# What should I expect from a few inches of powder?



## LogicX (Jan 4, 2011)

I went snowboarding for the first time a couple days ago and I was having no trouble going down the bunny hill without falling. It had not snowed for a while, and we had a rain a week ago so there wasn't too much snow and it was pretty packed with no powder. I'm going tomorrow and it has been snowing for a couple days, so there will be powder on the ground. Will that make it easier, harder, or just different from no powder at all?

Also, apparently half of the beginner runs are ungroomed right now at the place I'm going to. Does that mean I want to avoid them? I can go to the other beginner runs if I need to.


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## Steery (Oct 25, 2010)

Groomed and beginner runs are generally worse after a few inches of snow. They get chopped up very quickly and are generally rubbish later in the day. Fresh snow is great for intermediate/advanced riders, not so great for beginners.

It is a nice novelty though, and if you ride up the sides of the runs (if they are sloped)they will be soft and lots of fun.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

Main thing to remember while riding on ungroomed trails that have a decent amount of snow on them, is to keep your legs loose. Ungroomed trail for the most part will be very bumpy, and u will see a lot of bumps and moguls on them throughout the day. Now i dont know what u considered "having no trouble going down"....whether u skidded ur way down the entire bunny hill or cruised on one edge, either way on fresh snow u wont have that fear of hurting yourself when u fall, like u do on hardpack or ice, its a good way to progress because fear is one hell of an obstacle in this sport. 

Just remember to keep ur legs loose and like shock absorbers, and pick up your edges high when transitioning from one edge to the next. ( if u got that far yet ) :thumbsup:


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

I think a few inches of fresh snow makes learning easier, at least first thing in the morning. Get there early and see what all the fuss is about making fresh tracks. Once it gets tracked out it will be uneven and maybe more challenging, depending on how heavy and wet or light and dry the snow is.

If your ski area grooms in the evening, then a few inches of fresh powder on top of groomers might be the easiest surface to learn on. It's soft and forgiving on top, and perfectly even and smooth underneath.


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## LogicX (Jan 4, 2011)

Mr. Polonia said:


> Main thing to remember while riding on ungroomed trails that have a decent amount of snow on them, is to keep your legs loose. Ungroomed trail for the most part will be very bumpy, and u will see a lot of bumps and moguls on them throughout the day. Now i dont know what u considered "having no trouble going down"....whether u skidded ur way down the entire bunny hill or cruised on one edge, either way on fresh snow u wont have that fear of hurting yourself when u fall, like u do on hardpack or ice, its a good way to progress because fear is one hell of an obstacle in this sport.
> 
> Just remember to keep ur legs loose and like shock absorbers, and pick up your edges high when transitioning from one edge to the next. ( if u got that far yet ) :thumbsup:


Thanks for the tips everyone, I will try to concentrate of being relaxed.

I'm not sure what you mean by skidded my way down. I'm pretty sure what I was doing could be considered a skidded turn, but that is what they taught me how to do. I meant I didn't have any trouble in the sense that everyone else in my lesson was falling all over the place or just spinning the board and ending up switch instead of actually getting up on their edge and turning. I went to the top of the bunny hill right away after the beginners lesson (the lesson was just going a small way up the hill and practicing J turns) and was able to come down without falling and was able to immediately link my turns together. I must have done it 25+ times because my pass was only good for the bunny hill. I only fell once coming down, but it was because I got distracted and wasn't concentrating on transitioning to a different edge.


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## Mr. Polonia (Apr 5, 2009)

i meant that i see some noobs pretty much "braking" their entire way down a trail.

but if ur saying that ur actually linking your turns and doing skidded/ j turns already then thats awesome. Like Toecutter said...ungroomed trails will be the first trails to be tore up pretty bad. They are a lot of fun and everyone will want a piece of the pie. 

If anything, make sure u take advantage of them early in the morning, and then towards lunch time i would move onto groomed ones. Groomed runs dont take as much of a toll on ur legs as ungroomed ones do.


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## SAddiction (Feb 21, 2009)

Steery said:


> Groomed and beginner runs are generally worse after a few inches of snow. They get chopped up very quickly and are generally rubbish later in the day. Fresh snow is great for intermediate/advanced riders, not so great for beginners.
> 
> It is a nice novelty though, and if you ride up the sides of the runs (if they are sloped)they will be soft and lots of fun.


Well said Steery


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

If there is powder, avoid it and let the experienced riders enjoy it!

All kidding aside, a few inches is great to learn on. Less pain when you fall and smoother runs. As people have already pointed out though, powder gets chopped up fast! This creates bumps and patches of hardpacked because the underlying snow gets exposed after the powder is scraped off. Riding in this scenario becomes harder. 

I saw another good tip in here. I found that on easier runs, like blues, the sides are untouched. Pow gets pushed to the sides so some good riding can be found away from the middle of the runs.

However, when powder gets deep, it's actually a lot harder to ride than a groomed run. You have to worry about float, speed, and it handles totally different. If you venture into deeper pow, do not slow way down or stop. You'll sink haha. I learned that the hard way.


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## Dano (Sep 16, 2009)

Have more of your weight on your back leg, it'll keep your nose out of the snow. Other than that, enjoy the awesomeness


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

My wife learned to ski last year, when the conditions were total crap for virtually the entire season. This year she's getting to ski new powder on a semi-regular basis. Her description of it is "so THIS is what snow feels like!"


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

A few inches of powder on top of a non-chunky surface will actually make turning easier and more stable. If you get more then that though, you have to change your riding style to accommodate for floating in powder. I agree with what everyone else said, that at your skill level check out some of the powder early in the morning when it's fresh, then skoot to the groomed runs, because once it get chewed up your going to have a really hard time navigating if your just linking turns on a green.


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

@ the OP - I have to ask, are you riding at Baker? I know they started doing this with their beginner runs this year. I say slay the powder as much as you can. The only downfall is, you might find yourself not wanting to ride a groomer so much anymore.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

NWBoarder28 said:


> @ the OP - I have to ask, are you riding at Baker? I know they started doing this with their beginner runs this year. I say slay the powder as much as you can. The only downfall is, you might find yourself not wanting to ride a groomer so much anymore.


True that, once you get pow, groomers become a last resort :laugh:


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

NWBoarder28 said:


> @ the OP - I have to ask, are you riding at Baker? I know they started doing this with their beginner runs this year. I say slay the powder as much as you can. The only downfall is, you might find yourself not wanting to ride a groomer so much anymore.


Luves me some bunny pow, its about the only place you can get a fairly long untouched line at the end of the day .


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