Latest posts for the topic "Learning Off-Piste?"

Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:49:43 GMT

Hey people! I've been curious to try this off-piste business, the idea of skiing thick powder interests me, but one thing I don't really understand...

How do you prepare for it, your first time? It isn't exactly something you can practice/get lessons in at the Braehead Xscape. What's the technique behind powder skiing? Is it really difficult? Maybe someone can explain to me their first time trying it?

Thanks for any input!

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:59:14 GMT

Well its kind of the opposite of everything you have been taught on piste!

I never got any coaching for off piste, and my first experience was with a tour guide in MontGenevre in 2007. I managed to do it without falling over, but it was totally different. Leaning back more, backs of the boots not the fronts, lifting the higher leg to initiate a turn, and getting quite warm in the process....probably doing it all wrong, but you can have some fun in the process.

Of course, there is fun off piste, and then there is avalanche dangerous off piste, which I am sure Ise will be able to give you the technical run down on.

Basically, if you are a competent skier, go with a group of friends and give it a go, but be careful....dont go for anything to steep or difficult, try the deep stuff between a couple of pistes, and see how you get on.

Remember to check out your insurance coverage in case you hurt yourself or someone else.

Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:13:09 GMT

baillie353 wrote:Hey people! I've been curious to try this off-piste business, the idea of skiing thick powder interests me, but one thing I don't really understand...

How do you prepare for it, your first time? It isn't exactly something you can practice/get lessons in at the Braehead Xscape. What's the technique behind powder skiing? Is it really difficult? Maybe someone can explain to me their first time trying it?

Thanks for any input!

Off-piste and powder quite often don't go together :mrgreen: Powder is the ultimate high :D

You are right though, the 1st time is a bit of a pig really, probably easier on a board. On skis, there are different ways of approaching the challenge of not getting a faceful.

Some folks will suggest skiing as you normally do.

Some will say start off by having your weight evenly between your skis.

Some will suggest having your feet closer together.

Some will suggest pointing down the hill to start, and going faster than normal.

Some will suggest making lazy turns, big C's or S shapes.

My 1st time was pretty frustrating, I dug a big trench with one ski and the other sat on the surface of the snow, until I fell over. So I had a private lesson or 2 in powder...Nothing changed :(

It didn't "happen" for me until I got some of the earliest Freeride skis. At the time they seemed fat and short, these days my folks just giggle. For no apparent reason I just started to float, and I was hooked.

One of the major problems for European skiers, is that we just don't get enough practice in the fluffy stuff, so we are not relaxed enough. We can't see our feet anymore, and we don't know what's under the snow...oooh er!

Each winter, I feel I'm learning all over again, but these days I can hang a couple of turns together (though probably only a decent couple)...apparently :lol:

If you get powder days, do up all your pockets, collars and cuffs :mrgreen: and go and have a dabble somewhere close to a piste...having 1st checked that you are insured for going off the edge!

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:15:13 GMT

Whilst the natural reaction is to 'lean back' or get on the back of the boots skiing powder it is pretty inefficient IMO. It is still very important to drive the tips of your skis and remain pretty centred but I guess that is something a bit more complicated for another day.

If your skiing on the rest of the mountain is up to scratch off piste (read powder) is pretty easy, the best thing to do would be to have an instructor introduce it to you first time out.

Does your college do a ski trip, baillie?

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:15:44 GMT

Whoa, great replies guys, thanks for all the advice!

RossF, my college does do skiing trips, however I find they over-charge way too much so I refuse to go with them, especially at the huge rates I can do a DIY for :D

I'm really keen to try some off-piste (I thought off-piste and powder were the same?) But if they're different, I wish to try them both!
I've got some good intention to become a decent/good all-mountain skier - give myself a lot of variation.

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:27:01 GMT

baillie353 wrote:

I'm really keen to try some off-piste (I thought off-piste and powder were the same?) But if they're different, I wish to try them both!
I've got some good intention to become a decent/good all-mountain skier - give myself a lot of variation.

Being off-piste, means that you ski what you find on the day. It might be powder, ice, frozen lumps of avalanche debris, or breakable crust. It's not a managed environment, so you have to make the decision to leave the resort's groomed slopes, where they have ironed out all the nasties on your behalf.

Adapting to cope with what you find is part of developing your skiing skills :D

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:34:07 GMT

Unless you are in the Rockies between January and March and it is always powder. :wink:

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:36:06 GMT

RossF wrote:Whilst the natural reaction is to 'lean back' or get on the back of the boots skiing powder it is pretty inefficient IMO.

a bit mild there Ross :lol: it's not inefficient, it won't work :lol:

bandit wrote:Some will suggest making lazy turns, big C's or S shapes.

oh yes, we like big, fast turns :D more grin per metre of descent, scientifically proven :D along with more powderey goodness per turn on the standard international scale :D

As a general point, there's no such thing as a little off piste sadly, someone died here over the holiday period only a few metres from the piste in an avalanche and less than 5 metres from the drag lift.

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:42:13 GMT

Generally feet closer together (worked for me first time), drive the feet further forward. In deep powder people are often way too far back or too forward. Steer the skis as you always would.

None of those stupid tight S turns.....massive fast wide turns, rather like GS turns, down a steep face :D

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:56:43 GMT

bennyboy wrote:

None of those stupid tight S turns.....massive fast wide turns, rather like GS turns, down a steep face :D

Well, I guess if you're going to use big fat skis that make it easier you might as well go the whole hog and do the easiest type of turns possible )

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:31:07 GMT

Neiltoo wrote:

bennyboy wrote:

None of those stupid tight S turns.....massive fast wide turns, rather like GS turns, down a steep face :D

Well, I guess if you're going to use big fat skis that make it easier you might as well go the whole hog and do the easiest type of turns possible )

I don't know, sometimes I think we do tiny little turns more to impress other people than for our own enjoyment or just because we think we're supposed to :D

I always though a good definition of Freeride wouldn't include such constrained, rigid turns and be something more fluid and dynamic using the terrain features a little more. Some slopes call for small turns but a lot don't, on more varied terrain I find I don't want to dump so much speed sometimes as well.

But I suppose you don't want to trash the slope either :lol:

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:23:42 GMT

ise wrote:

I don't know, sometimes I think we do tiny little turns more to impress other people than for our own enjoyment or just because we think we're supposed to :D

I'm sure that there is some truth in that :D

Sometimes I think I'm having so much fun I don't want the slope to end, the more turns I make the longer it takes to get to the bottom :lol: (sad I know, but I never claimed not to be.)

As I only get to ski a couple of weeks a year these days [still don't know how this happened ) ] there are less and less slopes that I know well enough to want to really fly down, not knowing whats over the next rise - this could also be down to 'getting older' )

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:12:40 GMT

Last week in Bardonecchia, I found myself on a blue run that is usually pisted but due to heavy snow fall it was about two feet deep in powder. I probably spent more time looking at the sky than skiing, but it was great fun and at least it didnt hurt when I fell over. I am due to go to Canada in 6 six weeks so hope I will benefit from this experience and more importantly put to good use any information that I can gain from this post.

Re:Learning Off-Piste?

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:39:09 GMT

In my experience, mastering the varied conditions found off piste is all about practice. This makes it all the more difficult for a 2 week a year skier because you can obviously only practice in the conditions you find.
Some conditions, spring snow, for example, require very little changes in technique from what you do on piste. Powder takes practice and is as much a psychological challenge as a technical one.
As said above, leaning back doesn't work - the reason that some people think it is necessary is because of what they think they see others doing. When you ski in deep snow your skis are not parallel to the ground. The tips float higher in the snow than the tails, so although you are balanced over your feet, in relation to the angle of the slope it can look as if you are 'leaning back'.
There are many more qualified here than me to give advice but broadly your weight should be more evenly spread over both skis in powder than when on the piste. This is more easily achieved if you keep fairly much to the fall line, the more you turn across the slope the harder to keep both skis equally weighted.
If you try to turn your skis with your shoulders on piste this will make life really hard in powder.
The more you practice in less than perfect conditions the better you will get, but be careful, as Ise has mentioned you don't have to go far off piste to get in trouble and don't ever assume that because you see someone else ski where you want to go that it is safe.