Learning Steps: Methods For Skiing Difficult Terrain

Although steep terrain demands a different skill set than milder slopes, it may be exhilarating and gratifying. Tamed slopes require a few important ideas and combinations of skills. Step one is to overcome our innate tendency to recline. Additional key ideas are to keep an athletic stance, bend ankles, shorten the inside leg, and advance when snow conditions become difficult.

Position

Skiing steep terrain needs good technique and balance, especially fore/aft (front-to-back) and laterally (side-to-side). Learning the ski stance is the first stage in this process. In order to get the ideal ski stance, engage your ankles, knees, and hips for stability and place weight on your feet's arches to help them function as springs. A skier with a good stance can also be proactive in the face of shifting circumstances and terrain, as opposed to reactive and always needing to recover. A skier with a decent posture will also be able to maneuver on steep slopes with ease, including side sliding to avoid trees and boulders. The skier will also be able to accelerate down the slope or maintain a constant speed by using short turns. Additionally, it will allow the skier to execute a hockey stop, which is a fast stopping technique on steep slopes that involves sliding sideways until the skis stop. On steep slopes, the hockey stop can be a very useful tool for avoiding hazardous areas.

Rotates

For any skier to be successful, balance between the upper and lower bodies is essential, but it becomes much more critical for those who wish to be able to ski steep terrain. Olympian and professional large mountain skier Kaylin Richardson describes the "love handle" method as an easy tip that can aid. Your instinct will tell you to lean back and hold on when skiing steep terrain. However, doing so weakens your balance, stops your progress, and decreases your edge grip. It's critical to play offensive if you want to properly grasp the steeps. A member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America team named Eric Lipton shows off how to properly prepare for a steep run in this video, which was taken at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. It's an easy approach that will help you assess the pitch, snow conditions, and line before you charge ahead and prevent you from falling. In the long run, a small amount of preparation today can greatly reduce the likelihood of major mountain disasters.

Borders

Strong edging is one of the most crucial abilities for skiing steep terrain since it enables the skier to absorb pitch variations and keep control. In order to help the skis grip and maneuver around ice patches, strong edging is also essential. Making short radius turns is a talent that great skiers on steep terrain also possess. By maintaining a steady and controlled stance and rolling forward as the skis spin, one can accomplish this. When skiers make a turn with a small radius, they can move their skis across the hill instead of down it, which is when they gain real speed. For this reason, when turning, it's critical for skiers to maintain a forward-leaning, centered stance and roll their ankles to regain edge grip. We refer to this as Progressive Edge Build.

Quickness

Skiers need to have a realistic grasp of what they can and cannot do on steep slopes in order to balance their drive and aptitude for pushing themselves to the limit. It's acceptable for a skier to prefer intermediate, low-angle terrain if they aren't ready to take on new challenges; after all, skiing is a personal sport where everyone has various comfort levels. Skiers must maintain controlled pace and awareness of other skiers and their surroundings when skiing on steep terrain, such as busy, tight slopes. The skier's center of gravity needs to be directly above the skis in order to maintain a balanced stance. Additionally, skiing in steep terrain requires a flexible, dynamic style. In a corridor, for instance, a skier needs to be able to side slip if they get in over their head and face steep cliffs or a tiny chute that they are unable to safely navigate. Before entering high-angle terrain, skiers should become proficient in these vital abilities. Developing a risk-management mentality and perfecting technique are the first steps in preparing to take on expert terrain.