Shred`s method works but us old guys can`t quite take the pounding like that without paying for it the next day...
Different methods are required for different snow conditions. If you are riding down a 45 degree pitch in powder, you will ride it differently than if that same pitch was firm or icy. With soft snow and powder, you can use short radius dynamic skidded turns that take you down the fall line fairly straight. If the surface is firm or icy, you will be making larger radius turns that are more of a dynamic carved turn.
I tend to ride a bit slower and more deliberate in the steeps. Being very dynamic and being flexed as low as you can go and as forward as you can go to initiate your turns is key regardless of the turn type you employ. Rising up through each turn and shifting aft really maintains control and drives your board through the turn very assertively.
On a steep pitch, speed can be problematic so you want to spend as little time as possible with your board pointing down the fall line. Using turn shape ( completing your turns ) is key to this and this where the fore-aft movement really helps. Making that edge change early before the board crosses the fall line is also key. It sets your edge early and allows you the best control through your turn.
Good flexion at all times is important on the steeps and using down unweighting to make your edge changes is ultra important. When riding a steep pitch, if you are riding too stiff legged, you get bounced around and away from the mountain. Every time this happens, you loose edge hold and then have to regain it. This tends to start that "kachunk kachunk kachunk" skidding thing. By keeping the legs loose, you absorb these bumps and keep your board locked into the hill.
Down unweighting.... Most riders tend to up unweight when making an edge change. We come out of a turn and pop up a little and switch edges. It is a fun way to ride and is very intuitive. Not necessarily anything wrong with that, but it can get us in trouble on steep terrain where you never really want to throw yourself away from the mountain. A down unweight is done exactly the opposite. Instead of a pop up, it is a sudden, relaxation of the legs to allow your upper body to drop down toward your board. Some prefer to think of this as sucking your legs up toward you like you might do after the pop on a jump. Either way of thinking is essentially correct as it accomplishes the same thing.
The thing that is a bit different is you come out of each turn at your maximum extension and then drop to switch edges. This sudden drop, momentarily unweights your board and that is the moment you make this positive edge switch. Now, instead of pushing yourself away from the mountain, you actually have dropped towards it and kept your board solidly in contact with it the entire time.
As Shred pointed out he likes to actually air off of things and deliberately throw himself away from the mountain. As a result he "skips" sections. The real reason people do this is we like those little moments of actually being out of control. but only riders who have the skills to regain that control should ever try this. Neither he nor I would do this on an icy day because once airborne like this, we would never get our edge reset once we landed on a steep pitch. In these conditions and for newer steeps riders, your goal is try to never let your edge leave the snow.
Have you ever noticed that when trying steep terrain, it always seems to be that point right after you initiate a turn that you loos edge hold and start skidding down the hill? This is almost always the result of up unweighting to turn and then having your board off of the snow in a free fall back onto it and trying to reset your edge. This is particularly bad for the heelside turn when we naturally are a little stiffer. If you start trying this down unweighting movement, you will find that you eliminate most of this issue.