2:59 pm

Could the shake be from overcanting?
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby go_large_or_go_home » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:56 pm

As a result I have the feeling my skis don't go straight but shake


Might she mean 'snake'? I don't think I have every felt/ heard of skis shaking in powder... But if you lead the release with tipping the BTE first - regardless of 51/49 balance or 100/0, the skis will almost certainly cross..
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby HeluvaSkier » Tue Mar 25, 2014 10:04 pm

No, shake makes sense... one ski trying to grip while the other has little weight on it so it bounces. You end up with a very unstable platform to tip with in soft snow. Moving to a more even distribution and fine-tuning tipping will help this. Coming from a race background I have and still struggle with wanting to go for the outside ski too much in softer snow... so I am very familiar with this.
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby Eiszapfen » Wed Mar 26, 2014 6:02 am

Just wanted to say that it's "he" ;)
With shaking I meant that it's really hard to keep the skis together, I really need a power to do so. Is that normal? If I release the pressing together only a little bit, the skis break out and get apart, which makes it hard to turn...
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby lukezhang » Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:19 am

What is the best waist width to practice on powder? I think narrow skis will make practice harder, right?
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby HeluvaSkier » Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:21 am

lukezhang wrote:What is the best waist width to practice on powder? I think narrow skis will make practice harder, right?


If you're still learning to tip, I would go no wider than 78mm in the waist.
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Re: Border between Powder and normal slope

Postby Max_501 » Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:26 am

Eiszapfen wrote:With shaking I meant that it's really hard to keep the skis together, I really need a power to do so. Is that normal? If I release the pressing together only a little bit, the skis break out and get apart, which makes it hard to turn...


Reread the Free Foot Management section of Book 2. Start with the Pole Press drill (pages 68 - 69 of book 2) so you have a good understanding of the muscular effort needed to hold the free foot against the stance boot.
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