Skiing off piste on step slopes is not that difficult! What puts people off the most is that the couloir they are looking at head on looks really steep, but this is an illusion, I can assure you!.How many times have you looked up at that couloir while you going up in the gondola and said, 'Wish I could do that'? Conversely, how many times have you looked up at that couloir and said, 'Gosh. That scares the pants off me. Let's go for some lunch'. Well, if you have managed the odd black run pitted with horrendous moguls that you can't see over without putting yourself into intensive care, you will find skiing the steep a doddle.

Make sure the conditions are right. Generally the steepest slopes are off piste and can really only be skied successfully when the snow has melted and frozen a few times to form a firm smooth surface. The best time for this is early Spring. Choose a sunny day and check the weather forecast, the avalanche factor, and your insurance.The time to attack the steep late in the season is early in the morning just after the top layer of snow has been softened by the sun, but not so much as to make it rotten and prone to avalanche. At first choose a wide open slope and not a couloir.

This at least gives you the option of traversing out if necessary. It should be way off track, away from the distractions of all those sad piste bashers. Preferably choose a smooth slope with no rocks or trees of other miscellaneous obstacles such as chamois or marmots.The gradient needs to be more than 45 degrees to be considered steep, and from 55 to 70 degrees to be extreme. Don't try anything more than 55 degrees to start with. The slope should be concave with a nice gentle outrun.

This will mean that if you do fall there is nothing to hit on the way down, and you will come to a nice gradual stop with nothing more than a bruised ego.One of the golden rules of the mountains is never travel alone off piste, so you have to take a friend. I say 'have to' as though a friend may be an encumbrance.

However, you may have gone up the mountain with the intention of having a secluded picnic among the pine trees with your best friend anyway. This bit of steep you have come across is a mere bagatelle.In Part 2 I will explain exactly how to do it!.

Simon Dewhurst has taught downhill skiing in North America, Scandinavia and the European Alps for 35 years. He currently runs a ski chalet agency in the French Alps. His book "Secrets of Better Skiing" can be found at http://www.

ski-jungle.com If you have any comments about the above article, he will be happy to answer them.

By: Simon Dewhurst