With almanacs calling for rounds of snowstorms on both the east and west coasts toward the end of this month, I want to remind you that when I was at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in California, I was indeed practicing what I've been preaching all season - eastern skiers can learn to ski western powder. Of course, the first thing I did when I got to Kirkwood was sign up for a lesson. However, it was just before getting on the snow I learned Big Secret #1 - if you want to really ski this deep powder get on Fat Skis.

I have never before skied on anything wider underfoot than 78mm, nor longer than about 168cm, but the techs at Kirkwood put me on a pair of Volkl Katana - 111mm wide at the bindings and 176 cm long. What a difference!

My instructor Jon Mullens, a transplanted Aussie who fell in love with Kirkwood, was also skiing on Fat Skis. His were called the M1 and made by Moment skis. Moment skis are made in a factory in Reno, NV and if you haven't heard of these skis yet you are sure to in the near future. For example, Shelly Robertson, a nine-year member of the U.S. Ski Team from Reno and a three-time U.S. dual moguls champion recently won a World Cup event on these American made Moment skis. More recently, yet, Craig Garbiel won the USA Freeskiing Open at Squaw Valley last week on Moment skis.

I'm not saying Fat Skis are the magic bullet for perfect powder skiing, but they will bring you much closer to being comfortable in fairly deep snow. Did I fall in my lesson? Of course I did. Did it hurt? In that knee deep fluff, only my ego got hurt while trying to get back upright without looking like a real flounder.

Most importantly, in the lesson at Kirkwood Mountain Resort, I learned some techniques and pointers that will work well in powder anywhere you find it, and with the Fat Skis I improved my skiing and my confidence on steeper terrain with deep powder. Read more about my lesson and check out some photos from lesson day.

Photo © Kirkwood Mountain Resort