Skiing ice patches

Strategy for handling icy spots on the hill

[@alicekane3913]

I still remember advice given to me ages ago about skiing on ice (I believe it was during a class at Hunter Mt. NY - Home of Blue Ice!). I was told that when I approached ice, I should think of "skiing on eggs. " Kinda similar I think to what YOU were conveying in this video. Stay light on your feet and don't make ANY major moves. To this day, when I see ice approaching, I still think "EGGS ahead!" And it still helps me! Thanks Deb for addressing the Easterner's 'home terrain!' ;-D

[@kenchester3072]

Being from Northern NH I can relate to this completely, especially early in the season when the weather is more mixed. As you said sharp skis make a big difference also the right ski for icy conditions and a shorter turn. I love your videos and have watched them for several years now. Keep them coming. Thank you.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

So glad you appreciate the videos. Spread the word. Take care

[@williammyers8021]

I highly recommend Scotland For ice specifically cairngorm. It used to rain during the day and freeze at night and then you could see the rocks through the ice. I’ve been to Colorado twice to Ski I had my second-best-day of skiing ever there nearly a metre of champagne powder dropped in one night Don’t think I’ve ever had the experience of floating anywhere else. love your tips

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

Being an New England skier you are preaching to someone that has grown up skiing short swing turns on the side of the trail. After watching you demonstrate how to ski hard pack firm snow AKA ice using short radius turns it occurred to,me that many skiers don’t have the skill set to make that type of turn. These same skiers probably have a challenging time in moguls, trees, narrow trails and powder. Riding the chair and watching people ski I noticed lots of skiers “ Park and Ride” which means they lock into a turn and stay in it for a long distance. They don’t use momentum or energy to ski from turn to turn in a rapid 1-2 1-2 like you demonstrated. They make a turn and hold it for a long time like from 1-10 and often ski across the fall line to try to scrub off speed. Bottom line watch Deb’s videos on how to make turns and practice with lots of drills to develop your skills. ⛷⛷⛷⛷You offer top notch world class coaching 👍

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

good stuff

[@Mole204]

Love your videos as an East Coast ski instructor. Skiing needs to be subtle and smooth. Especially on ice (which we have plenty of). Unlearning jerky movements and oversteering is a big part of my lessons. Keep up the good work.

[@Bushwacked487]

Thanks Deb, this is near and dear to my heart. In the mid Atlantic we have two states of snow: ice and slush. There’s no in between!

[@margaretreid6570]

Thank you. I did exactly as you said not to do on the last steep part of an icy Spinale Direttissima in Madonna Di Campiglio last year; was truly toast; all 360 degree variations of it. Not good enough, so had to do it all again :)

[@dianebode6551]

Nice. Thank you, Deb.

[@williamrocca3943]

I'm just a ski junkie with no real standing in the world of instruction, but my #1 ice skiing tip has nothing to do with ski skills. best thing to conquer ice is "breathe out!" when the going gets slick . by exhaling when hear your skis start sliding, the ice skier relaxes her/his body and accepts the conditions that are underfoot. it keeps you from making sudden moves that get you out of position, or put another way achieves sought after performance (fore/aft balance/predominantly outside leg/quiet upper body). the skier then is better prepared to anticipate the patch of softer snow that will inevitably appear in their track. Tip #2 is to ski ice (otherwise known as "loud powder") silently, by edging only in the soft snow patches. I try to make turns where I never hear the dreaded equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, when ski edges meet a surface that is harder than the steel edges under your feet. silent skiing is controlled skiing :) skills honed decades ago going up and down and up and down lower Pennsylvania skiing @ 400 vertical feet per run, but since leveraged everywhere.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

nice. thank you

[@JanosKoranyi]

Good video. I agree to all this. But there is something in addition to all this, called dorsal flexion of the feet, by the ankles. You press your feet upwards inside your boots. This can save your balance on ice by not letting your skis slip ahead of your body and in deep snow as well by letting the ski-tips move upwards (this is virtual bumps if you like!).

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

check out this video on exactly that. Take care kzbin.info/www/bejne/laC1moyNgpJ4ptk

[@stevedoe1630]

Ice, especially on a moderate/steep pitch, is great for sideslipping drills.

[@tycojewel7979]

So true. Really learned this in 2022. I fought my fear and won.

[@irishkitty7257]

Great tips. No wonder why I crashed and burned on the ice.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

HA. take it easy!

[@laser225]

We call it hard pack in new England. It's essentially the snow conditions anytime longer than 2 days after a storm. This is all good advice for a patch of ice but often a whole slope will be ice especially if it has more than a 28 degree pitch. In those conditions you have to learn how to make turns where you are not going to get an edge and you are essentially in a control slide down the hill. This is especially true if your skis are soft and wide under foot or If they have not been recently tuned. I would love to see Deb do a New England ski tour and ski some classic new England mountains like Mad River Glen, Magic Mountain and Cannon.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

I would like that too!!!!! I will look into it😊

[@laser225]

@@DebArmstrongSkiStrong next year maybe. Our season ends late March early April. I have been a heavily pushing people visit our independent new England ski areas and resorts this year because Vail started buying the large resorts making out industry very difficult for independent resorts to survive. At Ski Bolton this year, people were night skiing unlighted trails with head lamps. Otis Ridge is a 400 foot verrical mountain that hosts a kids overnight ski program on school vacations that cost $3-400 a student and includes meals. The ski lodge is heated with a wood stove, the person running the cafeteria has been there 35 years and will tell you a bunch of stories of the place should you walk into the cafe and it's slow. When you step into Magic Mountain to pick up your reserved pass, the staff grabs it off a back table and your name is hand written on it. When they are down staff you will find the owner operating a chair lift. This is the new England skiing I wish you could witness

[@TheGruntski]

@@DebArmstrongSkiStrong I've been skiing hardpack with bits of solid ice here in southern Ontario since we had a thaw followed by -15C morning weather. Sideways sliding down the hill would get a person an interview with ski patrol because of the chance of hitting some kid below them on the slope. Ice requires more edge and gentler motions as you said.

[@urbanrunoff]

growing up skiing low lying resorts in the alps i know about ice, my dad an me used to compare bruises at the end of the day (he always won) :D

[@solome6478]

How to ski icy trails that are steep?

[@marilenacrisan1965]

Such a great topic. I wish I can have scanners in my eyes to see where those patches hide 😂, and recalling last year..when it rained, and rained and then come back on the slopes.. after caterpillar did it's job..when you purely 🎿 on ice that was grinded by the machine 😂..but we were there with no restrictions... wasn't it? Short turn ..that is great tool or capability to use..many thanks for presenting the topic 🤗

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

Ya, that was kind of silly saying "see the ice patch". Good luck with that huh. All the more reason to be skiing in balance all the time.

[@marilenacrisan1965]

Thanks again..yes, in control all the time.. great topic.🤗

[@brianalpert2383]

Deb - this is great advice, all so true. That said, coming from the East, the biggest challenge I've seen is when you have 2 extremes together. How about 6 inches of fresh powder with patches of blue ice in between. I find that almost impossible. One second you're unweighting and while you're finishing your turn you end up on blue ice! Any advice for that.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

Sme conditions are almost impossible. Continuing cultivating your skils, touch athleticism on skis. That can only help.😉😉👏👏👍👍

[@stevedoe1630]

@Brian Alpert: For me, I find it best to finish the turn, start a new turn on the good stuff. On the ice stuff, I just traverse/skid as necessary.

[@carolsiversky944]

You should film that in the East on ice!!!!! Not hard pack powder!!

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

So true!!!! I hope you find the content relevant. I live in Colorado and was not finding any ice this week. Folks have requested the content.

[@richardadams6124]

Тhanks... very helpful.

[@stevedoe1630]

I think Deb can tame Mad River Glen, Vermont after a windy-dry spell. However, her camera operator??... that would be interesting to see.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

@@stevedoe1630 I would love that!!!

[@dianaroddel9366]

Hi Deb! What would be the Best all mountain womens skis for Colorado back bowls? What skis do you ski? Thanks so much for your content! Its great and very helpful!

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

I can not say I am the expert on that. Here are a couple videos I made on ski selection. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jISqZnigZdd_j8k kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGGvfGhoa893o5Y kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIjFq5ulotVsjqc I hope these give you more insight.

[@haroldmiller9559]

“Use your eyes to see the ice!”

[@meurcieredding350]

I started learning how to side-slip last season to help navigate really steep, icy conditions. I’m glad to know the skill to keep me safe, but is side-slipping considered a crutch to developing skiers? I ski in PA/NY, so I’m used to lots of ice, crud, rain, etc, but some icy conditions are still too scary for me to try and ski outright which is when I resort to side-slipping. Curious to know your thoughts!! Thanks for this super-relevant content for a skier like me!

[@stevedoe1630]

@Meurcie Redding: I like to do sideslipping drills when there’s a long patch of ice. Reinforces how/where to keep center of gravity, ankle flex, edge pressure/control/modulation. Anything that makes your body interact with gravity, and snow, and g-forces, and balancing, and builds confidence with the aforementioned is A-Ok in my book. It’s only a crutch if it prevents you from learning more skills, which is quite the opposite of confidence.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

side slipping is a necessary skill, an important skill. And it is relevant and important to negotiate any terrain or condition that may be over your head. side slipping sections of a hill is just fine. better that than going straight down the hill and putting everyone in danger. Take care!!!

[@gspice71]

I live in NJ, so I am used to #tushskiing 🤣.

[@weezyfidelis787]

I do not understand why older people ski like that! All those dumb super tight turns. I learned to ski by watching Candide Thovex. You don’t have to ski turning like that lmao wtf

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

Ha!!!!!

[@pixrainbow]

Is it just my imagination, or are you really, really happy to be back on the snow Deb?! It's good to see you making those beautiful curves down the slope again. Thank you for the useful tips.

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

Ah, Yes, happy skiing again. Thank you.

[@divineashler]

You make it look too easy!

[@kevinhoule6547]

Love the Basin - whoot whoot

[@DebArmstrongSkiStrong]

Me too!!!

[@MorganBrown]

Heavenly Daze 🤣⛸

[@tamcaj]

Elle roule cette Mère !