How to ski in powder

1. Weight:
In order to avoid sinking or falling over on powder (it’s easy to go face first), distribute your weight as evenly as you can. To get technical about it, this even distribution creates a larger surface area and therefore a better float on the white stuff. It also helps minimise the amount of force placed on pressure points.

Moral of the story: focus on keeping your weight evenly distributed between both your feet (whilst staying relaxed!).

2. Engage your core:
Thanks to the balance needed to stop you from toppling over, powder skiing requires more core engagement than other terrains. Keep your core engaged and stay focused. This will allow you to maintain control of your upper body – key for when you hit those unexpected bumps (and you will).

Remember, powder can hide obstacles, so brace yourself for a little impact – that’s half the fun of it.

3. Find the correct stance:
Generally speaking, you should adopt a narrower stance than you normally would. This means that rather than having your feet shoulder-width apart, try positioning them at hips width: this should help create more of a streamlined feel.

Why does this work? Because it helps minimise the possibility of catching any edges and makes it easy to perform round turns. 

4. Go lean
You might hear a rumour that you should lean back, but that’s not a good idea: you’ll tire quickly and struggle with control. Instead, lean forward slightly. This keeps weight on the balls of your feet, which are more responsive and stronger than your heels or toes. It also helps to keep your skis flat and avoid edging.

5. Need for speed
When skiing powder, speed is your friend. Move fast and you’ll float on the powder; move slowly and you’ll start to sink. Although we say go fast, it’s a lot easier to say than do. Powder naturally slows you down, so make sure you build momentum, be aggressive, and don’t second guess yourself.

6. Minimise the amount of turning
On a similar note, turning on powder will slow you down. Plan your route to incorporate as fewer turns as possible. By reducing turns and keeping your body forward, you’re going to build up speed a lot more quickly. And let’s face it, speed equals fun.

7. Embrace steep hills
As we’ve banged on about, powder is a naturally slower terrain due to the resistance that it provides, meaning steep hills are your friends. The momentum built up on steep hills counteracts the powder’s extra resistance, so although you will build up speed (essential for good powder skiing), you won’t end up travelling a million miles per hour.

If you really want to feel the sensation of floating in the air, steep hills are a must.

8. Long and rounded turns
You will need to make some turns when skiing powder, and the trick is to make them as long and rounded as possible. Any overly-sharp turns or sudden movements could lead to your skis catching or sinking into the powder. Keep your movement as soft and fluid as possible.

9. Stay in control
Some call it “three dimensional” skiing. Why? Because the up and down motion is far more important on powder. On piste, you control your skiing through turning, but that’s not always possible on the good stuff. Aim for a very gentle bouncing motion across the snow’s surface to control your motion.

10. Plant your ski pole
Pole planting helps you maintain your rhythm. Keep both arms out towards your front and when you plant your pole, make sure the impact comes from your wrists. Keeping the movements small and controlled means you’re less likely to become unbalanced.

11. Consider special equipment
Fat skis are – you guessed it - extra wide, providing a larger surface area for you to get to grips with this tricky surface. Larger baskets on your ski poles can help to minimise the potential for your poles to slip too far under the snow’s surface. Larger, spherical goggles are also advised to increase your field of vision.

12. Be patient
If you take one thing away from this article, it should be that powder skiing isn’t easy. Some of the motions you need to employ can seem counter-intuitive, particularly when you compare it to the skiing you’ve been taught before.

When learning how to ski powder, you might experience the dreaded mental block; your body seemingly refusing to ski any other way than you’re used to. If you do, stay calm and take your time. Believe us, it does become easier and more natural, and getting frustrated doesn’t help in the long run.

That’s it from us. Now go off piste and build up some speed. And if you do end up going on an off-piste adventure, here are our backpacking essentials for off-piste skiing.