After watching hours of old movies with the family during the holidays, Hubby and I sent them off and pulled out our skis. Scrolling through the online weather universe, we debated which resort to hit. Temperature, wind speed, wind direction…all factor into the calculus, but the measure foremost in our decision-making (and expediency) is the amount of new snow deposited overnight. Less than 6” means we have another cup of coffee before putting on our thermals. More than 10” of freshies jolts us into third gear…socks start flying, and words get louder and more urgent, but we still haven’t decided where to go. A throaty, uneven voice enters my consciousness.
"Your path you must decide." — Yoda, ‘Star Wars: Rebels, Path of the Jedi’
And we do. Drawn to the mountain—any mountain—by an indescribable Force, we heed the siren song of Utah’s powder, the arid flakes that, in another sci-fi series, is the Spice that drives women, men, canyon roads and economies mad. As former once-a-year, groomed run skiers, it wasn’t always this way. That’s what powder skiing does to you, and here in Utah, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will.” — Yoda, ‘Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’
The Powder Paradox
People spend a lot of time and, let’s face it, a lot of money learning how to ski, which means skiing groomed runs. Etching chevrons into corduroy is the mark we make establishing our entry into the world of skiing. If we’re tenacious and fortunate enough, we spend hours, days, and entire vacations opening that wedge and tipping on edge until we’re carving down black diamond runs on a bluebird day.
Then, some friend or second cousin declares that you haven’t really skied until you’re peach-deep in powder. You smile and brush it off until the next storm rolls in, dumping two FEET of snow in the Cottonwoods, flooding your social media feed with endless “snorkel shots,” and eventually drowning you in FOMO.
”Do or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda, ‘Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’
How to Start Skiing Powder
Powder skiing requires the same fundamentals as groomer skiing: keeping skis parallel and balancing weight between the two planks. However, as award-winning Snowbird Ski Instructor Ray Brideau revealed, one of the most critical skills for powder skiing is shaping your turns to ski down instead of across the hill.
Because deep snow provides greater friction, powder skiers seek to “float” on the snow, making flatter, rounder, shallower turns with their skis instead of “carving lines” on groomers. Think of a lonnnng, skinnnny snake. If you execute short, high-edged z-like turns in thigh-high powder, you’ll stop and sink.
Brideau suggested that when staring down a familiar groomed run (and it’s ALWAYS better to learn ANY SKILL on a familiar run), picture how many turns it will take. Then, try making fewer turns using these rounder, shallower shapes to control your speed. When the run is covered in 6” of fresh snow the next day, use this same shape control in the powder.
There are dozens of tips and tricks when learning to powder ski, and certified instructors at all Utah resorts can teach them to you, but Brideau calls one of his favorite activities “Chocolate & Vanilla.” Start on a GREEN RUN with 4-6” of fresh snow, such as The Corral, a cordoned, half-groomed section on Snowbird’s Big Emma. “Practice turning once on the groomed section, then the next turn in the ungroomed/powder section. Use the turn shape to control your speed instead of the edge,” explained Brideau. Balance and weight distribution still control turning, but the skis are flatter in powder, making the turns longer, and the deeper snow provides more resistance, keeping speeds slower. Repeat all the way down to get the “feel” of the flowy turns and the features of snow.
“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” — Yoda, ‘Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”
Powder has an entirely different makeup than groomed snow. “Groomers become pretty predictable; there are more variables in powder,” said Brideau. You don’t know how deep it is in any given place, how dense it is, or what’s underneath. Like practicing an art, Brideau related it to “being immersed in a medium, the medium being snow.” He compared it to a “fourth dimension,” whereby you’re literally and figuratively “submerged and come back out.” It’s here that I realize that powder skiing requires an element of faith—baptism by frozen waters—that is unsettling to some and welcomed by many more.
Why We’re Drawn to Powder
Its elusiveness is undeniably one of the things that makes it desirable. “Powder is a scarcity; we don’t get it every day,” muses Brideau. Most skiers and snowboarders can describe their first and best powder day in exact detail. Sadly, for many, it’s the same day.
Moreover, as the digital world expands IRL, there are shockingly few surprises left in this world, another reason why powder skiing is sought out by skiers and snowboarders today. Four inches of low-angle powder is entirely different from 24” inches in a chute (and vice versa). Despite all of the informative mountain reports and weather apps, we still don’t know what to expect until we feel it under our feet down the side of an actual mountain. No post or video can capture the sights, sounds, smells and feelings of cold pow spraying your face. Neither movie nor game, we can’t imagine where the snowy storyline will carry us.
“Always pass on what you have learned.” — Yoda, ‘Episode VI: Return of the Jedi’
The secrets of the powder universe are…secrets. Skiers and snowboarders generally don’t share the locations of their stashes, but several places at each Utah resort are well-known for introducing people to powder skiing. Ask mountain hosts for suggestions. Brideau explained that low-angle pitches lower on the mountain are less intimidating and often have better visibility, making them great starting points.
At Snowbird, those off Bass Highway above Creek Road are short, low-angle runs for powderhounds in training, as well as Phone 3 Shot, a gluttonous gully off Rothman’s Way. After a short traverse, the runs flanking the Magic School Bus at Powder Mountain or the typically untracked area off Eagle Point's Teddy’s Twist are also fantastic. Once comfortable, look at steeper, wider, ungroomed runs, such as Extrovert at Alta Ski Area or Thaynes at Park City Mountain.
However, honestly, having an instructor show you where they are and how to ski them is, hands-down, the BEST MONEY SPENT on a ski vacation. Instructors will help you ski progression runs (easier to steeper and deeper) to build the aptitude and confidence much more efficiently than going it alone. Even advanced skiers and snowboarders can benefit from half-day guiding to hidden stashes. Remember: Powder days are sacred; it pays to have an expert show you the path and, perhaps, how to find and utilize the Force within.
“Yoda quotes and images,…Really?” you ask. Rewatching those movies reminded me how the diminutive sage opened Jedis’ — and audiences’ — minds. It allowed them to develop the skills they already possessed to take them to greater heights and into other dimensions. For better or worse, they found a Force that changed their lives, causing them to seek and find and share the wondrousness of it all with others. It sounds like powder skiing, …and I’ve always liked the little guy.
