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Help - I am rubbish in fresh snow

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Here in cervinia i have been skiing well on all slopes until the snow came today. I think i have a couple of problems - first my goggles are rubbish so i am hoping for a suggestion for a better pair. But secondly, i have technique issues. My normal way just is not working and it feels wrong too in these conditions but i am not sure what to do to correct it. If it is the same weather tomorrow i can look for lessons but any advice in the meantime?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
MissRibena, don't rush your turns and try not to twist your skis too much. Try to be as patient as you can be.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
How can you be rubbish in fresh snow.... ?? any old turn will do in that stuff.... Puzzled

But as a general rule...in deep snow...don't fight the turn, go with it, pressure the ski and you will turn
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JT, i think i go wrong because the piste gets lumpy. So there is an uneven surface and i probably overreact to the lumps - as if they were hard. Have a black eye tonight to prove it is possible to make a total mess of it! Will try to chill.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
JT wrote:
How can you be rubbish in fresh snow.... ?? any old turn will do in that stuff.... Puzzled

But as a general rule...in deep snow...don't fight the turn, go with it, pressure the ski and you will turn


Any old turn will not do.

Turns in fresh snow need to be more 2 footed than 1 footed. That is, try to spread the weight more evenly between your feet. Try to steer the skis gently with your feet. Avoid big pressure on 1 foot or the other, as that ski will dig in deep, and your other ski will sit on top of the snow and this may unbalance you.
Aim to face downhill to start off. The snow depth will help to stop you going too fast.

Get some decent goggles, seeing the terrain will help your confidence. Try some on before you buy. If it's snowing still, then choose an amber/yellow/pink tint to make the view seem brighter and highlight the slope terrain.
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MissRibena,

1) Serenity. Slow everything you do d o w n. Any old turn will do, so long as nothing needs to happen RIGHTNOW.

For example: If you currently make turns on a 5-count (1 2 3 4 5) where each 3 has the skis pointing straight downhill, do them on a 10-count or a 12-count in the soft stuff.

2) The whole two-footed thing. Don't worry about it. Train your instincts instead. Feel how hard the snow pushes at you, and only push back just a little bit harder. Again, you want to feel with your skis.

3) Part of feeling with your skis (and dealing with lumps) is to not forget where your feet are. So you have to play little front to back games with your feet on piste so they are not lazy slothful leaden insensitive things when you enter bumps.

For example: One game you can play is to imagine your core muscles are a lemon wedge. Squeeze the lemon wedge with your skis and your shoulders. This gets your skis a bit out front of your core, but keeps them under your head. They can soak up a bump or slowdown and you can rebalance.

4) Don't panic over losing a little bit of balance. Everyone does lose a little bit of balance, the trick is to not let it cascade. Serenity.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
snowbunny, how many times do we hear this? In my more than 50 years of skiing I've only ever once skied snow so deep I couldn't feel the base. If you can feel the base you can use pressure. It's absolutely not necessary to be 2 footed except for the recovery moments. The face here is full of people not actually turning much (and it's steep) because they're not pressuring the turning ski.

MissRibena, If you have technical faults on the piste they will be exaggerated off piste. Get a lesson and correct your basic faults on piste and then fresh snow is easy. Very Happy
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
JT, comprex, easiski, Fine, I'm sure MissRibena will be able to continue to carve turns in the pow. As for me, that didn't work. Bye.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Skiing powder is so easy that there are innumerable book chapters and videos devoted to it.

Not forgetting all the "guru" and "masterclass" courses available, for example:-

Learn to ski powder.
Learn to ski powder again (because it didn't work the first time).
Improving in powder (oh well in for a penny, maybe this time it'll work).
Powder Intermediates (hmm, maybe we'd better try that again).
etc etc etc

Toofy Grin
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Far be it for me to disagree with previous posters, particularly easiski, from whom I have had first rate lessons.
But from reading the original two posts it sounds as if the problems are on piste and partly due to 'lumpy snow', not due to deep snow or powder as such.

I don't know what the particular problem is but a few things worth considering

If part of the problem is seeing the lumps then good quality goggles may help as previously suggested.

If the lumps are really soft then forgetting about them may help as they don't matter that much.

If you are alternating between soft and icy surfaces as can happen when a certain amoumt of fresh snow has fallen on pistes and is sewpt in to some areas, this is more difficult but basically relaxing may help. As may following a good skier and turning where they turn and watching to see how they cope.

Different types of 'lumpy snow' and there are many ,have varying degrees of difficulty. Don't worry if you are finding it a bit tough, lots of others do. Trying to maintain good technique and being relaxed to absorb the irregularities rather than being stiff and fighting them is often helpful. Correct technique from a decent instructor is really the answer though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
MissRibena,

Chopped up isn't what I call fresh snow.....fresh snow is falling snow and it is so light a snowplough will do but even recently chopped up0 snow should be a joy.

1st if you think your goggles aren't helping..then get down to a decent shop and try out flatter light lenses against the type of light you struggle in... you'll see which lenses enhance the light.
There are a whole range of lenses for diferent light but flat light lenses are more important for the 1st buy...you might find you other lenses work in bright light better. Note, lat light lenses might make your eyes water on sunny days as there is too much lighht coming through. This is the whole point of flat light lenses. Sunnies are for sunny days....

In chopped up snow..that is relatively fresh...again don't fight the turn as you should be able to bash through it and turn where you want. Your aim is to turn where you need to rather than turn where you want...but adopt tactics like a longer traverser if you can't link-turn atm...

Try and get the legs working as one.....rather than independantly so you don't let the inside leg drag and get caught.. I am not so fussed about weight distribtution here, personally..

If we are indeed talking about fresh chopped snow..not crud or other stuff... a forceful drive through the snow reasonaly in balance will work.

The lessons should come just in time.

snowbunny, Who is talking about carved turns in powder..................?? look at most set of tracks and they will all wash out at some point . Very very few people, IMV bother to crave... and who cares anyway. Laughing Laughing Laughing
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Good goggles are very useful but even good goggles can mist up if not careful.

I find that a having some airflow between lens and eyes is needed, so keep the vents at the top and bottom clear of snow and hats. The hood of my jacket sometimes impedes the airflow making the lens mist up. Even breathing out can sometimes be a problem so then I conciously exhale downwards.

Avoid getting misture between lens and eyes. Try and wear the goggles all the time, keep them on in cable cars and bubble lifts. Do not lift them onto the forehead and over your hat. If you have to take them off when it is snowing then hold them to avoid getting snow inside. To fit them, first put the goggles to the face and then pass the headband around to secure them.

If you are skiing with a rucksack and it is snowing then it is worth carrying a spare pair of goggles. Every so often my goggles get misted up, perhaps I got snow in them after a fall. Having a dry spare pair is very useful and avoids holding up the whole group while I dry the inside. Equally with a spare you can lend them to others in the group and avoid them holding you up.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
JT, in any kind of fresh snow (whether that be virgin powder, chopped up loose snow, slushy stuff, etc) edge control and pressure control are essential skills as you want to keep rotation of the skis to a minimum. Being able to control your speed and line just by edging is a pretty useful skill to have IMO, so on-piste carving is one of the tools I think you need in the toolbox even if you don't use it in its purest form very often.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
rob@rar,

Are we talking on-piste carving now..?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
JT wrote:
rob@rar,

Are we talking on-piste carving now..?


Just edging skills, regardless of context. Any situation where you don't want to rotate your skis too much because of lots of loose snow.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
rob@rar,

Quote:

But as a general rule...in deep snow...don't fight the turn, go with it, pressure the ski and you will turn
latest report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
snowbunny, sorry to hear that.

If you do come back and read this, consider the combination of easiski's two-footed recovery and the longer -time- intervals between one turn's apex and the next.

Perhaps that is the source of the confusion? One spends more -time- in recovery per turn?
snow conditions
 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
JT wrote:
rob@rar,

Quote:

But as a general rule...in deep snow...don't fight the turn, go with it, pressure the ski and you will turn


You also need to have some control over how you put the ski on an edge/angle. Developing a feel for this so you can control it easily will help when conditions get tricky. For example, getting a ski to carve in hardpack or ice requires a very smooth, progressive application of edge angle so as not to break the ski's grip on the snow. The same can be said for turn initiation in loose snow. It's a transferable skill across different snow conditions, so developing it on piste will help off-piste performance.
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rob@rar, fatter skis -> smoother, more progressive application of edge angle Twisted Evil

why train when you can buy?
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
comprex wrote:
why train when you can buy?


Laughing

You'll reach your limits later if your skills are higher, rather than buying specialized kit which helps in increasingly limited circumstances.
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rob@rar,


I am ok, thanks
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
JT wrote:
rob@rar,


I am ok, thanks


Yes I have no doubt about that. A damn sight better than me from some of the stuff you've skied.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Feel the terrain through your boot was the best bit of advice I ever got from an instructor. He also made us ski with our eyes shut with the person behind with their eyes open telling you when to turn. I now have no problems with poor visibility or variable snow. That's not to say it would work for everyone.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
snowbunny, definitely need to be attentive to being two-footed in deep stuff. If not one sinks in and the other is left behind = faceplant. Less of an issue the wider the skis.

MissRibena, most European holiday skiers aren't any good at fresh deep snow. Generally it doesn't happen often enough this side of the ocean. You can go years on an annual week's ski without a day of the stuff. If you do most of your skiing somewhere like Utah though you'd get your experience much more quickly. A solid (very solid) basic piste technique helps a great deal. Fat skis make it much easier to ski deeper snow though and if one hasn't the skills, just go fatter - that's what most people do to make up for their deficiencies - takes a lot of skill to ski deeper in narrower skis so one of the reasons everyone is on fat ones! Good piece of advice I was given is ski like the snow - hard on hard snow and gentle on soft snow.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
MissRibena wrote:
Here in cervinia i have been skiing well on all slopes until the snow came today. I think i have a couple of problems - first my goggles are rubbish so i am hoping for a suggestion for a better pair. But secondly, i have technique issues. My normal way just is not working and it feels wrong too in these conditions but i am not sure what to do to correct it. If it is the same weather tomorrow i can look for lessons but any advice in the meantime?



Stand like a coathanger.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowbunny, http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=45594 We're not alone! wink
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
thanks for all the replies. I took on board as much as i could, got new goggles and a lesson. As it turned out, weather was much clearer today, although there was a little fresh snow this morning for me to practise in. The teacher said my technique was good but am too tense. So the serenity and patience advice here was spot on. As was the skis together with even weight. Much better day all round. Thanks again!
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