Heli Skiing Powder: Rockered Skis

The rockered heli ski, pioneered by a certain Shane McConkey, is now seen almost absolutely everywhere in the mountains, wherever there is a hint of powder. So it would not be wrong to say they have become commonplace in the ski industry, and that the revolution is now over.

But with so many people riding rockered skis nowadays, especially for heli skiing in areas like northern BC, is our skiing technique suffering? It is one of the major claims of ski manufacturers that the rocker design aids lift and gives better floatation in powder, providing an easy, surf-like ride. From this it can only be safe to assume that more people are getting an easy ride – by no means a bad thing – with the faces of skiers at the end of every epic run a real-life testimonial.

But whilst advancing the majority of our collective powder skiing abilities, are we getting sloppier when the snow thins, and we’re left to deal with more variable conditions?

We love our selection of rockered skis here at Last Frontier, and we’re not going to stop using them anytime soon. We also acknowledge that they do get us away from the basic skiing skills. But bearing this is mind we think, with a few pointers and a bit of practice, that you can have all the fun these great skis offer you, and still maintain a great skiing technique.

So here are a few pointers to remember that may help us get back to the fundamentals of skiing – that of stance and balance, pressure and edge control, steering, etc, whilst also optimizing the benefits of the rockered ski technology.

Stay Centered
While it feels really good, and seems the best option when in deep powder, try not to get into the back seat position too much. From here we lose a lot of our turning ability and responsiveness. Shift your weight slightly more forward and try to work with the terrains continually changing gradients.

Be Subtle
Subtle movements will give greater response on rockered skis, as they are already primed to turn. Try not to force it too much.

Initiate Turns with the Knees
Keeping the movements subtle, as with the above tip, and try to initiate turns by rolling the knees in the direction you want to go. You will find that the skis should respond almost instantaneously and without much effort at all.

Widen Your Stance
Opening you feet up a little more than normal will give you more control over each ski independently – though not too much, else you will lose that solid base from which to turn from.

And lastly – remember to have fun! This is ultimately the benefit of these skis, and we should definitely maximize our enjoyment from them. If you encounter some people who say that they are cheating, just show them the smile on your face after a run – maybe it will convince them to give rockers a go.

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