I had a bit of a “lightbulb” moment yesterday. I guess I’ve noticed the phenomena before, but yesterday it was particularly clear.
The weather forecast for this weekend in Hintertux was quite grim – rain low down, snow high up, cold and generally bleak. Skiing on the glacier wasn’t high on my activity wish list for the weekend, but we went up anyway “just to see what it’s like!”
I’m very glad we did… It was great!
It snowed all day, and, judging by the amount of fresh snow on piste, it must have snowed all night too. The pistes quickly became chopped up with firm bumps and heaps of soft snow. It was hard to tell if you were going to ski through a heap or bounce over a bump. Tricky when the visibility is good, more challenging when it’s difficult to see. Good technique and dynamic balance make it easier, add enthusiasm and confidence into the mix and it is FUN!
It was fantastic to fly, float and bounce through the snow – on piste or off piste it was all the same. So, it was surprising to notice that not everyone shared our enthusiasm.
In recent years, it seems that people are skiing quicker than before though not necessarily better. Skis are easier to use and pistes are prepared a). more regularly and b). more perfectly, resulting in a high percentage of people skiing very fast beyond their technical competence level.
But, yesterday the visibility was bad… It slowed everyone down. It exposed the pseudo-advanced skiers and highlighted what I miss if I ski when the pistes are busy. Normally, when there are a lot of people around I am looking in twenty different directions at the same time, I ski defensively, I am ready to jump out of the way of unguided/uncontrolled missiles at all times. Yesterday, I could dance and jump and float in my own space in my own time without feeling threatened by people who barely had control over their direction or speed. The feeling of freedom was great!
Bring on the bad weather!
