speed?

[mav]

How fast do you like to ski?
A friend of mine went skiing recently and uses an app that measures a bunch of cool stuff including speed - his fastest run was 102 km/ph (about 63 mph)
I still get nervous when I ski fast - I cannot imagine skiing at that speed!
Are you comfortable with speed?

 

[abc]

Are you comfortable with speed?

Nope

 

[Jilly]

Very....except if its crowded. Then I'll slow down. On Friday next to the instructor I was the fastest of the group I was with. And the only female!

 

[mustski]

Speed is pretty relative. Lately, I have noticed a preference for skiing "the fast line, slow." I used to be a little bit of a speed devil, mainly from chasing my guys around the mountain. One of the advantages of having boots that don't fit well is that they forced me to slow down and focus more on technique. I am kind of enjoying the slower speeds.

 

[climbingbetty]

Nope

+1

 

[KatyPerrey]

Faster, faster, faster till the thrill of speed overcomes your fear of death!!

 

[abc]

Well, I should clarify.

I just don't get the "rush" of speed. We're all made differently. I happen not to get that speed rush, at least not on straight runs. Since I get no special enjoyment with speed, I have no great motivation taking the risk for no reason.

Give me a curve, I get a huge rush of adrenalin going at the maximum speed at the edge of traction. Or brushing by a tree at a relatively hair-raising speed of 10 mph (trust me, 10 mph felt scary fast when you miss a tree by 6")! But straight lining doesn't do a thing for me.

I even enjoy carving nice arcs on wide open runs. But I'm quite often still the last one to the bottom because I take the longest path.

Oh yeah, there's also a chicken and egg thing in play here. Because I don't care for high speed, my choice of skis reflects that too. So when I do need to go straight fast (like trying to keep up with a group), I hit the skis' speed limit.

 

[SkiBilly]

No, I'm terrifired! I don't like going fast...on skies or a bike. My max speed would be at most, on a good day with perfect conditions, 30 (-40?) km on skies and I wouldn't ride faster than 20 -30 km on a bike as it's further to fall. I don't get a rush from speed; I would go insane on a rollercoaster. However, I do get loads of endorphins from exercise...even when I take the dog out for a walk.

 

[patoswiss]

I like speed while carving, straight line speed isn't as fun for me. The rush of keeping the edge on the turn is thrilling. Yesterday SkiTracks said I hit 52km/h and right now that is plenty fast for me. That was probably on a easy straight when I was trying to catch up with my husband.

A reason I just bought new skis is I can trust them to stop! I didn't feel the trust in my old skis so kept my speed down because I wasn't sure if they would stop in less than ideal conditions.

 

[Jilly]

I'm with Katy. Every so often the brain takes over and mentions that this could hurt if something goes wrong.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I'm with Katy. Every so often the brain takes over and mentions that this could hurt if something goes wrong.

+1. For me, that seems to be at around 41-42.
That's my "do NOT SCREW UP" speed.
And I rarely sustain it for more than a short period of time!

 

[Jilly]

That's my "do NOT SCREW UP" speed.

Yup...Did one of those at my "Pushing your Limits" session on Friday. But that was the idea!

 

[dianakate]

I don't use an app to track my speed, but I do enjoy going fast. Although I am also learning to ski bumps, which I surprisingly find I like.

 

[Perty]

Ha! Those darned ski apps. Usually some bloke you've been skiing with all day declares that he has hit some ridiculously high speed. Bollocks! My experience is that apps tend to overstate speed (something to do with the way GPS tracks you and has gaps I believe). I was told the other by a friend that he did 75mph on a run that I was on at the same time. Not a chance that that was accurate, as I know there was no way he was going that fast but it doesn't stop him boasting.
Men and technology! At risk of been sexist - It's the same mentality as those. (Men) who insist on using the sat nav when they know exactly where're they are going, and would rather take the sat nav's warped route down some narrow country lane when the signposts and their own knowledge would tell them it's not the right way. Hands up all who agree!

 

[Jenny]

DH just bought a garmin and has totally been using it for places we already know how to get to! Luckily (for me) it's giving him the right directions.

 

[alicie]

I'm not a fast skier but I'm not slow either. I'm very controlled. I don't mind speed but I'm just not a fast skier. I'd like to go a faster but it doesn't work very well.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Hands up all who agree!

Some do seem outrageously inaccurate!
The only number I believe was the one time I was actually radar-clocked with a "gun" being used to train new users for the local race teams. They asked for a "few volunteers." Why not.

 

[Pequenita]

Ha! Those darned ski apps. Usually some bloke you've been skiing with all day declares that he has hit some ridiculously high speed. Bollocks! My experience is that apps tend to overstate speed (something to do with the way GPS tracks you and has gaps I believe). I was told the other by a friend that he did 75mph on a run that I was on at the same time. Not a chance that that was accurate, as I know there was no way he was going that fast but it doesn't stop him boasting.

Indeed.

A lot of apps are inaccurate because they haven't figured out how to take terrain/3 dimensions into account and translate that into actual distance traveled accurately. Really the only way to figure out accurate velocity is to use a radar gun, as MSL said, and how many of us actually have access to one of those??

 

[litterbug]

I like speed while carving, straight line speed isn't as fun for me. The rush of keeping the edge on the turn is thrilling.

That's me. I'm only starting to get a sense of what skiing the "slow line fast" is like, and every once in a while my heart goes "boom, boom" when I feel that sensation of edge engagement or whatever it is toward the middle/bottom of the turn. Yummy!

One reason I don't love straight-lining it is the all-too-recent memory of dramatic falls from caught edges or crossed tips. As time passes and I get more confidence in what I call the "directional integrity" of my skis I'll be more comfortable, but I really like turning these days, so I'm in no hurry to go fast for the sake of it.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

I love speed on occasion, when the conditions are good and slopes not crowded. I am starting to ski bumps a lot, so go really slow in those, but opening it up on a nice steep groomer can be super fun. This season I have boots that have a bit of a softer flex and I feel like I can't necessarily go superfast all the time because of that, but also I am focusing on developing solid technique on all terrain, so speed is not a priority at this point, it's more of a bonus. I guess I am more cautious sometimes because I want to avoid injuries. @dianakate skis really fast, I can attest to that.