SLEDHEADS
(^42)
Simply put, snowmobiling is the single greatest activity on the planet. I think I saw a recent
meme in which President Trump confirmed that.
There are many different ways to enjoy snowmobiling, including boondocking, hillclimbing,
jumping, racing, tree riding, powder turns, trail riding and the list goes on and on. We all have
our favorite aspects. I am extremely fortunate not only to enjoy this sport myself, but I also get
to spend every day on the snow helping others get more out of the experience as well.
At Mountain Skillz (www.mountainskillz.com) we specialize in working with people focused on
technical off-trail riding. We welcome and enjoy working with riders of all abilities. This includes a
variety of skillsets and experience levels from beginner to advanced and everything in between.
Sidehilling and tree riding are the primary aspects that we spend time teaching about and
fine-tuning. Generally speaking, there are five riding technique-related habits that we continu-
ally have to break down and recreate with our clients.
VISION/AWARENESS
Vision/awareness is where it all starts in re-
gards to technical riding. There are two incor-
rect items that I catch people constantly look-
ing at: their ski tips and objects, usually trees.
If you don’t look up and ahead, you will never
know what possibilities you have.
When looking at your ski tips, you aren’t
aware of what is around and in front of you. In
this instance as your sled approaches an ob-
stacle, you will recognize it at the last second,
which causes hesitation. This is usually followed
with a mistake leading to getting stuck or hit-
HABITS TO
5 WORK ON
BY MATT ENTZ
(top) A group enjoying a great day of learning
and execution on the mountain.
(lower) A client caught looking at his skis.