Pond skimming is arguably the best spring skiing tradition, asking skiers and snowboarders to cruise across a body of water hopefully without falling into the icy liquid below. If you’re hoping to pond skim yourself, there’s a few things you can do to ensure that you don’t wind up like the person in the video below.
The number one tip is to have an exit plan. Make sure the pond your attempting to skim actually has an exit, whether it’s snow or dirt, that you can reach and access on your skis or snowboard. With no way out, you’ll either wind up swimming or wind up face planting, like this person.
The second tip is to lean back and keep your tips up. It’s like water skiing, except with much less speed. If you lean to far forward, there’s a good chance you’ll faceplant or lose balance and fall in. Another great thing to consider is your skis themselves. If the DIN setting is too low, you’re more likely to get launched out of your bindings the second you hit the water. If they’re too high, you might hurt yourself during a wipeout.
Lastly, if you’ve never done a pond skim before, it’s probably a good idea to stick to official pond skims, not a random pond you found on your mountain. You don’t know what’s down there and you likely don’t want to find out. This clip was taken near Alta Ski Area, which doesn’t have a formal pond skim, but several other nearby ski areas do. Stick to those, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
