One thing I’ve noticed recently is just how many people massively overestimate their skiing ability.
And I don’t mean beginners. Beginners are fine. They’re learning, they’re falling over, they’re generally doing their best.
I’m talking about the people who can absolutely bomb down a piste but couldn’t make ten decent turns if their life depended on it.
You see them everywhere. Skis bouncing around, weight in the backseat, barely holding an edge. Usually going far too fast for the conditions, but because they’ve made it to the bottom without crashing, they think they’re the man.
They’re not.
I’ve spent years teaching skiing and snowboarding, and I reckon speed is one of the worst measures of someone’s ability. It’s incredibly easy to go fast on skis. You just point them downhill. The hard part is actually being able to do something with them.
The Problem Isn’t Bad Skiing
Plenty of people have bad technique. Who cares? We’re all learning, and nobody looks particularly graceful every minute they’re on the mountain.
It’s when people take their fairly limited ability and make it everyone else’s problem.
We’ve all seen them. Flying down a busy piste, passing people far too closely, then getting pissed off when someone turns in front of them.
What the f**K did you expect?
People turn when they’re skiing. Sometimes they turn left, sometimes they turn right. That’s quite literally what they’re there to do.
If you’re coming from behind, it’s your responsibility to avoid them. Not theirs to somehow predict that you’re approaching at 50 mph and get out of your way.
And the fact that you managed to squeeze through a gap between two people doesn’t mean you’re talented. It means you took a stupid risk and got away with it.
I think that’s what bothers me most. It’s not even the bad technique. It’s the complete lack of awareness that comes with it.
Want to Know How Good You Actually Are?
Forget how fast you can get down a red run. Try skiing the same run slowly, making clean, controlled turns without constantly accelerating.
Can you make short turns down a steep section without traversing halfway across the piste? Can you deal with moguls without looking for an escape route? Can you change your line halfway through a turn because somebody’s appeared below you?
What about chopped-up snow, ice or a narrow section where you can’t just let the skis run?
None of this means you need to be brilliant at every type of terrain. But being able to control your speed, turn shape and direction is a far better indication of ability than how quickly you reach the bottom.
Watch a genuinely good skier and it’s immediately obvious. They can carve, skid, make short turns, change their line, deal with rubbish snow. They can ski fast, obviously, but they don’t have to.
And yes, snowboarders do exactly the same thing. I’m not pretending we’re any better.
There’s Nothing Wrong With Going Fast
I love riding fast. There’s nothing wrong with it, and some of the best days I’ve had on snow have involved riding pretty freaking quickly.
But there’s a difference between skiing fast because you’re good enough to do it and skiing fast because you haven’t figured out how to slow down properly.
If you’re regularly having to make emergency stops, narrowly avoiding other people or getting angry because someone turned in front of you, you’re not in control. Doesn’t matter how good you think your technique is.
The mountain isn’t a racecourse, and other people aren’t obstacles for you to dodge.
Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of people who don’t seem to understand that.
Rant over.
