HOW TO SKI TREES | Find your flow
Summary
TLDRThis video provides tips for gaining confidence and improving skills for skiing in trees and off piste terrain. It recommends preparing physically and mentally before heading into trees, including warming up muscles to respond quickly, removing poles, and lowering goggles for better vision. Tactics are offered such as analyzing terrain zones to find less dense tree areas first, taking the path of least resistance, pausing frequently to reassess conditions, and leveraging moguls for easier turns. Drills to practice rapid stopping and carved rounded turns are also described to control speed, improve timing and line choice through trees. The goal is to smoothly pick lines down the mountain for greater enjoyment of untracked snow.
Takeaways
- 😊 The video provides tips for gaining confidence skiing through trees off the groomed trails
- ⛷️ Assess your parallel turning abilities before skiing trees to manage risk
- ❄️ Remove ski pole straps and pull goggles down to prepare for skiing trees
- 🌲 Look for more open areas first when choosing lines to ski through trees
- 😮 Use quick hockey stops to practice rapidly stopping in front of obstacles
- 🌳 Focus on the gaps between trees, not the trees themselves
- 🚨 Pause every 5-10 turns when first skiing trees to take in all the variables
- ↕️ Utilize mogul tops in trees for easier tight turns with less ski tip resistance
- 🤸♂️ Practice rounded S-shaped turns using the snowmobile track corridor drill
- 🌲 With practice, tree skiing can become effortless, playful and enjoyable
Q & A
What are some things Kevin recommends checking before heading into the trees?
-Kevin recommends taking off pole straps or clips so your poles don't get caught on branches. He also suggests putting goggles down to protect your eyes from low hanging branches and blown snow.
Why does Kevin recommend skiing with a partner when venturing into the trees?
-Skiing with a partner in the trees adds an element of safety. Even if you get separated, you have a way to communicate via whistle or yelling to ensure your partner is okay.
What is the purpose of the fast turn drill Kevin demonstrates?
-The fast turn drill is meant to warm up your muscles so they can respond quickly to make decisions and turns while skiing in the trees where risk is higher.
What is the purpose of practicing hockey stops outside the trees first?
-Practicing hockey stops on the groomed slopes allows you to get comfortable with the rapid leg movements needed to stop suddenly. This translates to being able to stop quickly to avoid obstacles in the trees.
What tactic does Kevin recommend for choosing lines through the trees?
-Kevin recommends zooming out and analyzing zones first to identify the more open areas to start. Then he progresses to tighter areas slowly as comfort level permits.
Why does Kevin suggest only skiing 5-10 turns before stopping when first venturing into the trees?
-Stopping frequently when first skiing trees allows you to take in all the variables - changing terrain, snow conditions, etc. It prevents you from getting overwhelmed.
What features should you look for when trying to improve flow in bumpy sections?
-Seek out moguls and ride on the tops where there is less resistance to turn skis. This allows quicker redirection.
How do you know when you have mastered skiing through trees?
-You will no longer be thinking consciously about it and instead effortlessly picking lines and making decisions as you happily ski through.
What is the purpose of the corridor drill Kevin demonstrates?
-The corridor drill with the tracked out area helps shorten turns and dial in timing/rhythm which is vital when navigating tightly spaced trees.
What does Kevin recommend if you struggle with the corridor drill?
-If struggling with the rounded turn shape, return to the groomed run to practice before trying the trees again.
Outlines
😊 Introducing skiing in trees tips
The instructor introduces himself and explains what he loves about skiing in trees - the freedom, ability to pick your path and flow through the terrain. He outlines prerequisites like being able to make confident parallel turns on groomers and assessing if you're ready before heading into trees where the risk is higher.
❄️ Practicing rapid movements with hockey stops
The instructor explains the importance of warming up so muscles respond quickly when needed in trees. He demonstrates practicing hockey stops on groomers first, emphasizing turning legs rapidly to come to a complete stop, then trying it in ungroomed snow to mimic stopping for trees/obstacles.
🗺️ Tactics to improve line choice
The instructor shares tactics to choose better lines when skiing trees - doing a zone analysis to identify more open areas first, chunking the run into 5-10 turn sections to process all the variables, using moguls/bumps to aid quick pivoting and looking for windows to sneak through gaps between trees.
🌲 Mastering rounded turn technique
The instructor explains how advanced skiers make tree skiing look easy by focusing on rounded s-shaped turns. He demonstrates the corridor drill - planting poles in a middle track and getting skis to the outside tracks to create shorter, smoother turns - useful when taking this technique back into the trees.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡trees
💡line
💡flow
💡round
💡stop
💡risk
💡open
💡untracked
💡pitch
💡gaps
Highlights
Discuss tips to manage risk before skiing trees like removing pole straps and putting goggles down
Emphasize importance of warming up muscles to respond quickly in trees
Demonstrate hockey stop drill to practice rapid leg movements for stopping
Choose more open tree areas first when new to build comfort and experience
Ski trees in short segments of 5-10 turns to process information and conditions
Look for moguls on top to make quick redirection turns in trees
Aim to ski the gaps between trees, not the trees themselves
Use corridor drill with pole plants and ski tracks to create rounded turns
Check turn shape metric in app to monitor progress on rounded turns
Allow pressure to build in turns instead of twisting skis
Spend time practicing on grooms then applying in trees
Discussed minimizing risk factors before entering trees
Practiced rapid movement drills to react in trees
Focused on line choice and visibility when new to trees
Worked on rounded turn technique through corridor drill
Transcripts
well if you don't have that much
confidence in the trees or you're not
really sure what to do in there this is
going to help you
hi everyone I'm Kevin Jordan psia
national team member and we're here in
beautiful sunny Aspen Colorado
hey so today we're going to take a break
from skiing on the groom and we're going
to head into those trees
what do I love about skiing in the trees
it's the freedom the ability to kind of
pick your own path and really flow
through there
a lot of people don't know where or when
to turn and that's what we're really
going to address with some of the tips
in this video
[Music]
am I ready to jump into the trees well
here's a couple things you want to ask
yourself can I make confident parallel
turns on the groomers can I stop when
and where I want to anytime we jump into
the trees our risk factor is going to go
up why because trees don't move all
right and you don't really want to wrap
yourself around one of those things
first off we're going to take either our
pull straps or if we click into poles
we're going to make sure that we remove
that why because if pole gets stuck in a
tree or something it's not going to take
my arm with it the other thing I'm going
to do is I'm going to put my goggles
down there's a lot of low hanging
branches uh you know hopefully the snow
is really good and powdery and so it's
kicking up in my face I want to be able
to see where I'm going the other thing I
can do is I can see with a buddy ski
with a friend
when I go into the trees safety and
numbers we all go in together we may get
separated that's okay but we need some
kind of way to communicate so we can use
a whistle like
or a yodel or something like that just
to let my friend know where I am
[Music]
so before we head into the trees we're
gonna go warm up and why is it important
for your body to be warm because you
want your muscles to be able to respond
when you need them and you may need to
make some quick decisions and quick
turns in the trees
we're going to do the fast turn
challenge I'm shooting for 25 or more
let's see how we go
start turning quickly in three two one
all right here we go one starting to
turn two three four okay six seven eight
nine 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27.
you got 30 on that one
all right
so again that's just to warm you up and
you're looking for a 25 that's your
challenge or more so that you can use
those short turns that you practice here
over in there in the trees
in the trees I'm gonna have to make my
decisions a lot quicker and I'm really
going to have to get good at moving my
body or very rapid movements so we're
going to do a hockey stop and all I'm
going to do is really pay attention to
turning my legs actually coming to a
stop
what you want to be able to do is come
to a stop but also be able to get out of
it and move so that you can maneuver
around a tree around a stump around an
obstacle maybe a creek bed something
like that and I'm going to do it out
here on the groom so that I can get
better at it before I take it into the
trees so let's do some I'm going to do
about three seconds practice each way
and I'll talk you through it come on
alright so what I'm trying to do is turn
my legs really quickly I'm trying to
practice on both sides and actually come
to a stop
as you notice I'll actually go down
I may even plant my pole here because
I'm having a high edge angle and what I
commonly see people do is they might
lean a little bit up the hill this way
and they might do it but they don't do
it fast enough and now all of a sudden I
haven't actually stopped
you want to be able to come to a stop
because if there's a tree or a root or
something in front of you and you
actually do need to stop you want to be
able to
stop right there
[Music]
all right so now we've done some hockey
stops on the groom let's take it to the
ungroomed all right I'm gonna make a
couple turns here and then I'm going to
come to a stop all right so I'm going to
turn and turn and then oh oh there's a
tree I need to stop all right I'm going
to turn a little bit turn a little bit
oh there's a tree I need to stop
okay so I'm just looking again for those
very rapid movements
all right
I'm gonna keep on going you may have one
side a little stronger than the other
but it's important to actually come to a
stop there we go stop that way
one or two and then I could even
stop right there all right but it's
important to come to a stop and notice
how I'm actually moving down so the legs
are turning quickly I'm moving down I do
have a high edge angle but if I move
down I can help to stand on this outside
ski a little bit more than the inside
one that's going to help me
get out of it and go the other way
[Music]
let's try some in the trees here so I'll
give you a little demo right and as I'm
going down here
all right if I see a tree or something I
might want to be able to stop right
before it versus running right into it
so I'm going to turn boom just stopping
right before these there could even be
some big powder in there
all right
so now that we've practiced kind of
stopping in front of them let's we can
almost stop but instead of stopping I'm
gonna keep on going so okay I need to
keep on moving instead of coming to a
complete stop
now I'm starting to flow pick my way
through the trees
and that's how I'm skiing the trees
so take a look at that turn comparison
pressure metric and see which side is
maybe stronger and which side is weaker
pay a careful attention to the weaker
side and maybe practice more repetitions
on that side let's see if we can get
that weaker side up to the stronger side
all right here we go
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
[Music]
I'm going to give you a couple tactics
to help you improve your line Choice
when you're skiing the trees
all right so our first tactic what we're
gonna do is look at a general Zone
analysis if you zoom out for a little
bit and just look at different places if
you're new to trees you're going to look
for the places that are a little bit
more open all right because it's really
important that we want to ski the spaces
or the gaps not the actual trees what I
mean by that is we don't want to look at
the trees instead we want to look where
we want to go
so let me give you some examples here
from where I'm standing right here I've
got really three options that I'm
looking at right now
over here I've got a little bit
closer together trees might be a little
trickier to pick my line but they're
smaller and the snow is a little bit
more untracked in the middle here I've
got a mix of
some tracks that have been skied up
um maybe it's a little bit steeper not
as steep but there's still some ways to
go and it's not completely wide open
over here I've got it's very wide open
there's only some big trees in my path
I'm gonna go head that way first it's a
little bit more tracked out with the
snow but because it's my first time in
the trees I just really want to get
comfortable what's the snow doing and
give myself the best options to go
around things
[Music]
I want to set myself up for Success how
am I going to do that I'm not going to
ski the run the whole entire way instead
I'm going to ski 5 to 10 turns and then
I'm gonna stop I'm gonna chunk down the
run and that's going to give me the
ability to kind of pay attention to the
fact that a lot of things are coming at
me I've got trees coming at me I've got
stumps I Got Roots I've got snow
conditions they're changing the pitch is
changing there's a lot of things to take
in
all right so I'm gonna go through here
okay now it's going to open up a little
bit for me
all right
not so bad for the first time through
it's a little bit wider open here okay
it gives myself
a little more room for error and now I
can kind of take a look it's pretty open
here but I may try to dip into some of
the trees over to the right
here we go
so in here I'm looking it's a little bit
wider open
a little more skied up
and now I've got some options in between
here
it's over this roll
all right I'm looking for
where can I sneak maybe I can go around
this way
now it's gonna get a little tighter
whoop
sneak on through so I keep looking for
where I want to go not where I am
another step is that when I get out into
the open and maybe it's a little more
skied up
sometimes I'll start to get some Moguls
or little bumps in the trees I'm
actually looking for those kind of
things why because whenever I'm on top
of a mogul and if I try to turn on the
top of it there's less resistance on the
tips and the Tails of my skis so it's
really easy for me to make those quick
turns I can make some redirection
changes pretty quickly but being on the
top
versus being in the trough
all right how do you know you're going
to be doing this well or what are you
going to be feeling
at some point you won't need to think
about it anymore you'll be in the trees
you'll be making decisions on the Fly
you'll be cutting through little lines
looking for opportunities little Windows
of how you can sneak through two trees
and you're going to be hooting and
hollering all the way down and I'm gonna
do that right now
woohoo
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
from surviving the trees to being
thriving in the trees this is what the
best skiers do when you watch the best
skiers they're not thinking about it
there just looks like it's effortless
and they're just being able to go
wherever they want and they have so many
choices
what we're going to focus on is turn
shape and turn shape roundness we're
going to try to make very rounded s
turns and something that can help me is
something called a corridor drill what
I'm going to use is the snowmobile track
where I have three lines in the snow
I've got the track from the snowmobile
in the middle and I've got two outside
ski lines I'm going to try to plant my
pole in the middle of the tread track
and then the ski tracks I'm going to try
to get my skis to the outside
all right it's going to create a shorter
turn for me which is important in the
trees and it's going to help my timing
and my rhythm
now if you don't have a snow making or a
snowmobile track all you got to do is
Imagine three lines down the slope
somewhere all right so if you're doing
the drill you can take out your phone
and you can get into free ski mode you
can start recording and afterwards you
can check the turn shape metric and see
if you're doing this well if your scores
are pretty high
there's a good chance that you're making
some rounded s shapes
if you if your score is a little bit
lower then you got some more work to do
but if you keep practicing this drill
that will really bring these scores up
so the important thing to remember is is
if your scores do go down just remember
that you're continuously trying to make
those s-shaped rounded turns through the
trees right and if you need a little bit
of help you can always come back over to
the groom and then take it back into the
trees
[Music]
okay so I'm doing the corridor drill I'm
planting on the trail the tread of the
snowmobile track feet are going to the
outside
feels like I'm doing this Well turns are
nice and smooth and rounded
all right
a lot of people have trouble they might
be twisting their skis too much and
twisting it and that's not creating a
very smooth so you have to allow the
pressure to build up a little bit
and allow it to go around
but I'm always playing my pole down the
hill this just helps me with the flow
and the timing and this is what I'm
trying to do in the trees
hey so remember this takes a lot of time
takes a lot of practice so look at the
turn shape metrics okay spend some time
on the grooms go back into the trees and
then come back out it may not happen
overnight and I am still working on
things in the trees all right so spend
some time practice practice
foreign
[Music]
well thank you for taking this lesson
with me I hope we've improved your
confidence in learning how to ski trees
or spending some time in the trees so
what do we do in this lesson well first
we talked a little bit about some tips
to manage or minimize some of the risk
in the trees next we use some drills
like the hockey stop help us really
focus on that rapid movements of our
legs alright and also being able to
control in the trees our speed where
we're going to go next we moved into
some talk about where we want to go how
we improve our line our flow through the
trees and finally we worked on some turn
shape metrics to help really smooth out
our turns by using a corridor drill so
we can really make some nice symmetrical
s's through the turns through the trees
and really find our flow one of the
things I love skiing about the trees is
usually the snow is a lot better there's
less people in there and it's really fun
so I hope you enjoyed this lesson I hope
to see you out there in the trees maybe
Venture off from the groomers into the
trees some more and you'll have more
confidence you'll have more fun
and we'll see you next time
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