Roko Koell: Powder Skiing Is for Everyone

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Nov 24, 2020

Robert Koell, known as Roko, is an Austrian heli-ski guide with decades of experience teaching people to master powder skiing. He dispels the myth that powder is only for experts, emphasizing that anyone can ski it with the right techniques. Roko shares insights on building a stable platform in soft snow and overcoming intimidation by viewing obstacles as allies. He also highlights training programs allowing skiers to enjoy the slopes well into their 80s and 90s, unlocking the joy of skiing at any age.

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ANECDOTE

From A Yearaway To A Lifetime Guiding

Robert Koell moved from Austria to British Columbia in 1989 intending to learn English for a year and never left.
He joined CMH, loved seven straight weeks of snow, and built a decades-long heli-skiing career.

INSIGHT

Powder Requires Building A Platform

Powder behaves differently than hardpack because skis sink and you must build your own platform.
That requires switching muscle memory from weighting one ski to weighting both more equally.

ADVICE

Turn Obstacles Into Allies

Teach skiers to view trees, bumps, and steep sections as allies rather than threats.
Practice stopping techniques so clients feel in control before introducing faster runs.

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I would argue that no one has taught more people to heliski powder than Robert Koell, aka Roko. The Austrian skier grew up skiing to school and ski racing in his uncle's ski school at a resort his dad built. He was a coach for the Austrian ski team and arrived at Canadian Mountain Holidays in 1989 with a plan to spend a year learning English before returning to coaching. More than 30 years later, he's still guiding with CMH, rotating through the operation's stable of lodges. He's written training programs for CMH's powder masters, enabling skiers in their 80s and even 90s to stay on skis. And he's able to break down the techniques required to rip pow into bite-sized morsels revolving around the notion of up-and-down movement, creating a solid platform in soft snow, focusing on angulation of joints and eliminating bad habits.

2:45: Skied to school as a 3-year-old in Austria's Tirol.

3:50: Injury as a ski racer pushed him into coaching.

4:45: Coaching for the Austrian ski team from 1986 to 1989.

6:02: Decides to stay with CMH

8:14: Powder is an interesting medium, with all ranges of shapes, weights and feels.

9:00: Subtle difference between skiing hard pack and skiing powder "Build your own platform."

10:00: Dispelling the myth that skiing powder is for experts. Experts can ski chopped powder. Untrammeled powder is for everyone.

12:15: Equally weighted versus weighting each ski.

14:20: Overcoming intimidation by "seeing obstacles as friends."

15:30: Give people the feeling they are in control and "the scary things aren't so scary any more."

16:40: Balancing the need for speed and control in powder.

20:00: Motion is lotion. Don't be static on skis.

20:25: Vertical movement is the heartbeat of skiing.

21:50: But keep vertical movement in a range. Not too high. Not too low.

22:12: Handling the "fall-line effect."

24:20: Use small, linked turns to control speed in powder and maintain equal weight on both skis.

26:50: Use bone structure to weight and unweight skis.

28:30: Effective up-and-down movement using bone structure and momentum.

31:00 Building CMH's "Powder Masters Program" to help veteran clients in their 80s keep skiing into their 90s.

34:40: Best advice is to think about angulation in shoulders, hips, knees and ankles.

36:30: Every learning process begins with destruction.

38:10: Learn the soft hockey stop to butter through sketchy terrain and variable snow.