julian carr

Photo: Mongoose

I absolutely love skiing powder. And I absolutely love sending big cliffs. From looking at these pow shots, I bet you are thinking, “oh man, look at how deeeep and soft that looks - awesome!” And then I bet you look at these big air shots and think, “that must hurt when he lands - oh man, that dude is gonna die!” Check it out though, the same snow that I’m skiing waist deeeeep, soft powder is the same snow I am landing in off sizable cliffs. That’s the enabling factor, skiing in the deeeep powder/assessing just exactly how soft it is and just exactly how deeeep it is. That allows me to develop an intimate relationship with the snow pack. I can say, ‘hmmm, that powder turn was waist deep fluff, to a hard layer’ - that tells me that I can send 20 footers to stomp, but not the big big airs. Next day after another storm I can say, ‘ok, that turn was chest deep and no hard layer, and had just a little of denseness to the snow’. Perfect, it’s go time for the big cliffs.

Photo: Mongoose
You can’t simply roll out to a gigantic cliff after a storm and decide you are going to launch. You must ski that powder and decide from there. Bummer huh? You have to ski powder before turning the mountains into your personal oversized gymnastics room/foam pit.

Photo: Mongoose
Which is more fun you ask? Well let me tell you; the feeling of being immersed in the white room, skiing pow to the point where you can’t even see, all you can do is feel and keep skiing, regardless of how you can’t see, you can’t breathe, because you are choking on powder - yeah that is pretty rad. The feeling of launching off a big cliff is enough to take your breath away, but that visual you get is incomparable, you see the ground so damn far away, and time stands still, I have a 10-second conversation with myself in a split second - and the sound of the wind is incredible, then the feeling of landing in the deeeep pow is like landing in a never ending pile of leaves. Between the visuals, the sounds, and the feeling of big air - it wins. The feeling of skiing deeeep pow is almost holy and I’ll search for it my whole life. The feeling of sending huge airs is beyond religious - it’s unworldly and I’m lucky every time I get the opportunity - you have to seize those opportunities.

Photo: Mongoose
Next time you shred the deeeep powder, think to yourself how that deeeep pow could facilitate an air. Find a cliff near that pow you skied, probe for rocks, if it’s clear and you know exactly how deeeep the landing is cause you just shredded face deep pow there - well then, send the shit out of that air..

Photo: Mongoose