Tip of the Month:  Skiing in Crud!

By Mike McKimson, Ski School Clinic Instructor

You're standing on top of your favorite run... somehow even though the run looks the same, you wish you had stayed on the groomed runs right next to the chairlift.  In fact, with all the icy spots, piles of loose snow and hard lumps left by hundreds of other skiers, you're even a little scared!

Welcome to Skiing in Crud!

Skiers of every ability are faced with skiing in less than perfect conditions.  Here in the Pacific Northwest we normally see what is commonly called "crud" more often than other areas of the country due to our rapidly changing weather and temperature conditions.  Learning to ski it successfully will not only make you a better skier but will let you get more bang for your buck on the mountain!

Here are a few things to focus on when skiing the "crud":

Stance and Balance

A challenge you may face skiing the crud is the "buffeting" sensation you feel as your skis go from one snow condition to another.  The skis will slow down in the loose snow, speed up on the hard pack, and start sliding when you hit a patch of ice, causing the body to pitch back and forth (almost like walking on an icy parking lot with leather soled shoes). 

First, concentrate on maintaining a solid, athletic stance with your weight centered over the whole foot (rather than the balls or heels of the feet).  This will help you center your weight between the tips and tails of your skis, and give you the ability to better react to the changes in speed that you feel as the snow conditions change.  Make sure to maintain your normal balance between the outside and inside ski, and avoid balancing your weight equally between the skis like you would do in deep powder snow.

Secondly, because skiing in crud will also affect your lateral (side to side) balance, widen your stance slightly to improve your base of support.  This wider stance will help you feel more "solid" on your skis.

Be Patient During Turn Initiation

One of the hardest things to do in crud is getting your skis to change to the new edge when starting a turn (sometimes in the Pacific Northwest it can feel like the skis are attached to the snow with suction cups).  Instead of being in a hurry when initiating your turn and forcing the skis to rotate, just relax, extend your body in the direction of the new turn and let the ski "float" into the fall line.

One good way to practice this "floating" concept is to try "patience turns", as follows:

• Find a run with a modest slope (the runs on Holiday, Reggie's and Easy Street are perfect).

• Start in a fairly shallow traverse (in other words, you want to be pointed a little bit downhill).

• From the traverse position, simply stand a little taller on your skis and release your edges. 

• Let the skis go, and they will naturally "seek" the fall line and start to turn.

• WAIT, WAIT, WAIT until the skis find the fall line and then finish your turn.

In crud, this same technique, combined with a movement of the body towards the new turn, can help you get the skis moving in the right direction.

Finish with Power!

As the skis turn through the fall line, the changing conditions require you to be able to adapt to what you are feeling under your feet.  If you take a passive approach to finishing your turns, these variable conditions may throw you out of balance leading to a loss of control. 

So, finish those turns with power!  As your skis get into the fall line, remember to continually flex your ankles, knees and hips to absorb the pressure being applied against the skis.  "Drive" the ski forcefully through the finish of the turn until you're ready to relax and start your next turn.

Finally, be assertive and aggressive mentally when skiing the crud.  When I ski it, I like to tell myself: "I'm going to blast through this stuff".  Imagine you're driving a big Hummer and are blasting through a big snow bank!

Keep on practicing, and I'll see you on the slopes!