SKIING THE STEEPS
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- Steeps can be the most intimidating area of the mountain to attempt to make good turns. This can often come with varying levels of success.
Here is a look at how you can build into these areas with a handful of ideas to fuel you with confidence.
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@Inthesnowmag - Sport
Man, that's really steep!
After seeing several videos over the years for skiing in the steeps - this is still the most eloquent in addition to giving the skier various tools at their disposable to use effectively in that terrain
This is VERY GOOD instruction. Thank you so much.
I learnt something from this so many thanks
What a cracking instructor. Clarity, great explanations and just had the look of a man who could pull, encourage and lead you through anything 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
All I need now is the French to let us in and for Covid (in all its forms) to miraculously disappear….
Took a "Steeps and Deeps" small group class at Jackson a few years back. The biggest mistake that most of us make is to sit back on the skis, transferring the weight onto the heels. While this does unweight the tips, it pushes the tails deep and makes it impossible to rotate the skis. An exhausting way to ski deep snow. The instructor did two things for us: made us keep our shoulders square to the fall line, eyes directly on the point where we were heading and also got us to keep our weight neutral, using the tails to clip off the tops of the piles of deep snow (rotating the skis under our feet). These approaches made it far easier to ski couloirs and in the trees where it got steep. Guy's name is Gain if he still does lessons there. Highly recommended. Made a huge difference for me.
Colleague of mine did a course with them maybe 15 years ago, make a huge leap forward.
Keeping shoulders square is so fundamental to good skiing. I finally fixed my form when I rented a monoski around 1992; you really can’t ski on one unless you square your shoulders.
A good drill is to hold both poles horizontally in front of you in both hands, and make your turns down the mountain. You should be able to do that on an intermediate slope with the poles moving.
This. Keeping your weight centered over the skis is so important. I used to sit back when faced with steep terrain, and try to make the skis turn by overpowering the tails. I learned to drive my knees forward and into the turns. Skis turn much better with your weight centered.
@@ironbearp Tough to do mentally but we face that challenge multiple times as we progress in skiing.
This is something I've noticed I do on steeps and rough snow. I then actively flex my ankles to keep the weight a little forward (or centered) and immediately have much better speed control and precision of turns. Good points.
Awesome clip! super helpful! Thanks for creating this!
Very good. Thanks!!!
Highly informative. Thank you 🙂
Dude, so good. I'm showing my kids this...as they never listen to me on the mountain!
Thanks, great tips. Just subscribed.
great collection of techniques we all use at some point, snow quality is a big deal in these situations, crust versus dry powder, hard snow, etc. You need the full tool kit, and to be young, (jump turns, those were the days...)
excelente!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonderful and clear
Brilliant, and equally applicable knowledge to telemark gear, and even cross country with unexpected terrain. Thanks.
I remember that slope. Did a couple of courses with the guys many moons ago. Taught me loads and now ski anything with confidence and fun.
very useful, even tho we dont have these kinds of steeps in finland :)
Great video, subscribed!
Good practical advice. I love the fact that you started with the sideslip. There are plenty of steeps where you might be comfortable one day, but you later find the snow quality might not be cooperative when you next get up there, and conservative techniques are needed to get you down safely, so you can rip it another day. (Of course, sometimes this is because you are visiting a narrow chute that someone just side-slipped the snow off, but I digress...)
Step turn, jump turn skid turn, pivot turn, wedge was just to feel it, practice parallel stance
great video, and when conditions are not ideal with a little crunch or huge bumps i like to do double pole plant jump turns. can''t wait
I used to try that, but usually either clipped the uphill poles with my ski tail, or the uphill pole would stick and throw my shoulders out of balance.
I think double pole plant and jump turns combined and more for where you are having fun rather than when it is very steep. The uphill pole inhibits the rotation and stops you turning your hip and shoulders round, much better with just a good strong downhill pole plant
Just point them down and open up the body for wind resistance; and if you fall, the gravitational forces will take you down to a more manageable grade; which is nice.. zoom zoom..
I'm working on jumping with my skies. I'm an advanced level skier. I learned how to ski (6 years ago) without poles, so I can still control myself without poles to this day. The only reason I use poles is for uphill reasons or just to slow down when handling extremely steep slopes. I like to hold them both in one hand when shredding the mountain unless I need them. I'm going skiing at Winter Park for the First Time at the end of December this year. Before I always rode Monarch Mountain (Less crowded & decent size mountain btw.)
Normal position is poles in both hands for balance, hands out front. If you are losing balance in steeper slopes a little quick pole plant can bring you back to proper position. Pole plants in bumps/moguls help you unweight to get onto the uphill ski to make faster turns.
Maci
Monarch is one of the easiest and fun mountains in Colorado. Ski the beavers at Arapahoe basin or the back mountain at keystone and you're intermediate. Ski the double blacks at Arapahoe and survive and your intermediate/advanced. Ski the double blacks at Arapahoe and copper at speed and you're advanced. Ski the fingers on the east wall at Arapahoe with poise and you're expert. That's just my opinion and I'm just assuming that you haven't already skied most of those situations but to me that's how I'd define skiing levels. Me, I can survive the double blacks at both mountains but I can't do it with any speed yet. I basically do what the guy in this video was showing. To get down those runs my poles are absolutely necessary. I'm heading to Vail and Beaver Creek for the first time I've the holidays. I hope there is snow!
Stick to good habits and you’ll improve you form for the whole mountain.
(I can’t get my wife to use her poles properly either.)
You are not an advanced level skier after 6 years.
@@XvSKINNYvX Yes he definitely could be.
Here's an important point. If you have to do a lot of side slipping and have to make step turns or jump turns, then you picked the wrong trail to ski down. Skiers like that ruin the snow conditions and clog up the slope for people who can ski it. Being unfamiliar with the slope and getting caught in a difficult portion is another matter.
1:36 A person that HAS to use a step turn, will not instantly change their weight to it which puts their weight on both skis for too long. Less on the downhill foot and more on the stepped foot so they end up going straight down the slope, which makes them sit back. Then in a panic, they will rotate their upper body in the direction they want the skis to turn which will put their weight on the inside ski or the one they tried to step off of.
The key in skiing is an instant weight change from one foot to the other. Exactly like pedaling a bicycle. One won't go down if you are still standing on the other one. That's why it is more important to think about the ski you are getting off of. If you do that, where did your weight go? In this example, he has to instantly step up onto that stepped out ski. Because you are moving that foot out from under you, you will have a hard time standing up on it. On a steep trail, a slow weight change will send you straight down the hill.
2:00 This is how to make turns period and crucial the steeper the slope gets. "I want to go straight down the hill, get off my downhill foot." The twisting of your upper body to face down the hill creates torsion in your muscles. It also puts your weight over the tips of your skis. The turning part. When you get off your downhill foot, you are unlocking the edge that was holding your ski across the slope. The weighted uphill foot will instantly swivel to realign with your upper body, and it will roll over onto the inside edge because of the leg angle change that happens with your upper body is going down the hill and your skis are still going across it. you have to literally think about diving down the hill with your upper body as you change your weight.
As far as skiing steep trails, you do the same thing that you do in parallel and carved turns, you just exaggerate the movements so the leg angle can change very quickly. The movements are the same from beginner to Olympic racer. That is if you are being taught the Correct way. Skis are skis. Nothing should change throughout your progression.
What length and width of the ski your using in this video?
This was filmed with the Volkl Katana 108 in a 190cm length. Super stable and reliable freeride ski all sorts of conditions. 👍👍
Use your poles folks!
Yeah, no if its really steep.
You should never slide sideways down a steep offpiste hill like this. It can trigger an avalanche. Use the step turn, but without the sideways sliding shown in this video
I guess the part that's unclear to me is hip part. You say "get the hip ready for the turn." What does that mean?
It’s a variation on the old axiom of “face the fall line”. Your hips need to be “open” and towards the turn, not square across the slope…this allows the uphill hip to be (as I think of it) “wound up” and ready to release its energy into making the skis snap around. It’s a hard feeling to describe, but is crucial to making good turns on the steeps.
Thanks for the comment! It basically means moving your centre of mass over your feet (or down the hill) to create and edge change.
Excellent, practical advice. Good job!
Lol instructors make the world go round. Try tele then get back with me
If side-slipping is your goto for the steeps, you need more practice on gentler terrain. Please do not scrape the snow off of our steeps except as a last resort. It's often the last place that snow accumulates in a storm and it already comes off quickly when skied properly. Thanks.
FWIW, when I was taught steeps, we used two main things to deal with the pitch:
1. throw your body weight across your skis (often farther than you think you need to) down the fall line to initiate the turn (for many this is counter-intuitive and scary)
2. use a long-reach pole plant which helps achieve number 1 for the next turn
You should start by saying…. “90% of the people that stop here, should click out of their bindings and hike back up to the cat track, because all your going to do from here is act like a groomer by either yard selling and packing the powder with the back of your head every three yards or by traversing back and forth in a pizza wedge whilst cutting off the 10% who can actually ski it.”
What is the point of this? If you need lessons, you’re in the wrong place
Fantastic video, will certainly be trying these drills as soon as I get to the mountains 🏔
I’ve been waiting over two and a half years to get to the Alps - first storm Ciera stopped me at Gatwick and then Covid put paid to everything…