Ok, now for something different......who does NOT like to ski fast and why?

Your helmet has paint on it.  It can't be trusted anymore.

I know!  It's a wonder I'm still alive.

I've hurt myself worst going quick. I also enjoy going quick and the fact I can hurt myself badly doing so makes it quite a thrill. I'll usually do a couple of seriously fast runs and that's me for the day.

Then I'll mix it up and concentrate on my technique, nagging my daughter on her technique, or just ambling about looking for interesting terrain to play with.

I ski a variety of speeds. Skiing fast is alot of fun. But dialing down the speed and feeling the skis work can also be fun. Skiing trees is a blast and I rarely ski fast in the forest.

I am a physical theraapist so I work with injured people all day long.  Since my career is dedicated to helping people get back on their feet, I know how much we all take for granted and how quickly our lot in life can change.  Without a doubt skiing is my favorite thing to do in life.  I love the cold, the snow, the mountains, the crisp fresh air, the majestic views, the free feeling, the challenge of skiing and I will be damned if I will let my ego or poor decision making take away the thing in this world that I love the most.  I'm not old but I realize that I am not a kid anymore either.  I understand the inherent danger of skiing and I am willing to accept that because of the joy that skiing brings to me.  I have learned that you should never fear the mountain but you must always respect it.  The second you stop respecting the mountain, you are going to find yourself in a world of trouble.  Life is too short to risk what you love doing just because you want to go a little bit faster.  I am rarely the first one to the bottom but you will be hard pressed to find someone that enjoys and appreciates each run more than me.

Enjoy the 2009-2010 ski season and stay safe!

The only time I was ever injured enough to put me out of skiing for a short period I was only going about 4 or 5 mph.  I hit rock hard refrozen when I landed flat on my back learning to do pole flips.  I gotta say it usually hurts more to fall going slow than going fast assuming you don't collide with something other than the ground.

I like the thrill and fast response decision making of pushing the limit, but there's also something to be said for taking your time to find all the different terrain options available on a run.  It depends on the mood I'm in at the time, but any particular run can be different depending on the path you take down it.  Maybe it helps keep familiar runs fresh.

People using crutches and walkers pass me when I ski...

That's because when you are going slow, it's usually on flat terrain and you end up falling flat.

IMO, falling at speed is not neccesarily dangerous in and of itself. The danger comes from the slide that happens after the fall and not being able to stop your momentum before you hit something or someone in your path. Your skill on skis is irrelevant once you fall down at a high rate of speed. At that point, you are simply a sack of potatos sliding down the hill, with very little control over anything. Self-arresting works only if you have the time, space, and mental presence to react quickly before plowing into something. Non-controlled runs lined with trees and other skiers is not the best place to fall at speed. FIS mandates safety nets for a reason.They don't tell skiers to self-arrest because they know it's a hopeless situation. By the time you get your pole in place(assuming they are still attached to your body), you are already in the trees.  Trees and skiers don't mix.
 
 

Edited by MojoMan - 10/27/09 at 8:48am

I love to ski fast and make as many turns as possible on a given run. Although I must admit as I have gotten older my turns have gotten bigger and therefore there are fewer of them. Just can't muscle small turns all day. For the past seven years I have taught my 2 boys how to ski and this has made me ski slower and mostly switch. This has taught me to enjoy certain terrain more than I would have whilst blowing by at 20-30 mph. I now look for any variation to play off of, etc.

Speed is also dictated by my location and conditions (duh). I find that I ski faster in the West than I do on a small mountain in the Catskills. It hurts less to land on soft snow than it does to bounce off of an ice-capped mogul.

 Are you online now?

 

Your head is only rated to 12 mph. Skiing at 20 mph without a helmet can be just as fatal.

Helmets aren't rated over 20mph either.  So, if you come into contact with an inanimate object at over 20mph, with your head, wearing a helmet, you will still be in trouble.  All a helmet does is slightly lessen the severity of a head injury.  Helmets do offer a sense of false security, I can blast down the trail at mach 1 and be invincible...nonsense.

I always loved skiing with lots of turns and have recognized that skiing fast is a weakness. A couple of years ago I bought a GS race ski and have incorporated fast skiing days (usually mornings when there are no crowds). Amazingly I got more comfortable at speed and I now I have no problem keeping up with some of the faster regulars at my local hill. The problem is that I am never truly comfortable at speed and I think that will not change.

You could say that I tolerate fast skiing, but I can keep it up for only so long before I need to just freaking relax.