[Photo above: skiing the glades in Whistler on January 28, 2010]
The light is flat. The snow on the groomed runs is skiied off. It's time to head for the trees! Gladed runs offer the fun trifecta challenge of loose snow, moguls formed by everyone turning in the same direction to avoid the trees, and of course the trees themselves. Skiing the trees is not only exhilerating but also a great way to practice your short radius and bump skiing as tree skiing requires strong pivoting/steering. Sighting ahead even prepares you for skiing gates.
A few things to help you in the trees:
1) Remove your pole straps. If one of your poles catches a tree you'd rather your pole get left behind than your shoulder.
2) Ski with a buddy or buddies. Make sure you can see or hear each other and check in often. Tree wells can form at the base of trees which is very dangerous should one ski too close to the trees and fall in.
3) The single best thing you can do to ski the trees better is to look for the white spaces between the trees, not the trees themselves. You ski where you look so look for the path between the trees.
The light is flat. The snow on the groomed runs is skiied off. It's time to head for the trees! Gladed runs offer the fun trifecta challenge of loose snow, moguls formed by everyone turning in the same direction to avoid the trees, and of course the trees themselves. Skiing the trees is not only exhilerating but also a great way to practice your short radius and bump skiing as tree skiing requires strong pivoting/steering. Sighting ahead even prepares you for skiing gates.
A few things to help you in the trees:
1) Remove your pole straps. If one of your poles catches a tree you'd rather your pole get left behind than your shoulder.
2) Ski with a buddy or buddies. Make sure you can see or hear each other and check in often. Tree wells can form at the base of trees which is very dangerous should one ski too close to the trees and fall in.
3) The single best thing you can do to ski the trees better is to look for the white spaces between the trees, not the trees themselves. You ski where you look so look for the path between the trees.
So the next time you see some skiable trees, dive in and have fun!
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