Snow is awesome. We may not quite appreciate what an incredible element snow is. Millions of people get pleasure from it, from tiny tots making snowmen to those who love skiing and snowboarding, and the countless people involved in the snowsports industry that require snow to earn a living.
Snow can be used to keep us warm and, at the same time, used to keep us cold. It can be our best friend on those blue, sunny days and our worst foe in the event of an avalanche. We have seen what a drastic effect the lack of snow can have on people’s livelihoods and how, when we have lots of it, it can bring joy to so many.
It is why we chose to use it in the name of our ski course company, Snoworks, and snow does work.
The first thing to understand about snow is its amazing quality – it’s slippery combined with the ability to give, move, yield or deform. It is this quality you need to understand and use to your advantage when skiing.
In any sport, there must be two surfaces that work together.
Driving – rubber and tarmac
Flying – the surface of the aircraft and air
Surfing – the surfboard and water
Golf – the head of the club and the golf ball
Tennis – the racket strings and the ball
Sailing – the wind and the sails
It’s a partnership, and in skiing this partnership is the edges and bases of our skis and the snow itself.
Now that may seem a pretty obvious statement, but ski technique is often taught without this in mind, with no partner: technique for the sake of technique, akin to playing football with no goals, snooker with no pockets, archery with no target, sailing with no wind.
Knowledge of snow and your ability to use it to your advantage can take your skiing to a level you never thought possible. Imagine using snow to create changes of direction, to slow down or speed up. Rather than battling and struggling in deep snow, imagine using it to your advantage. Rather than using all your energy to slow down, imagine using the snow akin to using the brakes of your car or bike. When hitting ice, rather than panicking, freezing and losing control, imagine using the ice to assist your descent. In fact, every facet of snow – its depth, texture and shape –can be used to your advantage. Snow can become your partner, friend, ally, your best buddy.
With all great skiers, snow is their best buddy.
There are countless thousands of skiers working away developing their “technique” and not improving. Why? Where is the partner in “face downhill”, “stand up”, “sink down ”, “put more weight on the outside ski”? It’s like flying with no air, swimming with no water.
It’s snow you need to create a deflection, a change of direction, and snow you need to use to slow down. It’s the air that causes the plane to change direction, the water that offers resistance to the surfboard.
Many skiers are obsessed with how they look, mistaking how they “look” for how “well” they ski. To ski well, you have to work with your partner: the snow, the ice, the bumps, the slush, the powder. Skiing is a dance with the mountain, the snow, and it’s YOUR dance not someone else’s. Not your instructor’s, your coach’s, your friend’s, your partner’s; it’s yours and yours alone.
Ice does not need to be feared, nor slush, steep slopes, deep snow or bumps. It’s all the same element, just reshaped, tilted, worn away. It’s all snow. Engage with it, use it, work with it, become friends with it, make it your best buddy, and your skiing will just get better and better and better.
More information : snoworks.com – [email protected]
Photo: dynamicpictures.co.uk
