Nothing beats standing on a ridge-line looking down at a pristine apron of powder. Forgetting all the stresses of life, the cold mountain air rejuvenates the senses. Taking a deep breath,
you silently slip into your first perfect turn of the season—and start tumbling. Before a thick blanket of snow covers the Cascades for another winter, avoid the same mistakes made by skiers and snowboarders year after year. Whether you’re a die-hard ski bum or an occasional weekend skier, it pays to be powder prepared.
Tuning your Body “The biggest pre-winter mistake I see among skiers and snowboarders is either not training or just working their legs,” says Jason Balajadia, Bellevue Club personal trainer and longtime snowboarder. “If they’re just riding the chairlift up, running is not doing the good that they think it is. “Training for snowboarding by just running is like training for a marathon by swimming laps—it’s not going to work,” he says. A dedicated snowboarder who competes in the Mt. Baker Banked Slalom, Jason is no stranger to early season soreness. “My first day several years ago, I tried jumping and blew my ACL,” he says. Rather than spending countless hours doing aerobic exercises like running or cardio machines, Jason recommends that skiers and snowboarders focus on the body’s core muscles such as abdominals and back muscles, along with explosive, anaerobic training to mimic muscle movements on the mountain. “If your core gives out and your upper body gets wobbly, you’re going to go down,” he says. “Snowboarding and skiing is more anaerobic because you don’t go for an hour at once. Unless you’re hiking, it’s 10 minutes to the bottom.”
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Get powder prepared at home with Personal Trainer Jason Balajadia's pre-season ski/snowboard workout. Plank, 1 minute Squats, 20 Pushups, 20 Squat Jump, 10 Wall Sit, one minute
Repeat entire set three times with no rest.
Christin Tercek, another Bellevue Club personal trainer and longtime skier and snowboarder, sees many people fall prey to misconceptions about their own fitness levels. “A lot of skiers think that they’ll be able to go on the mountain and be fine after the off-season with no training, or with just cardio,” she says. “But biking and running will not be enough.” Whether you’re always at Sun Valley or just starting out, both Jason and Christin recommend a varied workout, heavily focused on abdominal, low back, glute, hamstring and quad muscles. Growing up in Portland, Christin cut her teeth as a skier on the unforgiving slopes of Mount Hood since the age of 4. She now alternates between skiing and snowboarding depending on the conditions. Christin also leads the all-important ski and snowboard conditioning classes at the Club. Using a circuit style, she has skiers do exercises like lunge walks, squats, plank holds, balancing exercises and agility ladders. “Doing this kind of a sport-specific training is going to prepare your knees for the mountain and help you to avoid those injuries so common on the slopes,” she says.
Tuning your Gear There’s nothing worse than waking up early on the first day of the season and frantically rummaging through the garage for your ski gear. Boards are unwaxed, gloves are unwashed and goggles are just missing altogether. Don’t wait for the snow to fly to start thinking about your setup. October is the perfect time to assess your outerwear and equipment, making necessary repairs and replacements. Starting with the skis or snowboard, apply a fresh coat of wax to the base using a hot iron or a rub-on variety. With downhill skis, wax allows for a faster glide on the snow with less friction. To hot-wax, first purchase a ski-specific iron from a ski shop or save money by finding a second-hand clothes iron from a thrift store or garage sale. While nearly every shop offers waxing services, many find the easy home-waxing process a welcome preseason ritual.
Home Hot-Waxing Steps
Purchase temperature-specific wax from a ski shop. For the Northwest, a cool or warm (25-38 degrees) wax will suffice.
Lightly clean your base with a rag and any suitable base cleaner or citrus degreaser from a ski shop.
For skis, apply a brake retainer to hold binding brakes clear of a base. Available at ski shops.
Heat up iron. Don’t let it smoke.
Hold bar of wax against heat with iron pointed downward, allowing melted wax to trickle onto the upturned base of your ski and snowboard. Drip sparingly along the entire base of the board.
Once skis are covered, rub iron along base (similar to a pair of pants), spreading melted wax evenly along the surface.
Let sit until cool to touch (at least 30 minutes indoors), so your base can absorb wax.
Scrape off wax using plastic scraper until no wax is visible on base. An old credit card can work in a pinch.
Pass all your friends on the slopes.
Besides waxing your skis or snowboard, tuning the metal edges is important, especially if you’re planning trips to colder locations, such as the Rocky Mountains or Mount Bachelor where ice is more frequent, or if you’re a competitive slalom racer. In soft, powder conditions, sharpening the metal edges is less important and many riders avoid it altogether. Unless you’re really hands-on, have your edges professionally sharpened at a ski shop because it’s easy to make a critical mistake and ruin your edges.
Whether you’re on skis or a snowboard, inspect all bindings, looking for loose screws or worn parts. Malfunctioning bindings on the mountain can result in a long hike, or worse, serious injury. If you’re not sure, take them into the local ski shop and have the technicians check them out. The most crucial aspect of the ski binding is the release (DIN) setting. Both releasing too early or too late can be extremely dangerous on skis. In contrast, snowboard bindings aren’t meant to release on impact. Next, inventory and inspect outerwear and goggles, looking for rips and seams pulling away. To get added
life out of old pants and jackets that have lost much of their waterproofing, applying a waterproofing spray such as Scotchgard can help keep you dry on wet powder days. Replace any gear that has outlasted its life span. It pays to think ahead because many ski shops are trying to offload last season’s winter gear before the holiday rush. Ski and snowboard design has undergone some revolutionary changes in the past few years, led in part by several Northwest visionaries. From reverse camber to new edge patterns, riding powder and variable conditions are getting easier than ever. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box or try something new this year. As another winter quickly creeps up, a little forethought goes a long way toward starting your season on the right boot. Whether you want to avoid sore muscles or just want to upgrade your ski gear, it pays huge dividends to always be powder prepared.
Winter Sports Conditioning with Chris and Christin Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30-6:30 a.m. and noon-1 p.m.
Ultimate Fitness with Jason Monday, 8:30-9:30 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30-10:30 a.m.
