# What is powder good for?



## snowman123456 (Nov 15, 2010)

What is powder good for?

If there's too much powder your board gets stuck.

Powder seems good to land in if you're landing off an epic jump.

Aside from that - too much powder seems like an obstacle like quicksand.

What are your thoughts on this?

*


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## Edp25 (Dec 27, 2010)

Never thought about it but very good question. For me it is quiet, soft, pretty and fast if you ride it correctly. It is also forgiving if you are trying to carve or anything else new for you. Just my two cents...


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## Lifprasir (Jan 11, 2011)

Teaching me how to spin without killing myself.


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## BRsnow (Jan 26, 2008)

If you don't know how to ride powder it can be a terrible experience, if you do know how to ride it, it is the reason to own a board...BR


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## SHREDDER97 (Aug 1, 2010)

I can honestly say i live for powder. I have been out west 2 times this year(jackson hole, steamboat). Yes it is a pain at first if you have no idea how to ride it but in the end i love it more than anything. Words cant describe when i go on a glade run with 2ft of fresh stuff. I am fairly young but all i think about all day is my next trip out west. Shredding pow. That is why the ski bum life style inspires me


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

I live for powder, that's all I would ride if I had the choice. If your getting stuck find some steeper terrain. There is no such thing as too much powder.


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## snowman123456 (Nov 15, 2010)

freshy said:


> I live for powder, that's all I would ride if I had the choice. If your getting stuck find some steeper terrain. There is no such thing as too much powder.


Ok - thanks for that perspective.

So I'm guessing that 1 foot of powder is generally considered deep powder at most ski resorts.

How much of an angle should the slope have for me to shred 1 foot of powder effectively?


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

This season was my first real pow experience when I went to Tahoe. At first, I was so tired from getting stuck. Then I realized that it was because I kept slowing down for my wife and her sister. I quickly learned from it and just said "meet you at the bottom".

Let me tell you something, if you keep your speed and learn how to surf the pow (I'm saying surf because you can't carve pow like you do groomers when it's deep), there's nothing else like it. I couldn't get enough. Even when I hit transitions into the groomers, I found myself avoiding the groomed middle and riding down the sides where all the novices left it untouched.

Words can't describe my love for pow now and I'm already excited for my next trip next season. If I had a choice, pow would be all I ride as well.

By the way, I'd much, much, much rather be jumping into pow than having to worry about clearing a knuckle to an icey landing.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

snowman123456 said:


> Ok - thanks for that perspective.
> 
> So I'm guessing that 1 foot of powder is generally considered deep powder at most ski resorts.
> 
> How much of an angle should the slope have for me to shred 1 foot of powder effectively?


1 foot...not deep....4+ feet
slope angle depends on pow type, board and your skills...yesterday, shredding 1 foot deep on non powder board with maybe/idk 20 degrees


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## BRsnow (Jan 26, 2008)

snowman123456 said:


> Ok - thanks for that perspective.
> 
> So I'm guessing that 1 foot of powder is generally considered deep powder at most ski resorts.
> 
> How much of an angle should the slope have for me to shred 1 foot of powder effectively?



You just need to spend more time doing it, as long as you have speed, you can get through flat spots, but you cannot let the front of the board sink. It takes time to learn to ride it. I am in CO and you can usually find a foot in the tree much of the time by learning good spots and the wind. On days when storms come through, you can find it almost anywhere on the mountain. But the few times a year when you can get the snow between knee and waist deep are the money days. I am typically only up on the weekends, so I get fewer of those than I did in the past, but it does not get better than have a face full of snow and you did not fall to get it


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Put me squarely in the "I live for powder" camp. That weightless, floating feeling gives a euphoria that cant be explained with words only. You have to feel it. Once you do, there will be no going back.

Powder also varies: 

Dry, light, Utah powder is the best because it can be 4' deep and you just float/push through it. That's where you enter "The White Room." 

PNW powder has a high water content and sometimes even 12" can be difficult. 

"Too much powder" is when if you fall you can't breathe and you die. Other than that, more is better.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

What's powder good for..........self induced face shots!!


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## sketcheroo (Dec 29, 2010)

Riding in the trees with just the soft whisper of your board floating through instead of crhcrhcrhrcrhcrchcrhh of groomers and ice


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

we didn't get a foot but there was quite abit knee high blower


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## snowman123456 (Nov 15, 2010)

sketcheroo said:


> Riding in the trees with just the soft whisper of your board floating through instead of crhcrhcrhrcrhcrchcrhh of groomers and ice


that paints a nice picture


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## Jeklund (Dec 14, 2009)

As most people said there really is never "Too much snow" and if you ever think that you really should reevaluate and find out where u went wrong. Nothing beats approaching a run after putting in a bit of effort, realizing your the first person there with not a sole in sight, taking a moment to just let it sink in and then just riding down floating over the snow with not a care in the world. I thought that I knew powder until I moved out here but after opening weekend with a fresh dump of 30+ cm my mind was blown and i've been on a never-ending powder hunt since.

To answer your question: What isn't it good for?


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## T.J. (Aug 28, 2007)

OP sounds like an east coast park rat to me. not hating, just saying.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I read of one account where a guy dropped off a small cliff into 10' of untouched powder and asphyxiated. That would be too much but you don't really get that kind of depth inbounds.


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## JeffreyCH (Nov 21, 2009)

My first powder run ever was last year on Vail pass, and it was awful lol. I was on a fairly light slope (prob a blue by most standards) and I kept trying to lean down slope onto my front foot...in knee deep pow...needless to say that didn't work out well. That run also ended with a long flat back to the snowmobile trails, I ended up having to walk about 50-60 yards through some deep stuff. I didn't get it either...

Figured out if I weight it like a wakeboard on my back foot, and carve like wake it was a total blast, once you get that float you don't want anything else. By the end of that day I was hitting some really steep drops, and there really is no other feeling like it. 

**Side note, I'm sitting here looking at my wakeboard wondering how it would ride in deep pow :laugh:


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## snowman123456 (Nov 15, 2010)

Toecutter said:


> I read of one account where a guy dropped off a small cliff into 10' of untouched powder and asphyxiated. That would be too much but you don't really get that kind of depth inbounds.


yes - asphyxiation probably means that there was too much powder


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## Shocktroop531 (Aug 3, 2010)

powder is the reason why I snowboard. powder is what I live for. I've given the chance to fuck a hot chick or ride untouched fields of powder. I'd choose powder 9 outta 10 times. 

a better question would be what is the terrain park good for?


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## Qball (Jun 22, 2010)

Shocktroop531 said:


> a better question would be what is the terrain park good for?


For when there's no powder


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## mhaas (Nov 25, 2007)

> I've given the chance to fuck a hot chick or ride untouched fields of powder. I'd choose powder 9 outta 10 times


 Hahahah totally agree with that statement. 

Powder is also the reason why I snowboard. everything else is just a way to kill time until the next storm. nothinging compares to the feeling of the float, the silence, the feeling of the snow hitting your body, or the beautiful lines you draw on the mountain. 

Its alot more physical effort but totally worth it. It helps if you know the area well enough to avoid slow spots.




If you have to ask, your missing out, dude. get out there


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Qball said:


> For when there's no powder


It baffles me why people dork around in the terrain park when there are several inches of fresh snow all over the mountain.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Shocktroop531 said:


> I've given the chance to fuck a hot chick or ride untouched fields of powder. I'd choose powder 9 outta 10 times.


Details on that 1 time out of 10 please. Pics too if possible...


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## PNW Shred (Jan 1, 2011)

When i first saw this thread i thought it was a joke... Powder IS skiing/riding, nothing can touch the silent, weightless float that untouched powder can provide. Sure it's more work and it takes some time to develope proper technique but nothing can beat fresh tracks through the trees or on a nice steep slope.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Toecutter said:


> I read of one account where a guy dropped off a small cliff into 10' of untouched powder and asphyxiated. That would be too much but you don't really get that kind of depth inbounds.


Something like that happened a few years ago inbounds at Baker and I've been armpit deep after biffing...its hell to get yourself righted and the board off and then if lucky, get on a enough steep to build a ledge to set your board on...to climb up and strap back in to get going...or the other option is to swim out.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I guess somebody should bring up the topic of tree wells...


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

Powder is sooooo good that... takes every ounce of my energy not to leave my wife and child to become a powder bum somewhere.

Don't worry, I love my son and wife so I would offer them to come along. But if they say no... :dunno:


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Snowolf said:


> Tree wells are great! I use them to hide the bodies of people who piss me off. When spring comes, the bears get rid of the evidence.


Ha! I thought that's what moguls were.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Leo said:


> Don't worry, I love my son and wife so I would offer them to come along. But if they say no... :dunno:


"Business trip!"


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

mpd, 3rd pic...so she is dragin you in to the tree well...feedin them bears.


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## KahWhyC (Nov 10, 2010)

Tree runs with powder are lots of fun.


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## Listheeb21 (Jan 20, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> I read of one account where a guy dropped off a small cliff into 10' of untouched powder and asphyxiated. That would be too much but you don't really get that kind of depth inbounds.


Skier in this video was able to create an air pocket, but still spent 10 minutes buried in her own bombhole...

Rachael Burks’ Close Call & Cody Barnhill Getting Jiggy With It – Discrete TV Episodes 13 & 14 | Point of Release


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## Listheeb21 (Jan 20, 2011)

Toecutter said:


> It baffles me why people dork around in the terrain park when there are several inches of fresh snow all over the mountain.


Let them stay there...more freshies for us!


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## Willy36 (Dec 29, 2008)

Powder sucks, better not touch my-I mean-it.


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## Snowfox (Dec 26, 2009)

I have a skier friend who doesn't like powder. 

She says that she handles ice a lot better than powder since she grew up on the east coast. To her, powder is the unstable surface to ride in/on. 


I personally think she just hates snowboarders and wants to see us fall.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Listheeb21 said:


> Let them stay there...more freshies for us!


Oh, I'm not complaining.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

How about.........entertainment? Boarders cartwheeling 'cause their tip wasn't kept up. Boarders stopped everywhere 'cause they weren't going fast enough. Skiers doin' the somersault splits and then lookin' for their gear. "Do you see my ski from up there?" The "hoots" and gigglin' from below as you ride the chair. The occasional, "It's too deep!". Aaaah..........good times!


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## PowSurfer (Nov 10, 2009)

Pow is not good at all, stay away at all cost!


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

PowSurfer said:


> Pow is not good at all, stay away at all cost!


Stay in the safety of the groomer, follow the herd! Mooooo


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## kraig4422 (Apr 9, 2009)

Being in the PNW I miss powder right now. Although I'm hearing of freshies by weekend.


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## Snowfox (Dec 26, 2009)

Snowolf said:


> Actually, I think it takes a much better skier to handle deep powder than it does a snowboarder. I know a lot of intermediate skiers who also dread powder days. Boards naturally float better in powder due to the surface area (other than fat skis for pow). I think an intermediate snowboarder can ride powder easier than and intermediate skier...:dunno:


Naw naw, that's definitely true. Most skis just aren't cracked up for it besides the fat powder skis as you mentioned. I think the main thing that surprised me was that ice somehow beat out powder for once! :laugh:


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## Bones (Feb 24, 2008)

Leo said:


> This season was my first real pow experience when I went to Tahoe. At first, I was so tired from getting stuck.
> 
> Let me tell you something, if you keep your speed and learn how to surf the pow (I'm saying surf because you can't carve pow like you do groomers when it's deep), there's nothing else like it.


+1

I'm an Ice Coaster but I just got back from my first real deep powder experience: Kicking Horse, end of January, 78cm of fresh, largely untracked because avalanches closed the highways in for 4 days. Nobody there so I got to cut new tracks for nearly 4 days.

I learned to swim on my first run. Grey day, no depth perception so I slowed down. Nose dove and I go down in rib cage deep fluff. 20 minutes of heart-attack inducing struggle later I get out.

Lesson learned.....don't slow down and lean back! And then a week of pure bliss followed. I can't wait to go out west again!


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Snowfox said:


> Naw naw, that's definitely true. Most skis just aren't cracked up for it besides the fat powder skis as you mentioned. I think the main thing that surprised me was that ice somehow beat out powder for once! :laugh:


Even with the surface area of fatty powder skis matching that of a snowboard, if you get one ski rising up and the other diving -- look out!

I'm a decent skier but my rule of thumb is if there's more than 4" of fresh snow then it's time for a board. I don't _prefer_ ice but I have had some fun skidding around on ice (on skis) over the past couple of months.


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## Steery (Oct 25, 2010)

Powder in Whistler is good.

Apart from the fact that the entire mountain is tracked out by 10AM after a dump. Even on weekdays.


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## GoofyFoot (Feb 9, 2011)

Quick question ( as I am an "East coast park rat"). Do you guys adjust your stance for pow? My stance is very centered on the board. Would I benefit from moving the bindings to the back slot on the board to move my stance back a couple inches?


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

GoofyFoot said:


> Quick question ( as I am an "East coast park rat"). Do you guys adjust your stance for pow? My stance is very centered on the board. Would I benefit from moving the bindings to the back slot on the board to move my stance back a couple inches?


My board already has set-back but yeah, moving your bindings back a couple of inches would likely help keep the nose up.


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## GoofyFoot (Feb 9, 2011)

Thanks. I am anxious to see what this "powder" is that you guys speak of. I have been boarding for about 10 years and always been on the east coast. Im good on the ice parks but worried my board and I might be in for a rude awakening when we get out to SLC next week.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

GoofyFoot said:


> Thanks. I am anxious to see what this "powder" is that you guys speak of. I have been boarding for about 10 years and always been on the east coast. Im good on the ice parks but worried my board and I might be in for a rude awakening when we get out to SLC next week.


Cool! Watch out, once you get the feel of powder riding you'll have a hard time settling for anything else. Ice and groomers will be like masturbation compared to the real thing.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

You haven't encountered real snowboarding until you at least ride powder.....


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## DrnknZag (Feb 7, 2010)

I'm definitely a powder snob for sure!

Best pow day last year at Stevens I was riding a chair up on the backside. At one point there were a couple tall tee style park rats with their 148 noodles having trouble getting down the mountain. As the chair passed over them, one kid yells "FUCK this, let's go back to the park."

More powder for ME!


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## JP89 (Jan 31, 2009)

Skier gets stuck in powder and almost dies. Pretty intense stuff.

YouTube - USC Ski & Snowboard - Powder Experience

Check out their other videos too, they are really sick edits.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

JP89 said:


> Skier gets stuck in powder and almost dies. Pretty intense stuff.
> 
> YouTube - USC Ski & Snowboard - Powder Experience
> 
> Check out their other videos too, they are really sick edits.


I've dug someone out like that before, was a snowboarder face-first in snow all the way up to his legs. At first I was reeling at that vid because I've seen skiers Mcfail because they don't take off their skis and start crawling. In deep ass powder the best thing you can do is commando crawl.


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## Smokehaus (Nov 2, 2010)

Dude that is fucking nuts. His heartbeat at 4:18 is all you need to hear to understand how serious that situation is.


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## t-mac (Jan 21, 2011)

Snowboard Addiction has a new Riding Powder video that is really good at explaining the differences in stance and turning in powder compared to the groomers.


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## TheHigherEnd (Nov 8, 2010)

I'm going to need a lot more of this powder riding to get it down, but when it works, oh man. "Floating" is the correct term. Just a blazing fast, flying feeling that is pretty much unmatched. I was having a hell of a time at first trying to go down like it was just a soft run, but there were a couple of turns and straight shots where it just clicked. The angle was right, the speed was perfect, and it felt like piloting a speedboat. Well no, it felt like BEING a speedboat.

Just unreal, too bad all the dig-outs of the first couple of runs burned me out too bad to tear it up all day, but isn't that always the case with something new?


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## KIRKRIDER (Mar 18, 2008)

GoofyFoot said:


> Quick question ( as I am an "East coast park rat"). Do you guys adjust your stance for pow? My stance is very centered on the board. Would I benefit from moving the bindings to the back slot on the board to move my stance back a couple inches?


Above 3 feet hell yeah...helps a lot keep the nose high and float...


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

JP89 said:


> Skier gets stuck in powder and almost dies. Pretty intense stuff.
> 
> YouTube - USC Ski & Snowboard - Powder Experience
> 
> Check out their other videos too, they are really sick edits.


Holy shit.


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## Inky (Feb 2, 2011)

What is powder good for? Yeah, and what's so bad about genocide?


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