I have skied and coached on both Water and Snow for years, on Water since ’95, the Snow since 07′. I went through the process of learning to Snow ski once an established Water Skier. I have coached skiers learning the other discipline in both directions.
Are Water skiing and Snow skiing similar? Similar physics, but functionally very different sports, as Water and Snow Skiing come from opposite fundamental forces. Water Skiers are Pulled and have to manipulate that Pull though their hands, handle, and body. Snow Skiers are falling/pushed down the hill, they have to manipulate Gravity through their body and skis to move and turn.
Snow skiing and Water skiing look relatively similar but are drastically different in function. The two vastly different fundamental acting forces change everything. The basic position on skis is a start, pulling vs falling means vastly different stances to be in a balanced position. Water temp is a significant factor; liquids react far differently than solids. Speed is necessary for Water but optional on Snow. Water skis are thicker with rounded edges to manipulate water flow, while Snow Skis have sharp metal edges to grip the solid snow. Below is a description of the sports, and advice on transferable skills, and how to take advantage of them.
On comparing Water and Snow skiing –Seth Stisher (Pro Water Skier)
“There are phases of skiing where our movements are based around the basic physics of athletic movement and where we are merely a dead weight swinging on a pendulum.”
An OverView of the 2 Sports
Water Skiing Breakdown
The essential force of Water Skiing movement is Pull, skiers are being pulled by the boat. Skiers must learn to balance against the pull from the boat and manipulate pull to turn, gain speed, and move around behind the boat.
Pull from the boat changes your center of balance. Just like when you and a friend hold a rope together, and one gives a steady pull, the other will need to adjust their stance away from the pull to remain in a stable position. If you attach a rope to the wall and lean back in a way to use as little energy as possible, this is likely the same position you will find yourself. To balance against the boat, skiers raise their hips, so a side profile looks like a bow, curving away from the boat, with arms straight.
Water skis are wider and thicker than Snow skis. This is so they float and also so the bases can be shaped to give skis individual characteristics on the water(more explanation in the gear section below). The edges are rounded to guide and direct the flow of water as you ski.
Turning on two Water skis is very similar to Snow skiing. To turn and move across the wakes on 2 water skis, the skier will shift the balance of weight to one ski. The skier will then move in the direction of the ski with less pressure on it. i.e. if you push down on the right ski, you will move to the left and vice versa.
On a single ski, the skier shifts their entire body in the direction they would like to go(similar to a snowboard with a different stance). This move will role the ski onto its edge and begin tracking in the direction that the ski rolled. Managing your pull and balance through the handle is key here. Arms should be straight and controlling the tension of the rope.
Water Skiers are reliant on the boat. Without the boat or some form of pull Water Skiing is impossible. Skiers are restricted to following the boat without much autonomy. Speed is fairly constant, and you will always need to go wherever the boat driver takes you.
Snow Skiing Breakdown
The fundamental force in Snow Skiing is Gravity, Snow skiers are falling down the ski hill. Gravity is your friend, and the goal is to guide and control that fall down the slope.
Falling means full-body acceleration and momentum(unlike pull through the hands), so skiers need to have a position where their weight is distributed evenly along the ski. Due to the slope, this can feel like you are over the front of the skis. Skiers want to feel their shins against the front of their boots while letting their hips relax backwards, so your ankles are at 90°, and there is a bend in your knees and hips.
Snow Skis are narrow and quite thin, especially in comparison to water skis. Snow skis have flat bases, a side cut, and metal edges. Snow is a solid, meaning skis have to adjust to the snow instead of water adjusting to the ski. Metal edges grab to either track or turn sideways to create friction and slow the skier down. Poles are to help initiate turns and keep control of the upper body.
Turning on Snow is done through a combination of weight shifting, rotating the ski on the snow surface, and rolling the ski onto its edges. Weight shift, like Water skiing, is where you put all your weight through one ski and go in the opposite direction, i.e. weight through the left leg, and you will turn to the right. Rotation is used to point your skis in the direction you would like to go. Rolling of the ski will put it on edge; this will make the ski “ride a rail,” when skiers add rotation to the roll, the ski will stop following the rail and slide over the snow, causing friction which the skier uses to control speed.
Snow Skiers have far more freedom than Water Skiers. Without relying on a boat, Snow Skiers have the freedom to go where they want when they want. As long as a skier is following the fall line(Downhill), they can choose where to ski, when to stop, start, and how fast they want to go.
Here’s One Way To Combine The Two
Learning the Other Kind of Skiing
Learning to Snow Ski, With a Water Skiing Background
Disclaimer – We could discuss indefinitely the finer points of how closely the moves I compare technically relate. What follows is a way of describing the moves, in a way that I have had success, while teaching other Water Skiers how to Snow Ski.
Before Getting on Snow
For general tips on prepping for a ski holiday there are many sites already online, here are a couple of things specific to water skiers learning(Gear Heading Below for Equipment info).
- Pick a ski hill with lots of Blue/Red runs. You’ll likely learn quickly so a good supply of these will give you more to explore
- Don’t bother with poles for a few days. I start every ski season with five days without poles, helps to get balance and coordination back faster, poles are a crutch when learning.
- Lessons – Don’t take a beginner group lesson; your transferable skills will help you learn much faster than others, so it will end up being a waste of money, try for yourself first. If you can afford a private lesson, do it! Reading this, and then getting a private lesson should get you on a lift very quickly.
- Be Confident with your speed. One of the most significant hold ups people have in their progression is being scared of the speed. The quicker you get used to the speed, the better, as speed is required to learn a lot of the higher-level techniques. Don’t overdo it, stay in control, just don’t be afraid of it. If you get too fast, weight up one ski and just wait until you have turned to face up hill.
What to Take From Water Skiing to the Snow
The Basic Position of Trick
You want your weight centred on your snow skis, just like in tricks. An easy way to envision it is thinking back to Tricking with 2 skis, and prepping for a Side-Slide. You want to be centred so you can do a side-slide. On snow, the side-slide becomes a way to wash speed and slow down as you ski. Being in this position will let you pivot the snow skis directly under your boot without catching an edge.
‘Snow Plow’ from a Jump Double Cut
When turning the 180 or 210 timing buoy in a double cut, Jumpers will spread their legs wide to slow down enough to time their turn. This plow to lose speed is the same ‘Pizza/Wedge’ used to slow down on snow. It’s also the starting point for turning. On snow you will want that wide stance, but also let the hips bend, freeing up your hips, to move side to side. To add brake, widen your feet even more and turn your legs in, from the hip, so your toes begin pointing towards each other.
Once familiar with braking, you can begin turning from the same position. Just like on water you will push on your left ski to turn towards the right and vice versa. You want the butt to be free so you can move your hips and chest directly on top of your outside ski, this way the friction will bring you around in a nice curve. The more you push on the outside ski the tighter the turn you will make.
The Jump Turn
Once the above is comfortable, the main Jump turn is how you will transition to parallel skiing. Begin the turn the same way you do with the Snowplow, do a Jump turn, transitioning your skis parallel at the finish of the turn. On snow, this turn is much slower than on water, but you will recognize the sensation.
Once you are transitioning weight to your outside ski, you can actively de-weight the inside ski and slowly point the knee in the direction you want to go. Pointing the inside knee will put the rest of your weight on the outside leg. It will also role your knee over the outside edge of the inside ski. When that edge is released, you will feel the whole back of the ski free up, so they begin matching parallel further through the turn. With practice and some speed, you will begin drifting sideways a little at the end of the turn when your skis are parallel. Try no to lift the ski from the snow; eventually, we want even weight through our feet as we turn.
Important for on Snow. You want your shoulders and torso facing the same direction as the skis. As you do the Jump turn, drive the outside ski, hip, shoulder around so that you remain square through the finish of the turn.
The Edge Change from Slalom
When you cross the wakes in the slalom course, you begin the edge change through the middle of the wakes, while still letting the ski face the same direction, swinging out to start the turn as the hips transition to the inside. The speed you have helps you swing wide while using the inside edge.
On Snow, the fall line is the same as the boat wake; you begin changing edges when 90° to the fall line. Then let your speed carry your weight onto the outside ski. There is a trusting moment in there where it’s uncertain your edge will grab, feels awesome when you come to trust your edges.
What NOT to Take From Water Skiing to the Snow
Hips Up
Don’t try to bring your ‘hips up’ onto snow the same way we do on the water, that position will lock your hips rigid. Snow is less forgiving with its bumps and undulations, so we need our hips flexed and free so that they work with the ankles and knees to absorb the terrain as part of our suspension. We also want the hips to be able to move to the sides, giving us a strong and adaptable stance.
Upper Body/Shoulders of Slalom
When Slalom Water Skiing, we release our outside hand and open up by letting the outside shoulder lag a little. Then, crossing the wake our shoulders face down the rope to the boat. On Snow, if we had laserbeams coming from our eyes, we would want them pointing the same direction as the skis all the time.
Is There CrossOver at the Top Level
The better you become at Snow Skiing, the less Water Skiing you will use, until there are only general balance, awareness, and coordination crossovers.
There is some translation between Giant and Super Giant Slalom, and Water Skiing Slalom. Mainly this is in the way each link turns as smoothly as possible by making clean transitions from turn to turn. Less crossover with shorter course Slalom Snow skiing, as the turns are more forced quickly than in Water Ski Slalom
Water Skiing With a Snow Skiing Background
Before Getting on the Water
Depending on your goals with Water Skiing, you could have a great time, or you could get really screwed. If you are looking to ski only a few times a summer, then you’re in luck, your Snow Skiing will come in handy without you even being conscious of it!! If you are wanting to do the Slalom course and possibly compete, then you are in for a potentially hard time.
Get a rope, any kind, and attach it to the wall. Grab the end of the rope and REST back against it. You will naturally let your arms go straight while maintaining your grip. Move your feet a little closer to the wall and you will notice your hips come up towards your hands. This is the position on Water that you will want to find. It also seems to be difficult for Snow Skiers to do on the water, and will stall progression in the Slalom course until it is achieved.
What to Take From Snow Skiing to the Water
Balance and Body Awareness
The intuitive sense of balance and physical awareness that has grown through time skiing will be invaluable. Without even needing to think about it, you will have a superior stability advantage over non-skiers.
Unlike with Water to Snow, there is little extra advice to give to learn Water Skiing. You will want to learn it the same way we would teach any other beginner, (like this link). You’ll naturally just get it faster.
Basic Turning on Water is the Same as Snow
Shifting weight to your right ski will make you move left and vice versa. When on a single ski you will need to have some tension through your hands and the handle to maintain your connection to the boat. Wherever you are behind the boat, keep handle tension directly away from the boat to, at least to begin with.
What NOT to Take From Snow Skiing to the Water
The Deadlift Butt
Snow skiers use a similar position to a Deadlift, in particular, the Hips/Bum being behind the ankles. A little bit of this is just fine for casual weekend Water Skiing. If you want to run the Slalom course, however, it won’t happen until you learn to change that fundamental position.
While being pulled, having the hips behind ankles will cause the upper and lower body to ‘separate’ from each other. Separated means they are not in a strong position to manipulate the pull from the boat. When a skier hits the wakes and folds at the waist, we refer to it as breaking forwards. Getting hips up towards the handle will brace you against the pull of the rope, in a way easily maintained. From there you let your ankles and knees flex and absorb the wake as you cross it.
Is There CrossOver at the Top Level
There is little assisting crossover skill from Snow to Water at a high level, mainly balance and body awareness. If anything, you are inhibited by the basic position. If you can overcome this hurdle, then there is nothing stopping you from progressing down the Slalom line lengths.
There is some translation between Giant and Super Giant Slalom, and Water Skiing Slalom. Mainly this is in the way each link turns as smoothly as possible by making clean transitions from turn to turn. Less crossover with shorter course Slalom Snow skiing, as the turns are more forced quickly than in Water Ski Slalom
Snow And Water Ski Gear Comparison
Water Skis
Water skis are twice as wide as snow skis and almost an inch thick. The defining features relative to performance are the size, shape of the base, fins, flex profile, and stiffness.
Base, flex, and stiffness affect role and tracking through the water. Fins change the tracking, or slide through the turn.
Snow Skis
Snow skis are much thinner and narrower, with a flat base. Materials used, flex profile, and side cut profile and length come into play here.
Materials create the stiffness and flex to affect the skis response to different forms of preasure. Skis turn by putting then on their side and flexing until the entire edge is in the snow, Side Cut changes the shape/size of the turn.
Water Ski Boots
These have traditionally been made from multiple pieces of rubber wrapping your foot, often requiring dishliquid to get your feet into. Once at the competition level, harder shelled options become available. Boots that release from the ski reliably at high levels have only been around since 2012ish.
Snow Ski Boots
Comfort(cough), Performance and protection rolled into one. Stiff high top boots protect the ankle, while precisely transferring pressure and force down through your body to the snow.
Water Ski Handle
Has a similar function to a ski pole. Keep the rope tight to stay connected to the boat, moving and leaning against it in different ways will help you maneuver at a higher level.
Snow Ski Poles
Used as a third point of contact on the snow. Helps initiate the next turn by bringing you up over your downhill edge as you do your pole plant.