Cat Track Skiing
Cat tracks will stop being stressful bottlenecks and start being comfortable transitions that connect your skiing day seamlessly.
Navigating the narrow connecting trails between runs — managing momentum and position on tight paths where the usual skiing width is not available.
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Watch & Learn
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Key Moments
Narrow width, flat to slight grade, often icy and crowded — a completely different problem than open groomed runs
Use skating or gentle poling to maintain momentum on flat sections — stopping is worse than moving slowly
Keep speed controlled with small checking turns — wide turns are impossible, so use frequent small ones
Stay to the right, be visible around blind corners, give space to slower skiers ahead
What It Should Feel Like
- ✓Confined but manageable once you accept the narrowness — it's skiing, just with less room for error
- ✓The flat sections require active work to keep moving — momentum is precious on a cat track
- ✓A gentle patience replaces the wide open focus of groomed runs — cat tracks reward efficiency, not power
Common Mistakes & Fixes
Going too fast and running out of room to turn on a narrow track
Enter cat tracks at 70% of your normal comfortable speed and control from there
Stopping in the middle of the track and blocking others
If you need to stop, get to the widest point and step as far to the side as possible
Pole-dragging that creates a wobble on confined paths
Hold poles tips-up and tight to your body on narrow sections — pole-catching on the bank is a common cause of falls
Practice Drills
Narrow corridor drill: on an open groomed run, pick two imaginary parallel lines 3 meters apart and ski between them — simulates cat track width
Small turn practice: use gentle checking turns on any flat section to get comfortable with tiny radius direction changes
Skating practice: use cat track transitions as dedicated skating practice — flat sections are the perfect place to build skating confidence