Know your limits
Don't be a glutton for punishment--start on really easy terrain and gradually work up to steeper slopes. Peer pressure can work against you here, but be persistent, and join your expert buddies only after you've mastered the basics.

Equal pressure
Powder skiing requires you to pressure your skis equally. For a seasoned Eastern skier this can be very difficult. Fortunately you can practice this on hardpack, so there's no need to wait until you actually step into powder. Moguls also require more equal weighting, so you can get practice there too.

Do not lean back
It may seem from photos as if skiers lean back in powder. They don't! Proper fore-aft weight distribution is extremely important, so make sure you keep slight pressure between your shins and your boots' tongues at all times--stay in the Sweet spot!

Fast and slow
You need higher speed, but patient moves in powder. Pick up the pace and draw your movements out a bit to add smoothness and rhythm to your skiing.

Shallow turns
Stay closer to the flow line to keep your speed up and lessen the pressure buildup through turns.

A float
You need to get your skis to float into a turn. The float follows either a strong push-off from both skis in the case of beginner powder skiers, or combined with retraction for skilled powder skiers.

Keep your upper body facing down the hill
Ski with your feet or to put it differently: don't use your upper body to swing your skis around. Keep your upper body quiet and facing down the hill and you'll remove a major obstacle to effortless turns.

Hands up and out
Keep your hands well out in front of you by "punching" your hands over the poles after you've touched it. "Blocking" will pull your shoulder back up the hill and throw you off balance.

Less angles
Almost without exception you'll need to angulate (put your skis on edge) less in powder.

Powder skis
You can greatly expand you "window of fun" with fat powder skis. They provide far greater floatation, especially in deep snow. However, owning special powder skis is a luxury, so you should know that a soft-flexing giant slalom ski is a good alternative.

• Rent fat skis if at all possible.

Print this out for future reference and remember to have fun!