Skiing Your First Powder Turns

It shows up in every ski movie, every magazine and in many advertisements. Prayers and dances ask for it, equipment is made specifically for it, and most skiers go to sleep dreaming about it. It's called the pow pow, the white room, freshies, gnar, the goodness, the soft stuff, or just plain powder snow. While the entire industry revolves around it, powder can be a challenging skill to learn and master. Unlike the resort on most days — meaning a consistent hard pack — powder skiing requires a new set of skills and technique or you'll quickly find yourself swimming instead of surfing. Here are the basics to get your float on and find yourself immersed in the "white room of pow pow."

Skiing powder is actually easier and less stressful on your body than packed snow, it's just that the opportunities for practice are a lot harder to come by. For your first powder turns, try dipping off hard pack runs into the ungroomed sides. Don't worry too much about turning; just try to feel the float before returning to the hard pack. Now find a little more space and slope to work with, but try to avoid trees at first.

It's a common misperception that skiing powder means leaning back. Especially today in the age of increasing ski waist widths, riding with a centered stance is a crucial technique for beginners. When entering powder, try not to lean back, but instead center up on top of your skis, lowering your torso back behind your knees. Your weight should remain centered. Focus on skiing with your chin up and eyes ahead and not into the snow. The deep stuff will naturally float you as long as your tips stay above the snow.

When turning, pressure your skis equally, like your two skis have been morphed into one. This can be the toughest concept to learn if you're used to skiing packed snow where unequal weight distribution can initiate turns. Unequal weight distribution on your skis in powder will inevitably lead to a hooked ski and a face full of powder. In the soft stuff, shifting your weight in harmony in direction, not from one ski to another, shifts your direction of travel. To start, try pushing both legs forward simultaneously to initiate turns, slightly changing your balance point in the direction you would like to travel. As your skis react to the weight transfer forward, you'll feel a pushing force up out of the snow. Use this force to change the direction of your skis and initiate a turn before falling back down into the snow. Your now bobbing and turning! Skiing powder can feel like slow motion at first, so take your time making turns, making a mistake doesn't have such dire consequences.

Skiing the TreesOnce you've become a little comfortable shifting your weight in the powder, pay attention to your tails as you bob in and out of turns. Your tails act as your brakes in the pow, play with them as you enter and exit turns. By slightly, and I mean slightly, leaning back onto your tails you can shed speed and stay in control. The more weight put on the tails, the more speed to lose exiting a turn.

After you've practiced a good centered stance, turning with your skis in harmony and speed control with your tails, finding the white room should be no problem — just make sure to throw a snow dance or prayer sometime soon.