Corduroy or powder: which terrain offers the tougher workout?

Call me crazy, but ever since I learned how to really, truly ski powder (thank you, KAT skiing), I wanted to know how powder skiing stacked up against taking to the corduroy, or really anything that didn’t sink my skis into the snow. Was it harder? Would more energy be expended in one type of terrain over another? Could I bank on a greater calorie burn—and feel less guilty over scarfing down that Epic Burger at lunch—by heading straight to the powder stashes? Yep, these are thoughts that can run through your head, especially when you’re skiing on your own, waiting in the singles line and accidentally singling yourself out from your lift-mates’ conversation.

The interesting thing is that it’s tough to find research on it. (Exercise physiologists, researchers, science nerds, here’s a shout-out for your next big project idea.) There are details on how equipment can affect our bodies, how much energy ski patrollers expend, and how muscles function and fatigue. But not the straight up differences between corduroy and powder, information that I can only assume could be calculated with accelerometers, heart rate monitors and fancy tools affixed to skis.

If corduroy (aka smooth terrain) and powder were to face off, does one offer a tougher workout than the other?

Why Corduroy Could Win

• The likelihood of facing corduroy on Birds of Prey is slim to none, but its smooth terrain is far from easy to ski. You either shoot down it and pray to stay on course, or you push your edges as deep into the slope as you can to attempt to control your speed. Go for the latter and your muscles will hurt, big time.
• Check your EpicMix stats after a day of all groomers. Chances are you’ve covered more vertical and ridden more lifts simply because you can take those smooth surfaces at faster speeds and run on repeat.
• Try taking a ton of turns—short, quick, slalom-like ones—and that run just got a little more challenging.
• Using powder skis on a groomer? According to research conducted by Montana State University Professor John Seifert, your heart rate will be greater than if you used normal-width skis—and it’ll beat up your body.
• Look at Lindsey Vonn—or any other downhill ski racer—at the end of a run. How heavy is that breathing? And how hard is it to turn those skis when you’re running at such blistering speeds?

Why Powder Could Win

• Spend a day with Keystone Adventure Tours, and you’re lucky, and with the speediest of groups, to go double-digits on your runs. Yet, if the guides send you down Two If By Sea, your legs will likely turn to Jell-O by the bottom—and that’s with breathing breaks.
• If you’re not a powder pro, your foray into the fluff could feel like “stirring cement." You’re struggling to turn, you’re engaging whatever muscles will get you moving and your adrenaline is pumping—from nerves, not glee.
• It’s not a cinch to lift your skis to the top layer of powder so you’re floating—even on rockers.
• You have to work hard to balance and lean back (ever so slightly) to even out your weight over your skis.
• Ask yourself: How exhausted are you after a straight-up powder day?

Which one do you feel gives you the harder workout—or is more deserving of an après beer?

--Kate Bongiovanni