Here are a few top tips from Mark Gear for skiing deep powder snow!

A two footed platform

Aim to push both skis into the snow when intitiating your turns, this will provide you with a two-footed platform of pressure through your turns.  It's important to change your edges simultaneously and not sequentially. 

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Make smooth shaped turns

Go for smooth fluid movements, this will encourage smooth shaped turns.  Any abrupt movements or turns will have an abrupt effect on your balance. Smooth turns and a good rhythm are essential for a fluid powder skiing run.

Push the heels downwards

Not to be confused with leaning back!  In deep snow we should push the heels downwards a little to keep the ski tips up.  This will stop the feeling of the ski tips wanting to dive deep into the snow which is oftern proceeded with the classic forward face plant.

Remember to pole plant

Smooth coordinated pole plants are very important.  This will help you to build fluidity and rhythm into your run.  The pole plant also helps for commiting to the turn and helps move your body forwards and in the direction of the turn.

Hope you enjoy the ski tips and all that great powder!

Mark Gear Head Coach All Mountain Performance

 How to ski off a drop this season with out hurting yourself. No guarantees of course!

Mark Gear skis off a serac at Les Grandes Montets

This is what the ski movie guys do, they don't just jump and hope.

Here are a few top tips for how to ski a drop off.  Watch the sequence of shots.

• Pick your jump carefully.  Jumping can be dangerous.  Its always best to start small.

• Always visually check out a jump or drop is safe before leaping off. The landing and run-out should be clear of obstacles and allow you enough space to land and make turns to slow down. Speed picks up fast in the air so you will need plenty of open space for confidence to land well and ski away.

• It is important to ensure that the landing is not flat. The landing area should slope away from the jump.  Flat landings should be avoided as the impact is greater.

• Snow texture and depth should be checked before jumping so you know what to expect when you land.  For example, deep and heavy snow will slow you down on landing and could throw you forwards over the skis as you land. Hard snow is going to offer a fast landing and a harder impact.  If the snow is hard, you may want to find a smaller drop.

• Once you are happy that all you are going to hit if you get it wrong is snow, there's not alot to it other than take a deep breath, point the skis and jump!

• Take enough of a run up to get some speed off the jump.  It really helps to make a positive, intentional jump upwards and forwards into the air. 

• Hold the hands forwards for the flight also pulling your knees up towards your chest. This will help keep your balance and stability in the air, also setting you up for the landing phase of your drop.

• Whilst in the air, you will need to angle your skis to match the angle of the slope gradient.  You don't want to land too far forwards or backwards on the skis.

• When coming into land, allow your legs to extend a little.  This is like droping your landing gear. It will set you up for absorbtion on landing.

• Land absorbing the impact, standing up and skiing away hearing the aplause from the nearby chair lift.

By Mark Gear Head Coach, All Mountain Performance

Freeride ski coaching in Chamonix for advanced and expert skiers.

All Mountain Performance / Tips for skiing bumps

This month's 4 top tips are to help you ski the bumps with better control, painless knees and a feeling that you are in charge, not the bumps!

Rotate your legs and feet to twist your skis on the snow. The effect is like scraping the snow into the bump. This will check your speed and set you up for absorbing the bump.

Absorb the bump by allowing the legs to feel soft enough for your knees to be pushed towards your chest. This will stop you from being pushed off balance by the bump

Push your tips down, This will give you the time needed to push the skis into the next hollow, rotating and scraping the snow with the skis again to check the speed and direction.

Keep your upper body facing down the fall line. This will help you keep to the line and help agile quick movements. One other extra tip is to keep the skis quite flat on the snow ( not too much edge) this will help the pivoting of the skis and enable a more direct descent.

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By Mark Gear from All Mountain Performance in Chamonix. BASI LEVEL 4 ISTD.

All Mountain Performance / Basic tips for carving turns

THIS MONTHS SKI TIPS.   Carving turns 

What is carving ?

Carving is a form of ski turn that is non skiddy, ie using the shape of the skis and only two of the three steering elements (pressure, edging and not using rotation). If correctly applied, the skis will cut through the snow smoothly tracking forwards around an arc.

How to carve and initiate the turn:

Start skiing in a straight line on a suitably flattish piste with your feet at hip width apart. Without turning your feet, tilt both your skis in the direction you wish to turn. At the same time stretch your outside leg to push the ski against the snow. Feel the skis grip and allow time for the skis to start carving.  

How to hold the carve:    Resist the desire to rotate your legs and feet. let the pressure build up. As the pressure increases in the arc, you can increase the amount of edge tilt to tighten the carve.

How to finish the turn: When you feel the turn is complete, simply release the pressure built up in the turn by softening the outside leg, this will allow the feet to come naturally back underneath the body.

How to transfer to the initiation of the next turn: With a stretch down into the snow of the new outside leg, resist the new temptation to turn your feet and skis, using the tilting motion and stretch of the leg to create more pressure on the outside ski – so repeating the process used in the turn before.

Linking clean carving turns is a great sensation, it's fast but feels stable. We hope you enjoy the tips.

Mark Gear ( BASI level 4 ISTD) All Mountain Performance Chamonix

Every month this season AMP will be giving 4 top tips on chaletsdirect.com for better skiing.

4 top tips from  AMP for tuning your skiing back in at the start of the season.

It's always best to start on an easy piste, greens or blues are sufficient –even pros don’t hit the blacks until dialled back in!

1)Look ahead, just like driving a car, look beyond the bonnet/ski. Try to feel your skis against the snow rather than looking at the tips. Get into the habit of reading the ground ahead of you. It’s better to feel what your skis are doing, encouraging you to work from the ground up for more natural skiing.

2) Be centered Work on centralising the weight down through the middle of the foot. Try to become aware of where the weight is being transmitted onto the sole of the boot. Standing with your weight centered on the skis gets the skis working as they are designed.Being too far back or too far forwards on the skis does not work as well.

3) Go for smooth, linked turns. Try not to have any abrupt movements. This will help to keep you in balance and allow your skiing to flow.

4) Get the outside ski working in the turn to have more pressure than the inside one. Pressing early on the outside ski makes a good start to your turns. Do this by stretching the leg slightly to push down through the sole of the foot.

 Mark Gear  All Mountain Performance in Chamonix