Steep Skiing
The steepest runs on the mountain will become your playground rather than your nightmare — technical mastery replaces fear.
Skiing sustained steep pitches with controlled aggression — using decisive pole plants, short-radius turns, and a committed downhill lean to stay in control.
Watch & Learn
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Key Moments
Fear causes the back-seat lean that guarantees a fall — understanding this is step one of fixing it
Your chest must face the valley aggressively — this feels wrong but is the only safe position on steep terrain
Every turn starts with a firm, decisive plant — the pole anchors your body while the skis pivot beneath it
Choose your next three turns before making the current one — steep terrain punishes reactive skiing
What It Should Feel Like
- ✓Hanging over the void in a way that eventually becomes comfortable — a controlled trust fall
- ✓The pole plant as a physical anchor that stops the upper body from rotating with the turn
- ✓Each short turn as a deliberate brake, not a panic reaction — speed is chosen, not happened upon
Common Mistakes & Fixes
Leaning into the slope when scared
The instinct to hug the mountain is exactly backwards — lean away from it and over your skis
Long, passive turns on steep terrain
Steep pitches demand short, active turns — the longer the arc the more you accelerate
Looking only one turn ahead
Read three to five turns ahead on steep terrain — you cannot react fast enough if you wait to see problems
Practice Drills
Steep sideslip: stand on the steepest slope you dare and sideslip the full length — builds confidence that you can control speed on that gradient
One-run steeper: each session ski one pitch steeper than comfortable for three runs — your nervous system recalibrates quickly with repetition
Planted pole pause: plant your pole on steep terrain and count one-two before starting the turn — removes the rush instinct and forces deliberate initiation