The Wisconsin Skier

Right now I am watching the downhill portion of the Men’s super-combined ski event. The reason I do not flag this as an Olympics related post is because I want to focus more on the idea of the physical conditioning required for downhill skiing.

Watch those Olympic skiers and watch them when they come to a stop, they are a huffing and a puffing!
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A couple of weeks ago writing of ski crashes I wrote:

I do a little self check first and if all checks out I pop up quickly so the ski patrol is not scrambling or people do not worry about myself. I pick up my gear, reassemble it all, click back, and fall back in line for my the next chair ride.

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One of the things that is important for a good day of skiing is a good breakfast.

Too often, we all skip breakfast in a dash out the door. Sometimes when skiing we stay up too late and that leads to staying in bed too late and rushing off to the slopes the next morning.
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Let me issue the following statement before I proceed: I know the inventor and patent holder of the The Kwik Strap.

That said, I will now talk about the Kwik Strap.

Those of us who ski small hills have short ski times, even the slow runs on my home hill are over very quickly and then I’m repeating the process of unstrapping the poles from my hands, in the lift line, riding up, getting off the lift, and then restrapping my poles to my hands.
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Skiing to Maintain Our Health!

Most often when we talk about downhill skiing and health we talk about injuries. However, skiers know downhill skiing is an active sport; this may surprise some, after all most of the energy harnessed in downhill skiing is gravitational. The non-skier may assume skiing takes the same amount of exercise as falling into one’s easy chair.

Well since you are reading this article, I assume you know that is FALSE! Downhill skiing is a physically active sport. While it is true, most of a skier’s speed comes from gravity to harness gravity enjoyably and safely requires physical exertion. Staying up requires athletic balance, avoiding obstacles, skiing bumps, running gates require split second timing, planning a route down the hill requires planning, and if a skier has to move over flat or uphill terrain they must provide the required energy. Skiing requires more exertion than plopping down in front of the TV with a sixpack of one’s favorite beverage.
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Popularity: 13% [?]