How To Ski Choppy Snow

I get this question a lot on social media, plus from friends transitioning from resort skiing to backcountry: How do you make off-piste or choppy snow easier to ski? Today, I’m diving into two tips that’ll help you feel more in control. 

These are strategies I’ve learned both as a ski coach and as a trainer who helps people prep for ski season.

Tip 1: Master the Fall Line

Great skiers intuitively use the fall line to make every run easier to ski. The fall line is simply the path an object would take if you dropped it on a slope, AKA the natural downhill direction. 

The reason it's so important is that we want our torso more or less pointed straight down that fall line. As we're skiing, this makes it easier to react to snow that goes from hard to soft to icy to powdery, without getting thrown around or locked into a certain direction.

If you’re skiing and intentionally turn your body across the hill, which might feel safer if you're nervous about the snow conditions, you then have to do a giant move with your entire body to turn the other way across the hill. Not only that, but this positioning also makes it more likely for you to get knocked off balance by different snow textures and have your upper body thrown around. 

How to Practice It: The Television Drill

To learn this concept, start on a groomed slope. 

1. Pick an object that's down the fall line from you 

2. Try and keep it in between your hands (or you can even turn your poles upside down) as you ski down the slope. 

As a kid, my coaches always called this the television drill, and you're trying to keep that object down the fall line in your television screen. This television drill also helps us in a second way by learning to keep our core tight as our legs move underneath us. 

Tip 2: Keep Your Core Engaged 

For off-piste skiing, I would go as far as to say that your core is actually your base. When you're skiing, your legs are working underneath you like shocks on a car. When we hit an icy patch or grabby snow, our legs are working underneath us to keep our torso calm and stable. 

Try This Strength Drill

Practicing a resisted jump drill in the gym is going to make this way easier when you go out skiing. 

Skiing Choppy Snow the EASY Way!

1. Attach a resistance band (or stretchy pants) around a rig or other stable object. 

2. Hold the band close to your body with enough tension so it feels like it’s pulling you to the side.

3. Then you're just going to do 4 to 6 quick jumps, staying centered without letting your knees cave in. 

4. Repeat on both sides, and try facing the anchor point for a different core challenge. 

Now, as with any plyometric movement, we want to focus on quality here over quantity. This means only do 4 to 6 reps maximum, with at least four times the rest as it took you to complete the movements. 

If you want to make this harder, there are two things you can try:

• Add more tension from the band by going further away from the anchor point

• To jump higher with each jump, which is definitely going to up the ante. 

• Point the feet in a different direction as we land from each jump. This is going to use some internal and external rotation of the femur in the hip socket, as well as some rotation of the hips while we stay stable in the upper body. 

The added benefit of doing these plyometric movements is that it's incredibly good for tendons and bones, helping you to keep skiing into your 80s and 90s. Plus, they also improve your power and pop in our turns on the hill! 

When you get into choppy snow or off-piste, remember: 

1. Keep your body pointed down the fall line.

2. Engage your core.

3. Play around and have fun!

If you found this valuable, you should check out our ski quiz. It's free, takes two minutes to complete, and it helps you identify your kryptonite and superpower while out skiing. Plus, I’ll send you a bunch of free resources to help you have more fun on the hill. 

I hope you have a WILDR week!