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Britain's greatest ever skier?

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Following another thread sort of heading off on a tangent I've decided to start this one.

So who do you think is the best British skier ever? And why?

My vote is for the late Paul MacLeod, freeride/steep/extreme skier. In his hey day he skied pretty much all of the traditional super steep descents in Chamonix including a number of pioneering first descents. Including on one particular day a descent of the Mallory on the nth face of the Aiguille du Midi, the Eugster Couloir on the nth face of the Aiguille du Midi & the Nth Face of the Col du Plan.
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Most famous has to be Eddie The Eagle Edwards
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Kel, greatest, best, most skillful not most famous. Fame is not as far i'm aware a measure of greatness, at least it isn't in my book.


Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 13-01-10 13:20; edited 1 time in total
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In a similar poll on ifyouski.com a few years back, the name Jef Wickes came up time and time again.
That's not to say that someone greater than Wickes has appeared in recent years.
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Ha - good question.
In competitive terms it has to be Alain Baxter ?

If it wasn't for an unlucky anomaly in the US version of Vicks Vapor Rub then history should have recorded him as the UKs first winter Olympic ski medalist ?

Quote:
Including on one particular day a descent of the Mallory on the nth face of the Aiguille du Midi, the Eugster Couloir on the nth face of the Aiguille du Midi & the Nth Face of the Col du Plan
In a word, wow....
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Arnold Lunn - inventor of slalom skiing.
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Divina Galica
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Jef Wickes, a legend in his own lunchtime.
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Lindsey Vonn Toofy Grin
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Didn't Conrad Bartelski come second in a WC downhill.

If I rememebr correctly he would have won it if he hadnt lost it on the last jump and bum-skidded just before the line.

I'd vote for Baxter or one of the Bell's
Cheers
Bob
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Konrad Bartelski came 2nd in the Val Gardena downhill in December 1981
Graham Wilkie, of Surrey, became world's fastest skier in April 1987 in Les Arcs, and held that world record until September 1987
Vaila Macdonald, of Edinburgh, won the World Extreme Ski Championships at Valdez, Alaska, in 1994
Alain Baxter, of Aviemore, won the slalom bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but lost it on a technicality after a drugs test
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frank4short, best or fastest or most successful in competition?

I think you would be on the right track with your suggestion. Alpine racing is such a narrow definition of skiing.
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Yep Konrad B skied an absolutly fantastic run in that 1981 race, one of few bits of TV sport I remember from when I was a kid!
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David Niven or possibly Geoff Capes.
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Its a toss up between Konrad Bartelski and Alain Baxter because they are the only two who have ever been on the podium. I'll go for Baxter because his performance was at the Olympics even though he was robbed.
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Mckay brothers are pretty damn good.
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clarky999, Have to disagree on that one - decent skiers but nowhere near World or top European class
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Jeff Russell Razz
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Gina Hathorn missed an Olympic medal by .03sec in 1968, finishing fourth. She also had a World Cup 2nd place - and regularly top 10.
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=AL&competitorid=23711&raceid=8246

For 'career consistency' - Divina Galicia. Two World Cup podiums, also close to Olympic medal in 1972....... 1/3 off a second of Bronze (allowing for restricted Olympic Games entry).
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/613.html?sector=AL&competitorid=19071&type=result&rec_start=0&limit=50

Sadly, the older data on FIS website doesn't list the entire field - just the top 10. It's hard to really judge these feats without knowing how many competed. I remember Divina appearing on Superstars in the 70's, but I'm pretty sure she was in Motor Racing by then. Bartelski had a great result in Val Gardena for sure, but I'm not sure he had too many top 15's throughout his career.

Tricky conundrum - it would be interesting to hear Martin Bell's thoughts, he had some great runs and results and should be in the mix. There was a race in I think either Aspen or Whistler where he was in real contention at the half-way split before taking a tumble. I shouted "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"!! at the telly that Sunday for sure Sad .
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Marc Poncin, Britains fastest ever skier 245km/h, the only Brit ever to win two FIS crystal globes.
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frank4short wrote:


My vote is for the late Paul MacLeod, freeride/steep/extreme skier..


Paulo McLeod is not a bad choice although I've no idea what his skiing was actually like. Boivin, for example, descended a lot of ueber extreme stuff, much rarely repeated, but wasn't an elegant skier. I tend to agree with Dominique Perret who considers these steep descents a branch of mountaineering rather then actual skiing.

People like McLeod can go under the radar. There is a Welsh guy in Grenoble called Roy Thomas, who has put up a lot of extreme descents but none of it is mentioned online anywhere. He doesn't mix with the online crowd.
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My vote goes to Paul McLeod. There is video footage of him skiing the Goofy Diagonal on the North Face of the Bionassay with Tardivel putting in beautiful smooth rounded turns on 50 degree terrain. No hop turns or lightweight rando kit.

It takes a lot of skills from the various disciplines to ski at that level.

The reason I came across this was...I was trying to confirm how many routes McLeod skied on the Midi in one day - I thought it was more than mallory, eugster and CdP - anyone know for sure?
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Paddy Graham should probably be in here somewhere too
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Ross Hewitt wrote:

The reason I came across this was...I was trying to confirm how many routes McLeod skied on the Midi in one day - I thought it was more than mallory, eugster and CdP - anyone know for sure?


Ewan Moffat would probably know ?
I doubt he is on this punter forum Very Happy ... but I can facebook him if your not already in touch ?

You going for 4 laps ? Wink
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Quote:

I tend to agree with Dominique Perret who considers these steep descents a branch of mountaineering rather then actual skiing.

Not the way Ben Briggs does it Shocked
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I agree with Ernst Goldsmith on 13 Jan 2010: Jef Wickes
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midgetbiker wrote:
Quote:

I tend to agree with Dominique Perret who considers these steep descents a branch of mountaineering rather then actual skiing.

Not the way Ben Briggs does it Shocked


I would agree that skiing steeps old school fashion on lightweight rando kit with hop turns on hard spring snow is an exercise in billygoating that was left behind almost 20 years ago when wider skis made it possible to ski very deep powder. For me skiing is about fluidity and lush turns in primo snow which can be found on any angle - given a bit of patience. 50 degrees in perfect pow can be skied way faster with big smiles than 35 degrees on boiler plate.
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Haggis_Trap wrote:
Ross Hewitt wrote:

The reason I came across this was...I was trying to confirm how many routes McLeod skied on the Midi in one day - I thought it was more than mallory, eugster and CdP - anyone know for sure?


Ewan Moffat would probably know ?
I doubt he is on this punter forum Very Happy ... but I can facebook him if your not already in touch ?

You going for 4 laps ? Wink


The Midi is finished for this year and the serac fall from the Mallory keeps wiping the snow off the Frendo lowers so it never came in. Vivian skied 4 a few years back, I thought Paul still held the record but will check with Muffer
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David Goldsmith wrote:
I agree with Ernst Goldsmith on 13 Jan 2010: Jef Wickes


Crikey, never realised it was such an old thread.
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Ross Hewitt wrote:
midgetbiker wrote:
Quote:

I tend to agree with Dominique Perret who considers these steep descents a branch of mountaineering rather then actual skiing.

Not the way Ben Briggs does it Shocked


I would agree that skiing steeps old school fashion on lightweight rando kit with hop turns on hard spring snow is an exercise in billygoating that was left behind almost 20 years ago when wider skis made it possible to ski very deep powder. For me skiing is about fluidity and lush turns in primo snow which can be found on any angle - given a bit of patience. 50 degrees in perfect pow can be skied way faster with big smiles than 35 degrees on boiler plate.


Just watch Steep to see that change happen in front of your eyes.
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I skied with their father a few years ago in Obergurgl. A very handy off-piste skier.

clarky999 wrote:
Mckay brothers are pretty damn good.
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Sorry, can't agree with Baxter. Drug related disqualification excludes him in my book.
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@eblunt, That's bonkers. "Drug related" makes it sound like he was on performance enhancing drugs, whereas he innocently bought a nasal spray not realising the formula was slightly different in the USA version. Under strict liability rules he lost his case but the amount of methamphetamine was barely perceptible and in any case would not have been performance enhancing. For me he's the best technical skier GB has ever had.
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@eblunt, record straightening required!!

1. the 'drug' in the American version of Vicks is not Methamphetamine but a chiral version of the molecule that has no performance enhancing properties. (it's a decongestant)
2. historically drug tests couldn't tell the difference which is why it's banned. Ridiculous now, since the two molecules can be distinguished quite easily. (in fact, I'm not sure it is even banned now)
3. the trace in Alain's results was so slight that had his event not been on the last day, the field lab at the games would have shown a negative result. It was only because it went to 'one of the best labs in the country' that they were even able to detect it at all.
4. Alain Baxter was cleared of wrongdoing by the IOC - he is OFFICIALLY not a drugs cheat.
5. Many have said, including Benni Raich, who inherited Alain's medal, that Alain deserves his medal back. Unfortunately only the IOC can award it and for reasons unknown, they haven't.

In my mind Alain Baxter is an Olympic Bronze medallist.


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Thu 21-05-15 8:39; edited 1 time in total
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@admin, thank you, that's what I wanted to say.
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^ Yip - tragic sequence of events.
The European version of the inhaler was legal and he had used it for years.
The drug was an isomer of one on the banned list too, making his medal-stripping even more controversial.
Though I guess the regulations (however unfair) were the same for everyone...
Perhaps with a bigger support team someone could have been looking out for him ?

Either way Baxter was officially cleared of any wrong doing by the IOC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Baxter
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^ I agree.
P.S. Alain, not Alan. Toofy Grin
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So he got his medal back? I don't think so. So no, he didn't win medal. Medals in Salt Lake were won by Vidal (gold), Amiez (silver) and Raich (bronze). And besides, his appeal to FIS was successful, while he lost his case against IOC. It really is as simple as that. There's no if's but's and god knows what else. He didn't win medal, end of discussion.
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at0mic wrote:
^ I agree.
P.S. Alain, not Alan. Toofy Grin
Embarassed
But then, it's also Benni not Benny so at least I'm consistently inconsistent.
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primoz wrote:
So he got his medal back? I don't think so. So no, he didn't win medal. Medals in Salt Lake were won by Vidal (gold), Amiez (silver) and Raich (bronze). And besides, his appeal to FIS was successful, while he lost his case against IOC. It really is as simple as that. There's no if's but's and god knows what else. He didn't win medal, end of discussion.


2 points

1) He was officially cleared of any wrong doing by IOC.

2) Ignoring the olympics : Alains other WC results still stand (arguably making him best British skier of all time)
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