Tom Gellie skis with 125 cm poles, then 107 cm poles to show how shorter poles keep your hands lower and let you fold up tighter for better absorption in moguls. Pole length changes comfort and efficiency when you're working close to the snow.
In this video, I'm skiing with 125cm length poles at the top and 107cm length poles at the bottom. At first, the visual difference may not be that obvious, but look closer at where my hand is at the pole plant moment. Now I should say, while you can ski just fine with longer poles, there is a difference in how your body folds up because of where your hands are placed at the absorption moment. I don't like the feeling of my hands right up around my ears when I'm pole planting. I like them to stay lower more in a one-set position around my chest height. If you plan to improve your mogul skiing with more absorption, and also dynamic turns for that matter, where you're in a much lower transition height closer to the snow, body folded up, then the pole length can have an influence on how easy or comfortable that is. Adjustable ski poles are a great way to fine-tune and find the right length for you, so you can play around with small incremental changes to see what works and how that changes the way you move and prepare for the next turn. I want to credit my friend Paul Lorenz for introducing me to this idea of changing the length of your ski poles depending on the type of turn you're making. I really enjoy the flexibility of this adjustable pole that Paul designed, this Play Snow Sports pole, because it allows me to experiment and find what works best for me. So I encourage you to get out there and experiment with pole length depending on what type of turn you're trying to make.
Most skiers overlook how they use their poles. Try these five pointers next time you’re skiing.
