Double Pole Plant — Throwback or Modern?

Double pole plant was viable in the 1960s, what about now? It perhaps has some coaching uses as an exercise, and displays your well developed glutes to maximum effect, what more?

I’ve got a few double pole planter friends. You know who you are. I always wondered why you guys persisted. I mean, isn’t the double technique so 1969? (Yeah, 1969 was a very good year, but…)

Skiing History Magazine May June 2016. What is it about magazines? The discipline of publishing on an extended timeline? The time taken to edit and massage the writing? Whatever, Skiing History has really been stepping up. This cover is a 1920 lithograph by Milivoj Uzelak, a Croatian who was influential in the ‘modern’ art world around 1920. Recommended.

Latest issue of Skiing History Magazine devotes a page to the nefarious double. Author Ron LeMaster harkens back to 1969 for the technique being touted as a “trick” that puts skiers back on their feet when they’re having a bad day. But LeMaster brings it all to the present and says that in 2016 the double pole plant is still a “reliable presence in the standard coaching toolkit.” He goes on to explain that planting both poles at the beginning of the turn is a great training exercise for a lot of reasons, perhaps most importantly because it helps keep skiers forward going into the turn, fighting the insidious habit of dropping the uphill hand.

Is the double pole plant something for EVERY turn as I see some guys use it during steep backcountry descents? Not sure. In my experience it can add complexity and something to trip up on if you’re timing isn’t perfect. It’s also a little weird when the angle really kicks up, say past 45%.

What do you readers think?