by Harald » Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:13 pm
NCN
Thanks, I think a piece on how to watch the WC by event would be very appropriate and will be in my new book. I was at Winter Park today watching the Nor Am race, women?s slalom. The field had at least 5 world cup slalom winners and fifteen world cup regulars in it.
The winner was Gerg from Germany, skiing on the Head slaloms, by-the-way. Also a Swiss woman was in the mix at the top, also on Head skis.
Since slalom is much closer to the skiing most recreational skiers do, (shorter turns, bumps, speed control) on most mountains, most of PMTS is focused on the needs for a slalom type turn.
Today?s slalom skiers are traveling at about thirty to thirty five miles per hour, most recreational skiers ski between twenty and thirty. We actually did a speed gun test to verify these speeds. You have to remember the better skiers are skiing faster than thirty as that is the (descending rate vertical feet per second) at the speed gun, rather then the rate of speed actually carrying the skier in the turns.
Giant Slalom speeds are forty MPH often approaching and exceeding forty-five mph, this is not what regular skiers do and it?s not appropriate to base recreational skier techniques on speeds and forces generated by WC skiers at those speeds. Super G and DH speeds are ridicules, so let?s not go there. Even in 1970, my average speed in the Lake Louis DH was sixty miles per hour.
When you see Super G and DH skiers much of the wide stance is used to get the CG lower for aerodynamic needs, rather then for technical reasons.
The women we saw today were terrific. One of the junior racers we have been doing boot alignment for the last two years (who is now on the US Ski Team) actually beat some world cup racers today by placing sixth. This was very exciting of everyone.
The trend is definitely toward narrower stances, both in transition and while on edge or angled, vertical separation is more important than horizontal which I have been advocating since the beginning of shaped skis, more so now than when I wrote my first book.
This tells me that WC skiers have evolved and understand better now how to achieve more pressure under the skis, rather than just using the shape to go faster. Remember how extremely wide some of the early WC racers on shaped skis skied in slalom. I was always anti this approach. The narrower stance skiers were always faster, but some of the wide stance skiers were more consistent, risk vs. reward.
Not any more, as there are too many skiers skiing narrower and making the finish, so the wide stance skiers can?t afford the steady, stable approach any longer. We have to keep in mind narrow by these standards is six to twelve inches horizontal, wide is eighteen to twenty four inches. Some skiers have to stand this wide, due to their boot alignment.
The skiers at this level are all balance geniuses. If a ski system can teach skiing that includes more capability with balance, then regular skiers will achieve higher performance, that?s the goal even for low or beginning skiers with the PMTS system. We have developed this methodology so it can be fun, safe and productive. Are any of you having fun yet?
I will stop here, as I don?t want to give it all away before the book comes out.
"Maximum Skiing information, Minimum BS