How to ski in powder
There’s nothing like it. You spy acres of untouched pow and want to have a go at laying tracks. Wondering where to start? Don’t worry – Dope Mag’s here to help. Prepare to score freshies like a pro with our guide on how to ski in powder.
You’ve heard riding pow is the closest thing to heaven on earth. You’ve listened to the ‘Yews!’ from riders scoring freshies under the chair. Heck, you’ve even seen the ear to ear grins at après. And now you’re keen to see what all the fuss is about, right? You want to float through that untouched pow, reach the bottom, look up to see those effortless tracks, and say, “I did that”. There’s nothing like your first pow lap, seriously. But, spoiler alert: it becomes super addictive.
You’ll have to forget edging and carving techniques, though. Learning how to ski in powder is totally different from cruising and charging groomers. In fact, it requires a new method altogether. No one was born an expert pow skier, though, don’t worry. It takes practice, patience, and, well, powder. But where do you start, and what mistakes should you avoid? We’ve got you! Drop into our 7 pow-slashing tips below!
Oh, and you’ll want to look stylish while laying tracks, right? Good thing we have a rad range of ski pants for men and ski pants for women – made to take on thigh-high powder. Snorkels not included...
7 tips to ride powder like a pro
1. Gather the right gear
Riding pow is the perfect excuse to add to the quiver, right? While no one’s stopping you, there’s virtually zero point venturing into pow with your skinny, matchstick-looking slope skis. You’ll more likely sink than surf, as you won’t have the surface area needed to stay on top of the snow and float. So, grab yourself a pair of fat powder skis! No, seriously – we’re talking at least 100mm in the waist!
The wider the ski, the more stable and in control you’ll feel in the fluffy stuff. Ideally, your pow skis will have a lil’ bit of rocker in the tip and tail and a softer construction, too. This means the skis work with you to rise above the snow and turn downhill.
Of course, take the correct avalanche safety equipment — including your shovel, probe, and beacon – whenever you’re riding unmarked, ungroomed trails or in the backcountry. And know how to use them. Knowledge is power, after all (or powder, we should say).
2. Find your stance
Ready to get into the powder power stance? First things first: adopt a narrow stance. By this, we mean having your skis close together so that they’re almost touching. You’ll achieve a much smoother ride when your skis act as ‘one’.
Remember – we’re now riding in the white stuff, not on top of it like you do with hard-packed snow. So, ditch the go-to groomer technique of shifting your weight to the outside ski. In pow, it’s all about being evenly weighted. Make sure you center your weight on your inside edge. Keep your shoulders over your toes, and have a slight bend in your knees, ankles, and hips. Now, relax! And don’t forget to breathe.
Okay, riding a little in the backseat is to be expected (especially when you’re first learning) – you’ll often automatically lean back to get your ski tips out of the powder. A pro tip is try to scrunch your toes. Can’t scrunch them? You’re leaning too far back! And that’ll only tire your legs, throw your balance off, and allow those tips to run away from you. How do you know you’ve nailed the rest of the pow power stance, then? The whole thing should feel effortless.
Dope Mag Tip: What if you fall? Everyone does! And it’s like falling into a fluffy duvet! Digging your skis out of pow after a few bails is exhausting, though. So, have a coffee, beer, or Génépi in the lodge to restoke your fire. You want to be psyched for pow – not psyched out!
3. Steer and turn
Skiing powder means switching up what you know. For example, on groomers and firmer snow, you’ll usually initiate a turn with your outside ski, putting pressure on your inside edge to complete it. However, in soft snow, there’s nothing for your edges to grip onto. Instead, use your legs and body weight to steer.
The best way to do this? Imagine a sweeping, gradual C-shape in front of you. Then, rotate your thighs and knees, gently guiding your skis to follow the imagined arc. You don’t have to be dramatic with your turns – a subtle movement will be enough for your skis to respond. The whole thing will feel surfier and ‘looser’ than groomer riding – and more awesome. Experience this amazing feeling once, and you’ll wonder why you’ve only stuck to the groomed slopes. Until now, of course!
Start with turns you’re comfortable with. Then – as your confidence grows – work on lengthening them, creating gentle long-radius turns (that give you multiple face-shots!). And always finish them. By that, we mean waiting until you’re facing down the fall line again before starting the next one. Any shortcuts will see you eat snow! Focus on establishing a sweet rhythm, too. For example, as soon as you reach the end of one turn, initiate the next by taking weight off your skis (we’ll go over this ‘bounce’ movement in a sec). Remember, pow turns aren’t about sharp twists, jagged lines, or riding across the hill – they’re about finding control, making smooth arcs with your skis, and embracing the float!
4. Bounce and stay balanced
Balance is everything when skiing powder! To help find and maintain it, flex your ankles and make sure your shins always touch the front of your boots. Then, try a little ‘pow pop’ or ‘bounce’ to support your balance. This involves bending your knees and weighting your skis through the turns.
Our top tip? Imagine you’re trying to crush the snow underneath. Your skis and the soft snow create a mellow rebound effect, so you ‘pop’ back up. You’ll then naturally unweight your skis by extending your legs, creating a gentle ‘bounce’ as you start the next turn. With this loading and unloading of the skis (also known as ‘weighting and unweighting’), you’ll feel you’re bouncing from side to side and establishing a reliable rhythm as you float down the fall line. Don’t overthink it too much, though – you’ll find this ‘bouncing’ motion comes quite naturally.
Don’t forget about pole planting, too! Swing your pole forward before finishing your turn to mark the beginning of the next one. You’ll discover this maintains that sweet momentum. Having your arms in front and wider than shoulder width will also bring your weight forward and help amazingly with balance.
Dope Mag Tip: Duck the rope! It's an awesome version of the 'pow pop' or 'bounce' – imagine you're ducking underneath a rope for every turn. This helps you shift your weight, keep your balance, and maintain fluid turns – aka, the pow trifecta!
5. Favor speed
Speed is 100% your friend in powder! It’s all because fresh, deep snow creates more resistance and flattens terrain, so you slow down faster than you would on groomers (yep, even on the off-piste equivalent of a Black gradient).
A quick pace, on the other hand, keeps momentum and those skis afloat. Think of it like water skiing – the faster you go, the easier it is to stay on the surface. If you find yourself on something fairly mellow, though, try a little hip wiggle. These wiggles act like mini turns in the snow, controlling your speed while making sure you don’t slow down too much because of longer, sweeping turns.
If you want to shave off some speed on steeper terrain, lessen the time spent down the fall line when turning. Avoid zig-zags, over-rotations, and twisting your body back uphill, though. These will sacrifice too much momentum and lead to the oh-so-common mistake of faceplanting the snow. Not that we’re talking from experience or anything… *cough*. So, always aim your ski tips down the fall line, let your skis do their thing, and embrace the rush!
6. Choose suitable terrain
We know it’s easy to associate powder with off-piste, but you don’t have to ride deep in the backcountry on your first few pow runs or become an instant freeriding god! Instead, if it’s still dumping after the groomers have been up, why not run for first lifts and practice riding the pow on the marked trails?
Start with a mellow gradient you feel comfortable straight-lining. This is so you can get used to the sensation of not seeing your skis while avoiding gaining too much speed. Then, when that’s tracked out, try another slope. As you perfect that pow technique, hit the untouched stuff to the sides and between the slopes. Eventually, you’ll progress from a powder pup to a fluffy-fledged powder hound, ready to sniff out off-piste pow fields, hidden stashes, and fluffy tree runs.
Just remember that fresh snow flattens terrain, and you’ll struggle to turn on anything too mellow. So, when you’re ready to lengthen those turns, try terrain that’s a touch steeper and notice how much easier it is to surf. Take your time, though. Riding powder is all about building your confidence and perfecting your technique with practice. And be mindful of the potential avalanche risk on ungroomed or unpatrolled terrain (especially on 30-degree gradients and steeper). Make sure you have the essential safety equipment with you and the correct insurance, too (just in case!).
Dope Mag Tip: Create a rhythm to match your terrain. For example, if you're on something steep, you can count, 'one… two…three' and turn on every beat or every two (depending on how long your line is). Even though you're riding down the fall line, your movements are slower, and your turns shallower in pow, so creating a dreamy, smooth tempo is easier.
7. Ride with your crew
Okay, we all know the phrase ‘No friends on a powder day’. But nothing beats riding with your crew on a bluebird after it’s nuked the night before! Plus, you shouldn’t really venture solo off-piste, deep into the backcountry, or in tree runs anyway — tree wells are no joke!
However, choose your crew wisely. Surround yourself with riders who bring those positive vibes and are as stoked as you for securing morning freshies. And who won’t blag all your secret stashes to the whole resort, of course! Bonus points if they’re a little more advanced than you, too. That way, they’ll push you and provide pow tips so your skills reach the stratosphere!
It’ll also boost your confidence to have someone ride behind you. That way, they can act as a ‘sweeper’, helping you up if you fall…and working out where your skis went if you yard-sale! And don’t worry – being the sweeper doesn’t mean they have to ride slow. You often leave a gap between riders when skiing pow, so the sweeper will still have their ‘Yews’ and uninterrupted line after you’ve nailed your turns ahead of them. Oh, and don’t just copy the line of the rider in front of you. This is your chance to choose your own line, get creative, and lay the tracks other riders admire from the lift!
Dope Mag Tip: Get on YouTube, TikTok or Insta Reels. Find a seriously stylish clip of your fave pro or influencer slashing pow and try to imitate their technique the next time you’re up there (after swatting up with this article, of course).
Wrapping up
Boom – 7 easy tips! However, we’re also sneaking one more under the net: ‘practice, practice, practice’. Yep, the more pow you score, the likelier you’ll progress to pro pow status. And don’t forget that pow is playtime. So, turn off that inner critic. Embrace your smile lines alongside your pow lines.
Oh, and prepare to become fully addicted, by the way. We’re talking obsessively checking the snow forecast every 10 minutes, crying when you’re left with ice on the groomers, possessively guarding your secret stashes, and being willing to sacrifice just about anything so the Snow Gods deliver. Again, not that we’re talking from experience or anything… *cough*. Have more questions about powder skiing or skiing in general? Reach out to our crew (and pow addicts) at crew@dopesnow.com. They’ll be stoked to hear from you and chat pow all day.
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