How to Ski Powder, Sofa Ski School

Full 13 minute Video plus Powder Reminder Card to download:
For more Information ↓

The focus lies on:

- helping the viewer understand the importance of the basic skiing skills for improving the performance in the powder
- showing how the turn initation and the control phase in the powder look like
- explaining the concept of building a platform by pushing the snow together
- showing some basic exercises to improve the feeling and timing for building a plattform

While being able to ski powder and off-piste terrain better is a very common goal for many of our customers we need to make the step back to improving more basic skiing skills in most of the cases.

The beauty about being able to ski the powder effortlesly is that we need to make minimal movements with maximum effect. Every inefficiency leads to a loss in performance and will make it more work than necessary.

In my new ski instructional "From Blue to Powder" i show in over 2 hours of instruction how we work on the release/initation and pressure/control phase of the turn as well as how these skills translate into skiing the powder, bumps and short turns.

I hope you like it, appreciate your likes, subscribtions and comments and am happy to answer if you have any questions.

Klaus

The instructional is available for download, on-demand viewing and on DVD on

00:00 Intro and Goals
00:21 Common Problems in Powder
01:50 About Snow
03:33 Drills
05:07 Walking on Snow Analogy
05:59 How not to do it
07:10 Outro

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#ski #powder #learntoski

[MrFlabbJack]

Brilliant. The best explanation I have ever seen....

[billendy]

First powder video I have watched of many where I actually learned something useful! I live in ski country and am looking forward to trying this technique.

[misterfunnybones]

I improved my skiing balance (base of support + center of mass) by snowboarding. Having your legs locked & no poles forces the brain to maintain balance without increasing your base of support by widening the stance or by pole planting or pole dragging. Deep powder requires balance to float on the snow. Be careful of tree wells & snow immersion suffocation. Great video.

[jforeman]

Bought Klaus's ski school CD several years ago. He is an excellent skier and teacher. His simple suggestions are innovative but easy to understand!

[chimbatete]

Klaus you're the best! Very well thought out teaching. Come to Canada.

[averagecitizen]

The best lesson for skiing the powder here on yt - made me improve rly much!

[JanosKoranyi]

This was really god. I enjoyed it very much. May I suggest one new idea that can help a lot! This is dorsal flexion of your ankles. You press your feet upwards inside the boots when you ski in powder. This will create an ankle flex and also it lifts up the ski-tips so that you push your skis upward in the snow by your body. This is usually called "virtual bumps" Dorsal flex will prevent the skis from running ahead of your body even if you push your skis forwards, instead, they will go upwards in the snow. As soon you need an unloading of your ski-pressures, a knee flex, you use a dorsal flex of your feet with force.

[lucamaletti]

I agree, you did a great video. It's really a clear, simple and efficient exmplanation! Thank you very much!

[falllinemaniac]

That porpoising movement is fun and all but it's so strenuous. I know I'm skiing the powder when I cannot see my skis. This is throughout the process, top to bottom. If the skis are submerged all the way down, that's a good run. New school shapes do this with aplomb. Front side carvers are for the groomed runs.

[borysvengerov]

Great tips! It's very beneficial to understand the physics of powder under your ski: you're actually compressing it to build a small "groomer" for yourself as you go.
P.S. I would argue that there's no new movements (skills) as opposed to on-piste skiing, but it is a different technique though.

[powderskier]

Excellent explanation Klaus and cant wait to try your tips in Japan

[koji]

Very good instruction in all your videos, thank you. from Japan!

[frsantariga]

Du hast es leicht gemacht! Danke für die Lektion

[deepbluewaterful]

A Neskvik lessn : ) just kiddin great explanation, thank you

[TheSnifmister]

Very good video. You taught me something

[RatrackSnowDozer]

Clear and Simple to understand !
I just would add that for Off Piste the skier should also do not forget his brain on top of the rescue equipment and the guide. ;-)

[jasmic]

his accent is so funny and cute (; Super Duper

but honestly this vid was really helpful for me

[Kenny-lbaum]

Thanks Klaus. However you are using the broad skis that are really easier in deeper snow. Kinda similar to the snowboard.

[ThievesTools]

Finally a good and useful explanation, very good video!

[PaulGalea-zzmy]

Skiing on an Armada powder skies with more then 110 cm under the foot (like in your example) is not the same with skiing in the powder with a Volkl Racetiger with 66cm under the foot ( like in your exemple when you rest). Armada is a rocker ski that is not stocking in the deep snow while the Volkl Racetiger slalom ski is a camber one that get stock in deep snow and doesnt matter how much presure you bring with your ballance. In deep snow you don't carve like on piste, you have to float with the knees close and for this reason you need a wide pair of skis under the boots. I don't say is not possible to ski on powder with carve slalom skies for piste if you are an expert and you are in confort with high speed as to float, but for a guy that is taking ski lesson that is an horrible experience. So my first advice to ski in powder is to better use powder skies ( preferred rocker or camber-rocker at least).