Steeps skill building: Swing and slap!

Goal: Mastering the steeps
Level: Expert
Suggested terrain: Flats first, then groomed advanced terrain.
Author: Suzy Chase-Motzkin
Summary: Help to keep you countered, compact, and aggressive. It should also help to keep your hands out of your back pocket.

Photos and Videos coming soon!

IMPORTANT! Understanding our approach and philosophy is important if you'd like to successfully use the drills in Ski Smarts
 ... read more.

While standing on flat snow, with your body comfortably flexed and lined up with your skis, raise your hands and arms so that your poles can swing freely.

Swing one first, then the other. On the way forward, gently slap your thigh with the pole (about one third up from the basket).

Add a pole touch with the other pole--as one pole touches the snow the other slaps the thigh.

Practice this until it feels natural.

Onto the hill

First on a moderate slope, point your skis across the hill and twist your upper torso to face down the hill.

Reach both arms down the hill, tips of your poles behind you. Then, rest the pole closest to your ski tips about one third up on your uphill thigh and reach the other (tail-side) pole tip down the flow line beneath your feet.

Trigger your turn by touching the downhill pole to the snow to signal a release of your edges and a change of direction. As your skis enter the flow line, return the touched pole to your thigh and begin swinging the other. As the skis turn the other way, the new pole touches down the flow line, the old pole slaps the thigh.

Tips:

  • The arms shouldn't move from their position in the flow line facing down the hill.
  • If you feel like you've lost it, check to make sure that you are slapping the pole one third up from the tip, while pointing the grip down the hill.

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