Ski Powder | The 1 Mistake Beginner-Intermediate Skiers Do

In this powder ski tutorial, we are learning about the number one mistake skiers make when skiing powder. We talk about the main reason holding you back, fear of losing control of your speed. In turn, making you do too many turns, too closed turns and too long traverses. We look at where to practise safely, so you feel safe and can focus on skiing faster. We also mention a few tips on how you can control your speed when skiing the powder and much more. Join a Camp for Adults: stompitcamps.com/
00:00 In this powder ski tutorial, you will learn to ski faster
00:33 The one mistake = Skiing too slow
01:41 Join a Freeride Camp
01:58 Speed | What happens when you ski fast
02:37 Stay Safe | Avalanches
03:07 Skiing Faster | Where to practise safely
04:19 3 Strategies for when the speed gets out of control
05:35 Feel the float | Start Rolling Feet & Knees
06:50 Feel the float | Gently bring the hip to the inside
07:53 Balance in Powder | Arms forward & out
08:19 Balance in Powder | How to use the poles
09:05 What to think of next?
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[@StompItTutorials]

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[@rodneybrown6326]

The secret to “shredding the powder” is to GO FIRST. 😮😂😂😂

[@ski3435]

No friends on a powder day!

[@EdgarSnowSki]

I heard this advice somewhere else already "Ski really really fast, if something gets into your way - turn!" :)

[@emil6714]

great pow and weather. thanks for another helpful freeride tips Jens !

[@polarsled4617]

I love every one of your videos, always so dope!

[@StompItTutorials]

Thank you so much!

[@Osnosis]

Rolling is a better verb than twisting the ankles. Also, think of skiing the bottoms of the ski, rather than the edges. Leaning into the center of the turn, letting the legs extend away, and conceptualizing the the ski bending along the base surface helps.

[@StompItTutorials]

Agree I usually say rolling but not on that take.

[@steel-r_ua]

Oh, HOW I WANT to practice this right now...

[@misterfunnybones]

2:45 you'll need a team of at least 3 ideally. Two people to search & shovel when one is buried. You go downslope one at a time to minimise risk.

[@Saltydoc121]

stop and start over is the best advice that any level could give

[@davec.1045]

Very well done and one of the best instructional videos I have seen. Also, I find skiers new to powder not only don't use enough speed but they also do not commit to the fall line. Only then can you maintain sufficient speed (momentum) to carry you into linking turns. This is where the dynamics of the ski really perform and you can feel the bounce and float to roll from one turn to the next. In addition, inexperienced skiers kind of freak-out a bit when they can't see their skis. I tell them "It's feel. You don't look at your feet when you walk. Don't look at your skis. Look where you want to go (not necessarily where you are going). Keep up the great work.

[@nickmaclachlan5178]

This reminds me of when me and my Ex were learning to ski, she just wouldn't build up enough speed to learn how to carve edges etc because she was shit scared of falling. I however, completely accepted the fact that I was going to fall over at some point so was mentally prepared for it rather than being tensed up and worrying about it. It makes all the difference. It used to piss me and our other friends off when we were constantly waiting for here though....

[@kokibr91]

It would be great if you also discuss the "hardware" topic, namely the skis. Yes, by the rule of thumb wider skis are better for powder but it is not the only factor. I am riding Bent 100s, and they are pretty demanding and hard to flick around in powder.

[@StompItTutorials]

Where have you mounted them? This ski is great and a little tricky to find a good mounting spot. I think this ski skis best a couple of cm´s in front of the recommended. A few friends also have this experience.

[@bramdekleer2824]

@@StompItTutorials interested to know a little better about mounting position too. I got a new setup for the first time this season: Head Kore 111 with Pivot 15+ cast freetour, and I mounted the bindings + 1, and I feel like I've gotten worse at skiing. I went from 93> 111 and new boots, but I feel like I'm not positioned correctly due to boot angle and bindings 🤔

[@kokibr91]

@@StompItTutorials Last year had them +2cm from factory and they were much livelier, fun, easier to ski overall. The downside was that the flotation was not great. Now I am having them on factory line and it is a different ski, much more demanding, and harder to ski in powder although flotation is better. After all, I will move them forward again. Factory line is too far back and misses the point of this ski in my opinion.

[@russcontact]

Couple questions - where do you ski, how much do you weigh, how long are those bent 100s, and how good of a skier are you (be honest). There are a lot of factors. The bent 100 wouldn’t be my first choice for a soft snow ski, its more of an all mountain 50/50 ski, but I also wouldn’t say it’s a really bad ski in soft snow.

[@kokibr91]

@@russcontact well, I am just coming back from a week in the Alps. Rode the Bents all the time, perfect all mountain, all day, all condition ski. Wouldn't change them with anything else. Even tour with them and Shifts. Powder is a different story though. My deep snow technique is poor, I have to admit, but Bents are not helping either. Too much camber so they sink unless you ski very quick and they stay on top. Mounting on the factory line is ruining them big time in my opinion and makes them even more demanding. Moved +2cm and it changed them a lot. Maybe would move them 1cm more next year and will be perfect. Another factor is that they are a bit longer than me - 180, and I am a lightweight skier. With so much camber they feel true to size. This is abs no problem in 90% of the time unless you are in tight trees, and could be fixed with the mounting position so I wouldn't say they are too long in general. I can feel the length only in rare cases. Short ski that is so light would be much worse scenario. As a conclusion, great all mountain ski, for powder - Bent 120.

[@chazbickel4518]

"Dust on crust"..... My favorite!

[@StompItTutorials]

Hehe

[@cvn6555]

Loved hearing him say that. It's better than death cookies but only marginally.

[@svenmarten3493]

Tomorrow first time powder heli skiing, excited as fuck now

[@bigslacker666]

I usually solve this problem by taking my board instead of the skis. :D Seriously though, good tips and having sacrificed a few pow days this season to practice I can confirm keeping speed and flow, looking ahead and planning turns for the trees makes it WAY more fun.

[@StompItTutorials]

True

[@julo.parapente]

Great advice. I would add to the avalanche section: do NOT wear your wrist straps when skiing a slope that is not 100% safe. If you get caught in an avalanche, your poles can drag you towards the bottom.

[@dirk2518]

I was in an avalanche long time ago in a time wherr we still had cords to connect our ski’s to our boots. Everything was ripped off so i don’t think poles will drag you down. I got a broken neck from the impact. So as a last resort I would brace my neck before impact.

[@ttank7241]

how things have changed from the 70s where much of the time the skis where under the surface of the snow. You did need speed to make turns but our goal was to make tighter well rounded turns. Also, their was a rebound upward from the end of the turn where the skis might break the surface of the snow facilitating the drop into the next turn. Sit back and you are screwed. Throw your arm back on a turn and your screwed. Lean too far forward or hang a ski tip to the side and ....your screwed. I think it required maybe more technique than today. But I see what I was doing back then as more powering through the snow as opposed to powering "on top of" the snow. I have pretty wide skis this year so maybe it the weather and timing is just right I will get to experience the new powder techniques and style.

[@davec.1045]

I agreed with everything you said until "on top of'. Maybe I'm weird but I want to ski the bottom although that is dependent on powder conditions as there is a LOT of variability to powder types (wet, dense, light, cold smoke, wind affected, what the old base is, etc.) and depths. In ideal dry, light and deep, I ski the bottom and my maximum pressure is near the apex of the turn when I'm deepest in it. (This is where the face-shot happens). As the pressure builds the ski is at maximum arc and the tips are naturally starting to head for the surface as you cross the fall line (ski is now reverse cambered and skis with rocker make this easier). As I approach the next turn I am neutral weighting and extending (up-unweighting IS the rebound) as I roll into the next turn to dive back to the bottom. (What this video calls 'powder', we call a few new.) It's all good! That is what I have loved about skiing for 58 years, it's whatever makes you happy. Chocolate and vanilla. Enjoy 2 scoops!

[@jonmyatt3722]

Was this filmed 3 weeks ago? I didn’t realise the snow was so good in Laax. It was terrible in January.

[@darthjarjar9939]

I need some advice about carving bc I can carve but I don't know how to get good angles so I stay quite high while I ski so if u have any tips to go lower please tell me

[@academysalon8013]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@Pringle351]

👍

[@rff999]

I'm old and I don't get enough powder these days... so I like to maximize my number of turns on a nice run instead of zooming through.... ;ˆ)

[@markfrancis5751]

Had an issue this year with ungroamed blue slope in Snowmass with a combination of lots of powder with spots of no powder every few feet. Any pointers? i was losing control of one ski periodically and started to really hammer on my downhill ski with 70% pressure as opposed to 20-30% on uphill ski and it seemed to really help with control. Anything you would do differenlty?

[@russcontact]

If you have 70% on downhill ski then you have 30% on the uphill ski. For variable conditions that seems about right, maybe even closer to 80/20. I also like to have at least a full sheet of metal when skiing variable conditions, but that’s a bit subjective.

[@ben10ultimatefrisbee]

7:10 for my Scandinavian friends😂

[@nicolenew1708]

😊😊😊

[@LawrenceMouawad]

👊👊👊

[@StompItTutorials]

Thank you :)

[@felixh.9903]

Do touring bindings on powder ski make sense ? Or would you say normal ones, and get up the hill a different way ?

[@StompItTutorials]

For most people a shiftbinding or similair is a great option. Ride the lift most of the time with the option to do small tours like an hour. Fantastic setup for this get the safety of an alpine binding with the option to tour. For me I also need the same ski with a pinbinding for bigger days.

[@th3oryO]

What mic are you using while skiing? Quality is pretty good.

[@StompItTutorials]

Rode wireless go 2

[@aidangurevich9904]

Great video! I have Elan Amphibio skis which are 76mm at the waist. Is that too narrow for powder? Should I just rent?

[@frantiseksedivy5136]

as I can see thats a sort of slalomish - allmountain ski, it would depend on your weight, but you can also enjoy powder with it, I used to pow with my atomic s9. Powder is more like water skiing, if you weight more, you need more speed or a ski that provides more lift. It may be, that you can enjoy if it is more than 30 cm of fresh powder with your skis, while with freeride skis, you could have fun with 20 or 15 cm already.

[@aidangurevich9904]

@@frantiseksedivy5136Thanks!

[@Huttify]

Rolling your feet is counter intuitive for so many reasons. Anatomy, force production, boot design, ski characteristics, etcetera. You move your knees sideways, while your feet are locked in your boots. Well, after you have moved your center of mass in the direction you need it to, you can use the knees to modulate the effect of the system. Ankles and feet has little to no affect on this. Video wish for the future: Please make a video that explains what you mean by rolling your feet. (The Gellie video does not explain this. It just a list of feelings and examples different to what is happening.)

[@Andrew-yp6ov]

Agreed

[@MrUberGolfer]

How much of a difference do the skis make? I've only ever run on stiff narrow-waste on-piste skies (40y+ exp). I feel my skies really let me down when I get into the deep, but not sure how much is technique and how much is equipment.

[@MrUberGolfer]

To put in perspective: before carving, I ran Rossignol 7S Gr1. Since then Atomic Race Betas (GS) and last 10 years different Fischer RC4s for even narrower turns.

[@Spkch]

Should you shift your weight back a little to lift the tips? Or just have skis with a lot of float (I have black crows mirus cor) and hold regular stance?

[@StompItTutorials]

No it should be possible to ski with a normal centered position but it will feel tempting to lean back and that will make you exhausted quickly.

[@cvn6555]

Worst thing you can do. If you shift back to help the tips float you are degrading your ability to steer with the front of the ski (think of what happens when a car's front wheels become unweighted) while simultaneously overloading the tails making it very difficult to get them to come around. This was always my problem in deep powder on steep slopes. Keeping my weight centered and my body square to the fall line 100% fixed the issue. It's a bit of a leap of faith but becomes second nature quickly.

[@dirk2518]

You should treat powder snow like a trampoline. You first have to dive in the snow and use the rebound. Never sit back. The steeper the slope the more you put your weight to the front. Keep your arms low and your elbows free from your body.

[@ski3435]

Don't put your weight back! You'll lose control. The way skis are engineered these days, you don't have to worry about keeping the tips up --- they will naturally float up.

[@sahilshabir5057]

Please do a review of bent 110 ......2023 or 24 both are same except graphics I guess

[@StompItTutorials]

If I find the time :)

[@lamesamebame8476]

yo are those the new bents????

[@Surronian]

YES THEY ARE!! Please do a review!!!!! I need a new review of the bent 120s too

[@fredericdepaoli]

@@Surronian they are the same just different top sheets

[@Surronian]

@@fredericdepaoli are the 120s ok on groomers. If I go to the mountain with little snow, will I still have fun? I guess I will try it out but I don’t want people looking at me like why the hell does he have 120s on a day with little snow lol

[@StompItTutorials]

@@Surronian Done that

[@StompItTutorials]

@@Surronian Theyre too fat to feel good on groomers. 110 is rather fun on groomers.

[@grahamkingston1679]

2:49 well I definitely broke those rules

[@StompItTutorials]

Naughty

[@grahamkingston1679]

@@StompItTutorials well it’s not really easy for me to get my hands on that stuff since I can only get the cheapest season rentals and that stuff sounds expensive and out of my budget

[@YehShano]

The single worst thing about living in Australia is I’m so far from snow like this😂 man I’m so jealous lol

[@StompItTutorials]

Sorry about that. Go for a surf, throw a shrimp on the bbq and enjoy the things we cant enjoy properly up here.

[@YehShano]

@@StompItTutorials that’s a fair call😂

[@cvn6555]

I would have thought that the entirety of nature wanting to kill you would be the worst part. Kidding. You're looking at it all wrong. Because you know you are going to have to get on a plane and travel a long distance for quality snow/terrain that opens up the entire world to you. I live within a day's drive of New England ski resorts, which are okay and sometimes great. But they never get powder like this. For that I have to fly to the Rockies. You can literally choose between Europe, North America, Japan, anywhere the snow is great. Yes, I know I can too but it's a lot more to go to Europe or Japan in terms of time and money for me. If you only get to one place in the US go to Jackson Hole. Best terrain in the lower 48.

[@sYthyy]

Is there no good snow in new zealand?

[@YehShano]

@@sYthyy there can be, but it can be hit or miss as it’s expensive so I can only go for a week, went once and all week it was icy and no snow fall, last year I had 2 icy days then a decent dump which gave us 1 good day of powder. Went to Japan in 2019 and the week I was there had zero snowfall for a couple weeks before and during…the day I left it snowed for 30days straight 😭

[@timt148]

Excellent!! I teach my students the same theorys you've outlined. But getting them to get comfortable with speed and to absorb their turns is the real crux for new people powder skiing.

[@StompItTutorials]

True

[@NxxDali]

What do u mean technicly by absorb their turns ?

[@timt148]

Absorbing turns - With the right speed and steepness when you enter the turns do not compress like you would on hard pack groomers. Let the legs rise floating through the turn. This will also help with maintaining speed which is critical to linking turns in powder. This is where a wider under foot will help this technique.

[@NxxDali]

@@timt148 i see, thanks for your answer. Im struggling so much on powder, i'm probably thinking too much and just should relax and go with the flow. But the speed scares me, on powder i don't feel i can control my speed the same way i can do it on the piste by braking hard with my legs, this is what disturbs me... Any advice to just relax? and some keys advices technicly ? thanksss

[@timt148]

NxxDali Ahhhhhh the hardest part is just relaxing in the deep. I tell my clients to go slow to go fast. Ski front side trails that have powder on the sides. Ski your turns on the groomers and every now and then (with speed) turn into the powder. Just make one turn and get back on the groomers. This will allow you to slowly get the "feel" of carving on powder. Do one turn and then try to link 2. Remeber under foot size is important. My front side quiver is 98 under foot and does just fine in boot to knee deep powder. Also (and i know this goes against proper body ski positions). Hit the powder with speed and sittin sliiiightly in your back seat. This will enable you to let those tips rise above the powder line and not submarine into the deep. But just trust yourself to make those off groomer turn(s).

[@lukkieBE]

I'm afraid of going fast in powder because I think I'll lose my ski when I fall. What's the solution here? Risking a higher DIN, or is there a good trick to avoid this from happening?

[@jebotipasmater]

You can use a simple string attached to both the ski and the boot, works wonders. Touring skis & boots have this feature often incorporated already, though.

[@StompItTutorials]

Never used these but if you ski super deep pow something like this can help. www.tognar.com/ski-powder-cords-4/

[@ianholmquist8492]

​@jebotipasmater sure, if you like your skis hitting you about the head and neck. Before ski brakes were invented, "safety straps" were a thing. And there are many reasons why they are unsafe and downright stupid on a ski slope

[@gregcoldewey7724]

Powder cords.

[@WildLifeBackyardCamera]

going to avalanche courses, we learn how to spend 30min to cut the snow and evaluate the stability of it, who seriously have time to do that before a ride, literally nobody

[@hugowilliams1988]

If you ski slow in powder you will sink in the snow. So if you can't ski fast even on the groomed runs you are not ready to ski in powder.

[@hopsterbb2571]

Think of water skiing…going slow behind the boat turning is impossible, but as speed picks up you can turn easier…

[@pearldiver7]

Is it skiing too slow or skiing too far out of the fall line?

[@davec.1045]

Both.

[@normalizedaudio2481]

We have trees to think about and we can get killed from going too fast. I am so guilty of this powder problem.

[@StompItTutorials]

Try skiing where there are no trees.

[@cvn6555]

I took an expert level lesson on just this problem. It was all about staying off the back of the skis and on the balls of the feet. You do this by keeping your body squared to the fall line, not turning your upper body into the turn. More to the point, difficult terrain is not the problem; it just unmasks deficiencies in your basic technique. Fixing the problem on the steep and deep made me a much better skier on all terrain. Cannot thank that instructor enough.

[@carlsandgren-bj2zv]

Where are you skiing?

[@eltarlo1345]

Yeah bro doesn’t have same conditions as mine 😂

[@knutolaifrenvik6782]

Where is this place?😊

[@StompItTutorials]

Laax, Switzerland

[@akairborne]

The reason I ski slow in powder is I want to enjoy it longer, must mean I need to spend more time out skiing.

[@StompItTutorials]

Haha fair point mate :) Keep enjoying the powder thats most important.

[@GooSBumpS]

What goggles are you using? Also are they photochromatic or normal lenses?

[@StompItTutorials]

Photocromatic. www.atomic.com/de-ch/shop-emea/product/four-pro-hd-photo-an0486.html#color=34445

[@razvithegoat_]

Early

[@StompItTutorials]

Well done!

[@darenraskovic3965]

Hahaha I don't need this video because I live in Sydney :)

[@pinacokolada6787]

How old I need to be to join the camp

[@StompItTutorials]

18+

[@GlobalCuts]

Keep your transceiver as close to your mouth as possible. If your knees can’t do the breathing. 👍

[@StompItTutorials]

It´s a wee better for sure. I got a bit tired of the chest strap for now but may change in the future again as I am also irritated with what goes in what pocket and keeping the distance to the phone.

[@MrDogonjon]

ridiculose, in powder you can't ski fast. All bad snow needs compaction to satisfy baryonic desires for gauge pressure application to create and manipulate exclusion zone phase transition stress tensor force fields. Controlled speed is always controlled turn radius and turn shape. Short and long turns are in the New Way to Ski..

[@powslayer5632]

Beacon should be closer to your head. I'm wondering why no one pushes the avalung? The Avalung will literally buy you time if buried in an avalanche.

[@0leandr1]

Long turns are boring. You set the turn, 5 seconds, nothing happens. Powder8 turns are different kind of animal - you go instantly from turn to turn, completely effortlessly because powder springs you back up. If you want delightful turns, which don't look good on gopro thou, go Powder8

[@StompItTutorials]

Both are really fun :) I like to mix it up depending on the terrain.

[@TheGweedMan]

Very confusing video. The best part of this video is the amazing powder

[@StompItTutorials]

Why confusing and how could I have been more clear?

[@AndreasFuchs]

sorry but one of the advices is so wrong :-) there are never ever too many turns in pow!

[@kalictepitz9659]

lol

[@ernstbrunbauer6136]

my friend you need a little bit of practice in skiing powder

[@StompItTutorials]

Dont we all

[@holymeto9981]

Not being born out west

[@StompItTutorials]

No Sweden 🇸🇪

[@olegkhandozhko795]

Bad advice. If it's new place to you, then this is terrible advice to move faster.