How do you cut through crust???

Ryan

New member
I bet that there is someone in here that can help me with this.

At Peek N' Peak this past week we got 34" or reported snow between Monday and Thursday. Yes it was really there and it was amazing....
Friday was warm and it softened up the top. Saturday was nice and cold again but any sun exposed powder set up with a fully 2 inch nasty crust that was super hard but not hard enough to support weight. On a moderate pitch I got out into 20+ inches of soft with that nasty crust on top. No matter what I tried I could not turn in it to save my butt. I could hardly even jump turn because I could not pole plant due to the depth and my skis would hang up as they tried to bust up out of the snow. If I went total back seat (which feels like crap) I could float the tips up enough to breach the surface so I could sort of move with minimal stearing. HELP!!!
 
One of the few times you will ever hear me say it might be your equipment. Breakable crust is a challenge, conditions where you have to have strong knees and ankles as well as a focused determination to move your center downhill. Getting hung up in the backseat gets too tiring.

I've noticed I'm much better at skiing crust now that I have fatter skis. Get thee some fatties, or at least some mid-fats and you'll notice a big float advantage.
 
Ya know... now that you say it I forgot what I was on at the time..... A set of Rossi 9s World Cups. They are 158's and all of 64 under foot. They are fun turny little buggers but I never thought about it before I ventured off the groomers.... Needless to say they are worthless in that snow. Even my RPM100s would have done a lot better. At least they are an all-mtn cut.
 
Patience... Just let the snow turn the ski. Of course, if you HAVE to turn, then you're going to have to use some muscle to pull them up out of the snow, turn them, and punch them back down through the crust. But in an ideal world you just put them on edge and let them run through their natural arc, with speed control coming from how long you hang on to the turn.
 
Back in March 1996 was when I first demoed the Volant Chubbs. I took the gondola to the top of Mammoth and deliberately headed off the backside into windswept breakable crust. In each turn I could hear the crust crack as I finished it, but I was already moving into the next turn and thus wasn't thrown off balance. I was immediately sold on the skis, but I had to wait 8 months before I could get a pair.
 
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