Skiing in Powder Conditions

Keefe Gorman is an established Merrill Lynch executive who has attained Barron’s Top 100 advisors ranking. When away from his work with Merrill Lynch, Keefe Gorman is active with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard association, and enjoys challenging slopes of varying terrain every winter.

One of the most sought after conditions on skis is fresh, untracked powder snow. For those new to such snow conditions, the tendency may be to try the same techniques that work on packed runs, and if so, the experience can be frustrating.

One essential to maximizing your day on the powder is acquiring fat skis that feature an 80mm to 110mm width. These allow the ski to float, rather than sinking in the soft snow to a point where work is required to get them back up and ready for a turn again.

Another critical aspect of skiing powder is maintaining balance by flexing the ankles such that the toes point toward the head, pulling the skis up and out of the snow. Resist the temptation to lean back, as this often results in a too-rapid speed gain and subsequent loss of control. If the skis are wide enough, you do not need to worry about them diving forward in the powder, and it will not be necessary to pull the toes up to get the tips up and over the snow. In addition, a majority of fat skis are equipped with a rocker, or rise in the center of the ski in relation to the tips, that helps keep the skis afloat.

Chacaltaya – Once Home to the Highest Elevation Skiing Worldwide

A member of the Merrill Lynch team, Keefe Gorman delivers knowledgeable financial advice about a variety of investment vehicles. Active with the United States Ski and Snowboard Association, Keefe Gorman has had the opportunity to travel and ski slopes across the mountainous regions of Chile, Peru, and Bolivia.

Bolivia is home to Chacaltaya, which for many years held distinction as the highest-elevation ski resort in the world. Built in the 1930s, the resort featured a glacier ski area summit at 17,785 feet, higher than Mt. Everest base camp. The rationale behind this was that it allowed for glacier skiing throughout the year, even during the November to March timeframe, when other seasonal slopes are closed to skiing. One highlight was a car engine-driven rope tow built in 1939 that enabled skiing and riding across 660 vertical feet.

With scientists starting to research the effects of global warming on the glacier in the 1990s, it was estimated that it was retreating at a rate that would make completely disappear by 2015. Unfortunately, this was a miscalculation, as glacial retreat accelerated to such an extent that the 18,000-year-old glacier completely disappeared in 2009.