Secret Powder Tips by Nigel Abbott - What is Active Pole Planting?

There are three key skills to a great pole plant.
1. The foundation of a great pole plant starts with the position of your arms, they should be held at least hip height and within the field of vision. Arm positions have varied over the years depending on what is happening with the teaching styles, but if you look at a racer, they are always striving to drive their arms forward....why? Because that is the path of travel.
Arms should be held relaxed and quiet to ensure your upper body remains quiet, this will also give your legs a powerful and stable platform to work from.

This is a fine example of perfect arm positioning, note the effect this has on his upper body.




2. Next is your pole straps and they and should always be worn correctly. Firstly, the hand is inserted through the strap and then you clasp the grip with the strap between your thumb and forefinger. This gives you a swing point or a hinge that allows the pole to be swung out and controlled by your fingers with minimal effort. Try practising this while you are standing still and see how smooth you cam make the action and how far you can reach the pole ahead of you. Remember, the only movement is coming from the wrist.
3. The last skill is related to where you actually plant the tip of the pole into the snow. I always say "plant it into the future", that being somewhere towards your ski tips and in the direction of where your upper body is facing. If you are on steep terrain, then you will be planting well down the slope to aid with turn initiation. It is important that once your hand moves past the point where your pole was inserted into the snow, you don't drop your arm, this will maintain a quiet upper body.
A great pole plant will help you with:

• A quiet upper body.
• A stable platform to initiate your turn.
• Good timing and rhythm with your turns.

One thing that I despise is a lazy pole plant and comes in many forms. It is a good habit and will help your technique immensely if you aim for a perfect pole plant every turn. This is a good example of a quality pole plant in POW.

How to get perfect turn control in Niseko powder.

Controlling your speed through turn radius is something we all desire to achieve. What a great skill if you could do this for every single turn on a steep powder run.

Your turn radius will greatly depend on how much you rotate your skis during the initiation phase, and this is determined by how much you rotate your feet during the pressure release (aka unweighting).

This is a skill that has somewhat diminished with the new genre of carve skis, but still remains a vital skill for all round skiing, especially short turns.

I have always said that the more energy you put into the start of the turn, the easier the completion will be.

To set yourself up for perfect turn control, you need a strong initiation which includes a well timed pole plant and your eyes and upper body focused on where you want your skis to travel.
Next you need to visualise the skis travel path, try skiing down a medium pitch slope and visualise where you want your ski tips to go.
I always picture my tips tracking a nice round arc through the powder snow, coming out of the snow and then diving back in and being whipped around.
This image perfectly demonstrates Christie Dowling focusing in on the path she wants her skis to track while maintaining excellent upper and lower body separation.

This is great example of where turn completion and preparation are at one.
One thing I have seen quite regularly in Niseko, which really spoils the silhouette, is the lack of commitment with pole planting in powder. The swing is there but no plant into the snow, it makes the turn look incomplete and you loose that extra drive into the next turn.

From this, there are three key things to remember:

1. Good preparation = pole plant and upper body focus
2. Strong foot rotation during pressure release
3. Visualise the desired path you want your tips to take

Secret tip that I have shared while skiing the deep POW in Niseko

By Nigel Abbott

I want to teach you a secret tip that I have shared with many people while skiing the deep POW in Niseko (apart from using a pair of K2 Hardsides).

As you complete your steering through the last phase of the turn - push your feet forward.

You won't get caught backwards as long as you have turned the skis enough, as you can see from this image I am centered over my feet even though my feet are being driven forward.
So why use this action?

• Having your feet forward during the last phase of the turn gives you extra power due to energy being exerted through the heels of your feet.
• When the powder is variable or broken, this action stops your weight shifting forward.
• It also aids the tips coming to the surface ready for the next turn.

This is an action that allows you to ski with power and finesse in all powder conditions.

Stay tuned for more of my secret tips.