The slow line

[ski diva]

For all those who confuse skiing fast with skiing well:

https://www.powder.com/stories/skiing-as-craft/take-it-slow/

 

[mustski]

I have always found it harder to ski slowly. I still struggle with that - speed makes cheating so easy. The ability to turn slowly and perfectly while still looking smooth is - well artistry!

 

[contesstant]

Boy, what a good article! Yes, skiing slowly and with precision is really hard, but really satisfying IF you take the time to do it and work on it all the time. So many quotes in that article I think a lot of people can relate to!

 

[liquidfeet]

I think of skiing slowly as like riding a bike slowly; it takes better balance to stay upright while moving when you go slow. I wish I could do a track stand on a bike, staying upright while stopped at a traffic light without putting down a foot.

Skiing very very slowly is difficult for the same reason; momentum is not strong enough to stabilize you as you move. You have to stabilize yourself.

 

[nopoleskier]

Definitely usually harder to ski slowly vs fast. Learn to finish your turns and ski well slowly then increase speed.

Some may never want to go fast and then there's those that do ski well fast because they did learn how and can ski slowly..

 

[SkiBam]

Agree totally with this slow stuff. So many people truly believe they're skiing well simply because they're going fast.

 

[newboots]

I’m still approaching the joys of going fast. Speed feels like a lack of control, which is scary, so I usually keep on the slow side unless there is a flat trail ahead. When I go fast for the flats, it’s exhilarating, but I don’t have to worry about stopping. I don’t have much practice stopping when I’m at speed. I think that’s the next drill for me: getting much more confident at hockey stops. Then I’ll be more confident with speed!

 

[EeveeCanSki]

I’m still approaching the joys of going fast. Speed feels like a lack of control, which is scary, so I usually keep on the slow side unless there is a flat trail ahead. When I go fast for the flats, it’s exhilarating, but I don’t have to worry about stopping. I don’t have much practice stopping when I’m at speed. I think that’s the next drill for me: getting much more confident at hockey stops. Then I’ll be more confident with speed!

This could be me right now! I do appreciate what some momentum and an appropriate pitch can do for me but it will be a while before I hit higher speeds. Right now I'm having a great time building skills and enjoying refining things at a mellow pace--my instructors are taking that approach with me even as I am approaching more intermediate skills and steeper pitches. On the upside too, using good technique and form makes you look like you're going faster than you really are.

 

[Christy]

Ha! Well clearly that's why I'm not a great skier--I'm pretty slow, so the degree of difficulty is just so high for me. Yup that's it.

 

[newboots]

@EeveeCanSki - I think we derailed the intent of this thread! Oops.
I do hope to be a capable slow skier one of these days, making beautiful C turns down even steep slopes!

 

[VTsnowflower]

I love the concept of "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" in the article. I've always been interested in graceful turns over speed. This winter in various clinics I've been working a lot on the "slow", breaking down the turns into the components. Afterwards, you wonder if you can ski anymore. But it starts to build back up into something better than you started with.