I was in Val D'Isere last week, and had a wander through the ski "museum" outside the fondue factory. Some great skis from my own skiing past, and then going further back generally straighter and longer....
They also had a series of old ski racing videos showing in the bar area.
Which got me thinking... If you had the very latest ski tech in slalom racing, and access to Doc's Delorian, how far back in time would you have to go before the difference between the latest ski tech on your feet and what was current then, would mean you could win a world cup slalom event?
A. As a journeyman "occasional top 30" pro racer
B. As a ski instructor who passed the equivalence
C. As a regular UK plastic slope racer
D. As a seaonaire / local with no real racing background
E. As a once a year British punter....
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
As an example of E - I would argue that it wouldn't happen.
Muscle tone / fitness / technique etc. would be more of an issue...
I would hope to get past a couple of flags but would then crash out...
Any of A-D I think could be viable
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?
It's not the kit - it's the physical conditioning, race sense, balance, power and neural plasticity. So A might be in with a chance, maybe B beyond that not much.
I could be on skis that literally skied themselves and wouldn't still make every gate (without major slowdowns) on a WC SL course.
so basically when they had 210cm wood skis, leather boots and cable bindings. Immediate post WW2. By the 1960s and the introduction of the Rossi Stratos and Look bindings they were getting too good.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Don't have to go too far back (1980s?) when safety meant bails of straw, which often frozen. Minimal slope preparation , too. And many of the classic courses have been reconfigured to reduce crashes. Many more spectacular wipeouts back then - try driving back to the future with a badly broken leg!
so basically when they had 210cm wood skis, leather boots and cable bindings. Immediate post WW2. By the 1960s and the introduction of the Rossi Stratos and Look bindings they were getting too good.
Yeah, it was that sort of video where I was thinking "I'd have a reasonable chance of not embarrassing myself there"
But how far would you have to go back before a ski instructor could live on the WC?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
From memory, the 1998-1999 season was when shaped skis started to be used for slalom but they were a bit longer than current ones, so pick the season before that.
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