Fat skis have allowed skiers of just about any ability to ski deep powder. The flotation of fat powder boards keeps the skier on top of the snow instead of in amongst it. This makes powder skiing more approachable for intermediate skiers, but arguably less life afferming.
This was made clear to me one day in Hokkido, Japan. The snow was truly bottomless (14 feet of unconsolidated snow had fallen in just 12 days). As I watched the skiers come down the hill the vast majority of them were skiing the top 6 to 8″. What’s the point of flying all the way to Japan to ski the deepest snow on earth only to skim the surface of the snowpack?
Here is a look back to the good old days when skiers skied IN the snow.
“This section won ‘deepest powder’ at the 2001 Powder Video Magazine Awards. It was shot in 1998, so they are on some skinny-ass skis. This was in November, so while it was shot in-bounds at Bridger Bowl the lifts were not running. Edited by Team Thirteen, shot by Nik Blaskovich. From the movie ‘The Trip’, which is no longer available for purchase.”
