What skiing on ICE teaches you!!!

Most skiers avoid ICE.

Just the sound of the word brings shivers to some!

Just the sound of it on the slopes makes some,,,,go back to chalet!

But ice is a great teacher!

You should not avoid it!


Here is why!

Skiing on ice will make you a better skier FAST or else you will have many blue spots!

Ice is a task master with no tolerance for "sloppy", cheater, lazy skiers! Make a mistake and zap,,, you are on the mat!

Ice teaches you;
-to be soft on edges even when going at 70 km.
-to think well ahead
-to turn softly with easy grace
-to never but never lean back
-to go to bathroom before skiing
-to learn how to tune skis
-to feel ski edges as they bite into slope
-to listen to skis ( your turns do make special sound)
-to know 5 types of ice ( from the ice/blue plated ice,,,to the soft melting spring ice )
-to know your fear level
-to know your maturity level
-to know your speed tolerance


It can be ,for you a great teacher,,if you allow ice to teach you how to ski!
Do not avoid it,,,let it in your "skiing experience"

Just never try to dominate it ! It will always win !

A friend of ice,
Pavel

I really did forget the very most important aspect of what ice teaches us!

Ice is the very best "diagnostic" tool to determine the extend of your knee problem!

If you have some form of osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) you will feel every undulation of the surface, every crack, cut, bump since they will be magnified 100 times!

You will feel the vibrations in your teeth!

Now if you have some form of ligament tear,,,,well now you will have another sensation! Your body will go one way (in the turn) and skis will go another way (perhaps with you,,perhaps with ice) !
You will feel a play,,,a loose interface with boots!

Now if you have serious ACL tear,,,,,the symptoms while skiing on ice will be evident! Take 5 razor blades. Insert them on the medial side of the knee and try to place the most sharp most pointed edges near the nerves! Now go and ski!
Every turn will be associated with 5 cuts,,digging into knee nerve! You may see white stars from pain. You may feel weak from pain. Do not worry soon knee will be numb and so will your brain!

All of these "sensations" are messages to you to not quit skiing,,but see a physician and get knee replacements! The sooner the better! Too much great skiing left to do!

Hope this helps some of you get surgery right away!

Pavel

Ice teaches you;
-to go to bathroom before skiing

Doesn't make any difference, Pavel!

I too enjoy skiing on ice. It maintains one's respect for technique, and how gentle skiing can be effective.

I spent, pretty much, the last two thirds of the season skiing on ice, at first it was :shock: by the end of the seasn it was 8)

It was a valuable learning experience, and ice simply does not phase me now - I had no choice but to learn all on your list Pavel. :D

Ice is but another ski surface ..... just do it :shock:

You're not wrong Ian.
And lets face it ice is better than grass.

Ian,
It is more than "just a surface" !
It is a challenge
It is a "male ritual of passage from childhood to manhood"
It is a "springboard for Icarus"
In short it separates the men from the boys ( yes the great women skiers also)

Ian,,one turn on ice is the equivalent of 4 hours of "bragging' at the bar about how great you were today"

Ice teaches humility!
Ice teaches honesty!
Ice teaches "fragility"
Ice teaches "patience"

May the ice be with you Ian!

Pavel

pavelski wrote:Ian,
It is more than "just a surface" !
It is a challenge
It is a "male ritual of passage from childhood to manhood"
It is a "springboard for Icarus"
In short it separates the men from the boys ( yes the great women skiers also)

Ian,,one turn on ice is the equivalent of 4 hours of "bragging' at the bar about how great you were today"

Ice teaches humility!
Ice teaches honesty!
Ice teaches "fragility"
Ice teaches "patience"

May the ice be with you Ian!

Pavel

No fear of ice here Pavel in fact I enjoy the challenge of skiing around the fallen :wink:
Well to be fair I do normally stop and help them up :lol: