 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I got caught in a whiteout at Park City a couple of years ago, late afternoon, and suddenly the weather closes in. The main blue run was crazy on the way down, with everyone taking it. I remembered a high traverse which took me over to a rather steep black. No one was heading over to it, so I did. as I went down it, I only saw 2 or 3 other people, and none of them were skiing like tourists. (Thankfully I DID see them, and they did see me, because the conditions were terrible)
Anyway, since then, if the weather closes in, I head for the steep runs to get to base (and also try to ski as near to the trees as possible to help with the contrast) The further the steep run is from the blues, the less likely that there will be anyone on it who doesn't know how to ski down in control.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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There are more users, going more quickly without a proportional increase in capacity, nor with the average skill/awareness level of the users going up. I like carving wide and fast on piste - that feeling of riding/flying round effortlessly is one of the greatest pleasures of skiing. But it's definitely more dangerous on piste now. There should be more slow/safe/family skiing areas and they'll need to be properly policed. Some of the posts here do sound like "Look at me. I can ski fast 'cos I'm a good skier. I am you know. Really I am."
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SimonN, I had read your comments ( well as much as I ever read anything properly  ). If I were to be concise what I was attempting to say is that crowded slopes, kids and speed should be treated with extreme caution. But you are right, I am one of those who would advocate even lower road sppeds in built-up areas. This is no comment on your own position; your own attitude wrt your own kid(s) bears that out.
Incidentally , I have NO fundamental problem with what any individual does to endanger their own well-being only the effect that may have on others in the vicinity. So the ACL argument wrt speed is immaterial in this context.
You make a number of valid points throughout the thread , including your own assertion that off-piste may be safer than on .. your claim not mine !
I confess as a newcomer to the Sport , I have no idea of my own finite capabilities and would agree that people like me are more likely to cause an accident, however does not excuse 'inappropriate' ( which in my opinion includes the ubiquitous 'Too Fast' ) speed
PG, Are you a member of the Anne Robinson fan club as well ? I iddn't know the Welsh had a team anyway .. and those names look very Scottish to me --- ( Duck and Hide time)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Newbie50 wrote: |
| I iddn't know the Welsh had a team anyway .. and those names look very Scottish to me --- ( Duck and Hide time) |
It was a bit awkward asking actually... with "GBR" after their names on the start list, they could have been part of the full GBR team, one of the home nations, or none at all, just club-registered FIS racers. There were three standing together after the race, and with a rough idea of their standard having watched them race, I was curious as to whether they were part of a team or squad. I asked if they were in the GBR squad, the response was the Welsh. They weren't particularly talkative so I didn't press it any further!
To give a little perspective to the times in that race, some of those who finished in the top ten are among the best in France in their age category (15 - 18 year olds). I would have expected some of our better Les Arcs club 12/13 year olds to have finished both runs in a combined time of around 2'30".
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I don't necessarily agree that piste police would not be able to tell fast out-of-control skiers from fast in-control skiers. It's not to do with criteria like age, weight, etc. Instructors tend to be able to assess skiers very quickly. If the piste police were trained in the same way, I don't see a problem.
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PG, In defense of my countryfolks
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| They weren't particularly talkative |
.. well that proves they couldn't be Welsh then.
Anyway whoever heard of a Welsh bloke called Tristan? 
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I feel that if you are skiing on a crowded slope, you should always assume that the people around you are going to act like idiots. Working on that assumption, you then assess your speed and ability and adjust your skiing accordingly. I don't know about 'expert' skiers, but that usually means slowing down to me. I'm at that stage of skiing when I know enough to realise what I can and can't do. The problems start when you get learners who feel that they can cope with anything & they can't or people who assume that they can do what they want, where they want at whatever speed they like.
The worst experience of an out of control skier was a guy who came blasting through a crowded, almost flat bit of slope where a couple of runs were merging. He hit my arm as he came through so hard that I lost my pole & glove. If he had actually hit my body, I'm sure I would have been carried off the mountain on a bloodwagon in the same way that he was when he finally crashed to a halt. Thankfully, nobody except for him was hurt.
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Newbie50, You have made me think of one thing not covered to date and that is the moral responsibility of people travelling at speed not only to be in control but also not to cause concern to others on the same piste. I might know that at the speed I ski I am in control and not cause an accident but an inexperienced intermediate might not realise that and might be very put off. As I have said before, its all about appropriate speed.
As an aside, I am also an advocator of reduced speed limits in built up areas, particularly around schools and other places children congregate. The problem is that the vast majority who campaign for that type of limit also want to see all limits reducedbecause of ficticious information that shows that speed is a major contributer to causing accidents when, in fact, it is the major contributer in less than 9% of accidents. The lies (33% contributer) put around are used to support the revenue generating camaras that have sprung up and which have had no impact on overall accident figures. (rant mode off  )
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| sazza42 wrote: |
| ...you should always assume that the people around you are going to act like idiots. Working on that assumption, you then assess your speed and ability and adjust your skiing accordingly. |
That is the right attitude. You are responsible for yourself. If an idiot is close behind you, then slow down and let them pass. If you are varying your turns, make sure you are aware of what is going on around you, as other people don't know where you're going to next. If you're coming along a cat-track, you may have right of way over someone coming down onto it from an off-piste section above, but that doesn't mean you should be aware of them, and make room for them (and yourself)
I guess I'm breaking it down to three things:
1. Control. YOU must be in control. Can you stop safely, or turn quickly if necessary?
2. Awareness. YOU must be aware of what is going on around you - particularly ahead, but also to the sides - and when you are traversing, remember one of the sides is UP the slope.
3. Respect. YOU must respect others on the mountain. They have as much right to be there as you.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I ski quickly on-piste, but I maintain control at all times. I also ski at a speed that I can stop within the distance that I can see. I slow down if I go over a blind crest, if the weather comes in, if the piste is crowded, if I'm going around a blind corner, if I've just had lunch, and if I'm not sure where I'm going on the piste. Obeying all these rules, I still tend to ski quicker than most people on the piste, but I tend to overtake them in safe places where there is plenty of room. Sometimes I slow down to a crawling speed, if the circumstances dictate. A lot of time is spent looking for a safe place to overtake. I do not think that the fact that I generally tend to ski at a quicker speed than other people on the piste makes me a dangerous skier per se, and I do not think that you can make generalised judgements about whether I am a safe considerate skier or not without skiing with me.
After all PG, what I consider to be skiing quickly, you may consider intolerably slow.  (BTW I'm not aiming this rebuttal solely at you, it is meant as a general comment)
As for speeding on the road, the faster you are going, the more likely you, and the people that you may collide with, are to be injured. It's a slightly different scenario to skiing due to the vastly increased amounts of kinetic energy involved. (approximately 50 times)
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You know it makes sense.
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| Kramer wrote: |
| I also ski at a speed that I can stop within the distance that I can see. |
Does this mean on some large "motorway" pistes which seem to stetch away for miles in front of you you get up to speeds of ........100's mph 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Speed per se is a problem because reaction time for an unexpected evasive maneouvre is reduced. It's the same as on the road. It may not be legally your fault but an accident with an idiot or just a rookie or even a rock could have been avoided if travelling more slowly.
I suspect most of us on this site ski in control, and faster than the average skier (it's not difficult) but I think Kramer's philosophy is what we should aspire to. It's not about I ski where and how I like 'cos my control at speed is unparalleled At speed, it's about being aware of the piste situation below you.
And we should all slow down at busy confluences and family areas and yes, those areas should be policed.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Kramer wrote: |
IAfter all PG, what I consider to be skiing quickly, you may consider intolerably slow. (BTW I'm not aiming this rebuttal solely at you, it is meant as a general comment)
As for speeding on the road, the faster you are going, the more likely you, and the people that you may collide with, are to be injured. It's a slightly different scenario to skiing due to the vastly increased amounts of kinetic energy involved. (approximately 50 times) |
Not at all - that's makes perfect sense to me, and sums up pretty much what I think myself. The only question that concerned me was what represented "a lot faster than the average skier". (Come to that, what is the "average skier"?) I have an image in my mind of the average intermediate on piste, and to me, skiing much faster, safely, involves levels of skill and fitness that few holiday skiers possess.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PG, well I am a bronzed adonis, a veritable greek god amongst men!
I agree, I'm nowhere as fast as even an occasional club racer, even those of British origin! I classify myself as an intermediate skier, but I do tend to ski quickly (there is a lot of me for gravity to work it's magic on!), mainly because I find it less tiring. I do tend to overtake a lot of people on the piste, but by no means everyone! I think the point that I was trying to make is that just because I'm skiing at a rate that is higher than the prevailing traffic, doesn't make me a dangerous skier, it just means that I have to pay concentrate on what is happening around me. Part of the reason that I hate the home runs at the end of the day is that I end up skiing so slowly because they're so busy, that it just pisses me off. My favourite piste in Espace Killy is Piste G, because it's usually roped off at the top, and there usually aren't too many people on the top half of it. Also it ends in the stadium which is always good for acting out your Bode Miller fantasies.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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An interestingly provocative title?
Speed is not the issue (the comparison to road safety is somewhat fatuous, especially as the road safety organisations themselves don't seem to be able to agree as to why slower is better, apart from kinetic energy transfer considerations).
Control and Discipline are, IMHO.
But, Control and discipline can't easily be objectively measured and controlled. So we're back to the old enforce the FIS rules thing. I reckon I can recognise someone skiing within, near or outside their limits (no, no qualifications just an awful lot of observation and experience) but I wouldn't put my liberty/finances within anyone else's subjective control.
Skied the PDS last week in near highest season. Yes the access roads had a disturbing number of ambulances, but the skier population must be around double (treble?) normal. And I didn't see any behaviour any worse than 15 years ago, nor more frequent incidents. And 15 years ago there were a disturbing number of ambulances at this time of year.
Does anyone have any hard facts, preferably in sensible stats from last/recent few years for example?
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| But, Control and discipline can't easily be objectively measured and controlled. So we're back to the old enforce the FIS rules thing. I reckon I can recognise someone skiing within, near or outside their limits (no, no qualifications just an awful lot of observation and experience) but I wouldn't put my liberty/finances within anyone else's subjective control. |
I suspect that under the small print associated with lift tickets, you surrender a part of your liberty as part of the contract. I'd certainly be amazed if that wasn't the case in the States. Anyone au fait with the terms and conditions associated with lift tickets in different resorts / jurisdictions?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I have tickets for a few different US resorts in Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming...
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laundryman, neber cheked myself, but I am sure you're right.
Problem I have is that I wouldn't hand discrimination of control/not, too fast/not to the subjective decision of a gendarme when there are gendarmes I know who are rarely in control, let alone fit judges of capability/responsibility.
So back to FIS rules and maybe what my driving instructor posited as the first rule of the road, "never do anything that, as a result, causes another driver to take action."
Wish everyone in London thought that way...
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David Murdoch, that's my rule of thumb as well: on the road and the piste.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Most dangerous home run I've seen was at Tux, pre-season. Very crowded, fairly easy slope back to the lift down. Although I didn't see any collisions, by far the biggest danger was caused by highly-competant borders (sorry, but they were, I didn't see any skiers doing this) who were using the slower-moving skiers as mobile slalom gates. The number of suddenly un-nerved skiers losing it as some lunatic border came hurtling past just inches away from them was very great indeed. The danger was exacerbated in that this being only October-time, a great number of the skiers were inexperienced, taking it easy and just being happy to make it down reasonably gently (and thus, safely).
Speed IS a danger, speed in crowded places - even from experienced, highly skilled sliders is equally dangerous. Anyone who says it isn't is pretty short-sighted - you dont have to hit someone to cause an accident, just frightening them is quite sufficient !
Conversely, one of the safest, albeit crowded, home-runs I've seen was at LA1600. The piste is quite steep, has a very short run-off area (with ice, fence-posts and a big lift) at the end of it, was slightly moguled and not an easy ski at all. People here were far more circumspect and slower than at other places I've been - simply a case of there being a far greater chance of crashing into something solid if you get it wrong ! Compare it to the runs into LA1800, which are easy, crowded and completely chaotic and you'll get the idea.
Have seen this pattern at most resorts have been too. Maybe the easiest way to cut down on collisions in the home-run section is to leave the moguls intact and introduce a couloir or 2 !
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_thumb.jpg) It was pretty busy going down that slope (the Cachette) a couple of hours back (see photo) - similar conditions to the ones you described, moguls, and very hard snow requiring good edges. But yes, people were being pretty careful. Haven't seen a collision there this season.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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No matter what excellent control we have, we're only human. From driver reaction time research, it's been determined that mental processing time when in a state of expectation for predictable trouble is 0.5 seconds (note that this takes into account more than just how quick your reflexes are). However, when normally alert for a problem it's 1 second and when it's something quite unexpected (like an inconsiderate intermediate inexplicably changing direction into your path without checking uphill first) it's 1.2 seconds. Add 1 second for the time it takes to initiate an evasive maneouvre and it's a minimum of 1.5 seconds to initiate evasive action and possibly as much as 2.2 seconds.
If the average intermediate does 20mph he'll travel about 13 metres in 1.5 seconds, 19.7 metres in 2.2 seconds. I appreciate they won't all be deciding to do a sudden quick traverse, but assuming the fast (but controlled) skier is going 40mph or faster, any evasive action he/she takes won't just take 1.5 seconds to initiate but will need another couple of seconds to actually execute. So, just how wide a berth are our determinedly fast skiers giving the mere mortals?
Seeing as so many people here are subjectively against subjectivity, I'd go along with not having piste police watching us everywhere. But I still feel that they have a role at busy junctions and interchanges, as well as in areas which have been set aside for beginners/families, all of which should be clearly signposted as slow areas.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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austin7, Moguls the pistes version of traffic calming . What is the reasoning behind turning the mountain into corduroy motorways ?
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Many interesting points raised here. I think its very difficult to legislate against this stuff. A better drive to publicise the skiing code ( especially "the skier in front has right of way" )would help . Its certainly very low key in lessons and in resorts I have been to. I speak as one more sinned against than sinning. I have been involved in 4 ski collisions over the past 25 years skiing ( appx 15 days per season average). The first incedent in 1991 when I took my future wife out by clipping her from behind, made me aware that people in front can't hear you coming and made me try and stay much more in control. Since then I have been taken out from behind on a empty slope in Tignes ( my wife, myself and the guy who skied into me were the only people on the slope) The guy was very apologetic ( a frenchman) but I was abusing him in french reasonably well ,still I accepted his (freely given) apology. Another time I was taken out by a beginer in his mid 50s, wearing helmet ,under instruction in Couchevel. At the time I was standing at the edge of the piste and ended up in the trees after this burke skied/flailed right into me. Again he was french, but (maybe in shock) he questioned why I was standing there!!!! I was perfectly in my rights to be standing clearly in view, at the edge of piste - again I rounded on him in french, and it was only his instructor ( ESF) who calmed things down and apologised for her client. Finally last year in zermat I was skiing short turns and slowing down above a junction about to take a left turn. I was taken out at speed from behind by a young woman at considerable speed. She jarred my uphill knee badly and I lost everything (poles included) I stumbled round collecting my stuff in a daze, and then went down to ask what the f**K she thought she was doing. By then she was crying, and holding her leg. Her two male companions had shown up . I let rip and all one of her friends could say was "can't you see she is hurt?" I told him she only had herself to blame and she should observe the rules of the road. He said she was a better skier than me, although quite how he knew this I don't know. I told him where to stick it , and that she would never be a decent skier if she carried on like that. Again shock ( in both parties) doesn't help these situations. But I know I am a good skier ( I have been told by BASI trainers ), and usually an apology to me will encourage the "live and let live" attitude in me. I think some people on the slopes honestly do think that people in front should "know" to get out of the way. Its largely a matter of education , and here piste patrollers having a gentle word might make a world of difference. Anyway rant over. Off to courchevel on sunday so hopefully I won't neeed to take my wing mirrors 
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You know it makes sense.
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What bothers me is speed on the resort approach runs. One has to consider that to be in control you also have to predict the actions of others. On a crowded resort run, at speed, you cannot do this and therefore you are NOT in control, regardless how long you've skied.
Also it is frightening to the beginners to have some b****r speed past them at close range, how do they know whether the other skier is any good or just a selfish show off.
As for the 'non resort' pisted red runs, surely they are there for speed so take care and look out!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Bit of a generalisation, but those who have skied a lot, and over a long period, mostly don't feel the need to speed near the crowds. Most resort speeders are "beginners". Speed is not an indication of skill and/or experience, imo. You won't find locals playing silly b*ggers.
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Poster: A snowHead
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slikedges, although skiing isn't supposed to be defensive; observing is.
There is no way that someone changing direction in front of you should be unexpected.
It's easy - although the Monty Python thread said "Nobobdy expects the Spanish Inquisition", this thread should say "Expect the unexpected".
IMO - you should assume that the person in front is practically going to try and hit you and you should be watching the terrain to make sure you're ready to avoid them.
Basically though, I agree with you. The real reason that no-one should be going fast when it's busy is because as your speed increases you have to look and plan further and farther ahead and you eventually run out of concentration! Additionally your plans have less room for execution as there is simply less room on the piste.
Eventually there is no choice but to go with the traffic - especially on very crowded cat tracks.
As for education - why don't we see lots of *big* signs simply saying "If you hit someone in front of you then it's your fault - no excuses!!!"
(Hey, maybe on the back of the  T-shirts?)
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| lbt wrote: |
| As for education - why don't we see lots of *big* signs simply saying "If you hit someone in front of you then it's your fault - no excuses!!!") |
'cos some silly b*gg*r would ski right into them!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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lbt,
If you remained in the state of heightened awareness necessary to be always ready for an instant reaction you'd be too stressed to enjoy skiing and would be mentally exhausted after a few runs. Even if you could, if you're doing 40mph and you are 26m behind an intermediate doing regular 20mph shmedium turns down the piste, who suddenly varies his turn and goes out on a fast traverse, in the 1.5 seconds you'll take to initiate your evasive maneouvre, you'll be on him unless you gave him 13m leeway. OK this is back of envelope worst case stuff, but it could happen. And if you were just normally attentive, you could add 0.5 seconds and 33% to each distance.
All I'm trying to say is speed is fun, it's probably my main reason to ski, but Kramer put it very nicely, you have to adjust your speed going past people and for the situation in front of you.
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slikedges, advanced skiers are not exhausted from their "heightened awareness". It has become instinctive. Skiing often involves instant reactions. The 'back of envelope stuff' and stopping distances in the other post make little sense in reality - you can't measure the distances involved/reflex times as they vary hugely depending on a variety of factors.
Your basic point about adapting speed to take into account all possible manoeuvres by the downhill skier is what all truly advanced skiers do as a matter of course. Only an idiot or a relative beginner playing at being the Herminator - usually the latter, or a combination of both - ignores the basic rules of piste etiquette.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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PG, are you a 'truly advanced skier'?
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Tim Brown, I expect PG is too modest to answer that.
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PG,
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advanced skiers are not exhausted from their "heightened awareness"
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Heightened awareness is exactly that. Heightened. When on a motorway, you are alert and attentive. When patrolling an insurgent infiltrated area of Baghdad, you have heightened awareness. It's not natural and it is tiring. Advanced skiers on a normal piste are not on a knife edge, on tenterhooks, finger twitching on the trigger. They don't have heightened awareness by this definition. They're alert and attentive (besides hopefully enjoying the experience).
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Skiing often involves instant reactions.
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Skiing reactions seem pretty similar to driving reactions - both are wired into your hindbrain meaning they don't require deliberate thought to control. The mental processing time for a situation where you are alert (not heightened, where it is 0.384 to 0.50 seconds) is consistently 0.90-1.02 seconds in a range of studies. I reiterate it is not the same as a simple reflex. I can't see how the total time to initiate evasive action in an alert advanced skier would be less than 2 seconds. And even if the advanced skier were in a "heightened state" the evasive action time would be 1.5 seconds.
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The 'back of envelope stuff' and stopping distances in the other post make little sense in reality
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Back of envelope stuff is exactly that. Not meant to be accurate or exhaustive in its considerations, but merely to give an indication of the order of magnitude of an effect.
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Only an idiot or a relative beginner playing at being the Herminator - usually the latter, or a combination of both - ignores the basic rules of piste etiquette.
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What started this off is that in some of the posts here there seemed to be an arrogance about speed always being ok if you're a truly good skier, as opposed to speed being something a truly good skier knows how to use with restraint.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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slikedges, Well you brought the "normal piste" into the equation - I was thinking of what is "normal" for many advanced skiers. Those I'm familiar with often spend several hours a day, five or six days a week, training slalom/super G/downhill/skiercross/moguls/jumps, free skiing through forests at great speed, off piste down couloirs most here would tremble at the thought of negotiating. Call it what you will, if their alertness isn't in a heightened state, they would soon be in trouble. Yet they are not "mentally exhausted after a few runs".
On "instant reactions". You say that it is not the same as a simple reflex. My point is that a reaction for some has become a reflex for others, involving a high degree of anticipation. This arises by virtue of skiing something like 100 days a year - sometimes a lot more - training under the above conditions, combined with ski-specific fitness training that places great emphasis on developing not only strength but balance and reaction times. On top of this their "piste savvy" means that another "reflex" has developed, unconscious awareness/processing of movements above and below, etc.
Let's face it - if the above wasn't true, and the process you mention alone was involved, in the 5 milliseconds or so you have to return a serve from Andy Roddick or hit a ball bowled by Shoaib Akhtar, even Agassi or Tendulkar would only ever succeed by pure fluke.
Estimating stopping distances depends on pitch, snow, contours, equipment, strength, visibility, as well as the above. The general point that for the average skier stopping distances are greater than he/she might imagine, is well taken.
None of this provides a licence to speed of course. My only purpose is to point out that the above skiers, despite the fact that they spend many, many times the hours on piste than the average punter, are almost never responsible for collisions or even near misses. Your final point is exactly the one I was making in reply to the thread originator earlier on - although I didn't feel there was any arrogance involved on his part. I was just a little unsure about the image people might have in their minds as to what differentiates the intermediate from the advanced, the advanced from the expert skier.
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I am in total agreement with PG. What is normal to one person is certainly far beyond normal to others.
We have had discussions on what is extreme and what is steep before and I think that what comes out of it is that for each individual, it differs. In the same way, somebody asked me if I ski stuff that if you fall, you die and I instantly replied NO. Having reflected on it I now realise that while I don't think I would die if I fell on some stufff I ski, an inexperienced skier might.
Its the same with reaction times and the Agassi example is perfect. The same applies to batsmen facing top class speed bowlers or race car drivers. Which leads me to a story to illustrate!!! This was published in a reputable car magazine and finally put paid to my totally unrealistic dreams of becoming an F1 driver!
After Nikki Lauda stopped racing Ferrari gave him the last of a particular limited edition road car. He collected it with a journalist friend and they drove back to his home in Austria. At one point they were doing about 165mph and Lauda was discribing the handling to the journalist
"See how if you apply a little more power the back steps aout and how you can either catch it with the stearing or just balance it out with the throttle"> Not only was the guy deliberately sliding the car at 165 mph, he was showing off different ways of controlling it AND commentating at the same time! The journalist recorded, totally correctly, that almost anybody else would have spun off and died.
So why is that relevent? Because Lauda was using the same skills as expert skiers use, enhanced awareness and reaction times. The problem is that a fairly avaerage skier can travel at speeds approaching those of a top racer, moguls skier or extreme skier while on piste but not have those honed skills. This year my first day was skiing in trees and I was astonished at how slow I was and how hard I had to concentrate because I had "misplaced" my skills needed to ski fast through them. By day 3, it was back to normal and it was like skiing anywhere else (I remembered to look at the gaps , not the trees!!!).
Finally, to repeat and reinforce what I have said before, speed isn't a problem - inappropriate speed is. A trully expert skier is unlikely to have accidents not because of their skiing skill itself but because of heightened awareness and understanding of what is going on around them and using speed and direction appropriate to that.
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FAQ
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