Speed, Winter Olympics Style

"willkinton247" (willkinton247) 02/18/2014 at 08:20 • Filed to: Winter Olympics, Bobsled, Skiing, Luge, Skeleton, Ski Jump

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From Smarter Every Day, my favorite YouTube Channel out there. These speeds are actually pretty mind boggling. I could not imagine going 96 MPH on a pair of skis.

davedave1111 > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 08:31

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If you're a fairly competent skier, you might be surprised to realise how close to 96mph you've got. You only have to point your skis straight down the mountain for a couple of hundred metres or so. Difference is, people like you and me will have done it on e.g. a long straight schuss to flat, whereas the DH racers are doing it halfway down the mountain before making some more turns/jumps.

spanfucker retire bitch > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 08:33

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That's not even an average speed. That's the speed ONE player in the NHL can reach with a wind-up slapshot (as in, he skates into it).

You'll never see a slapshot that fast during an actual game - even from Zdeno Chara.

willkinton247 > davedave1111 02/18/2014 at 08:33

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I am nowhere near competent (read: ballsy) enough to get to those speeds. I haven't had a huge number of opportunities to ski, so I'm definitely a novice.

Stupidru > spanfucker retire bitch 02/18/2014 at 08:43

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I was going to say "BS" but you beat me to it. In a typical game you may see 90+ though

willkinton247 > spanfucker retire bitch 02/18/2014 at 08:51

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I mean it says "Maximum recorded speeds." I have seen a few slapshots in the low 100's.

I suppose someone could make an infographic with averages, but that requires more work and graphic skills that I don't have.

Sir Halffast > spanfucker retire bitch 02/18/2014 at 09:08

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It's not a fair comparison anyway because it's a hockey puck. All the rest are technically "vehicles" of some sort, in the sense that they are personal conveyance. No one that I'm aware of rides a hockey puck at any speed.

davedave1111 > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 09:10

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Well, if you're only just learning it's a bit different. Even so, it's a bit like that Clarkson line about how it's not speed that kills, but stopping suddenly. It's not hard to go fast on skis as long as you don't have to change direction or stop :)

spanfucker retire bitch > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 09:11

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I don't think that 113 came from the Olympics though. IIRC, that was the record shot from Zdeno Chara during an NHL All-Star Game.

However, you are right. I missed the "maximum recorded speed" part of it. I apologize for that.

willkinton247 > davedave1111 02/18/2014 at 09:13

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Yep. Been learning since I was a kid. I'd really like to go more though.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111 02/18/2014 at 09:24

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I'd love to get a proper speedo when I go skiing. I'm pretty competent, but there's no real way to judge your absolute speed.

I was thinking something between 40 and 60mph, but that's a complete guess.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 09:47

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Unless it's the brazilian Bobsled team.

willkinton247 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/18/2014 at 09:51

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that looks like it hurt...a lot.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 11:40

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It actually didn't, I guess, as the two women walked out scot free and are, in fact, on TV right now talking about the accident.

BarryDanger > davedave1111 02/18/2014 at 12:10

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I've gone 81mph and that seemed to be about terminal velocity for me. At that point my helmet, pants, jacket etc were working as a parachute for me. That's assuming Ski Tracks app is accurate.

davedave1111 > BarryDanger 02/18/2014 at 17:25

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Sounds about right. If you're skiing in a t-shirt, you'll get another few MPH, probably, and it also depends on how good your tuck position is, what the snow conditions are like, the length of your skis and the wax...

davedave1111 > willkinton247 02/18/2014 at 17:28

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Yeah, I've never met anyone who didn't want to ski more often :)

It's amazing how much difference skiing every day makes, as well. A lot of what feels like technique deficiency turns out to be muscular, and when you use the specific muscles more often everything gets much more solid.

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 02/18/2014 at 17:36

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I've never skied with a spedometer myself, but I've got a pretty good idea from a number of different sources that tie together. I've skied with people who have skied in timed, speed-checked races, so they had a pretty good idea how fast we were going. I also used to have a pretty accurate speedo on my bike, and I know what 70 mph downhill feels like. And if you've ever stuck your hand out of a car window at 90 mph, you know what that feels like. And I've had it all confirmed by people using the recent GPS trackers.

40 to 60 is low for a top speed, although it's about right as a normal speed for people taking it fairly easy. Anyone better than a complete beginner is going to be doing at least 30.

davedave1111 > Sir Halffast 02/18/2014 at 17:37

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Any idea what's the top speed hockeyists reach on the ice?

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111 02/18/2014 at 18:11

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I'm definitely far from a beginner. Comfortably take black runs at speed, so based on what you've said I should be going well above 60mph.

Boss :)

On a side note, no wonder people break limbs so frequently while skiing.

Sir Halffast > davedave1111 02/18/2014 at 19:47

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The skaters themselves? I can't imagine much more than sprinting speed. Speedskaters on purpose-built skates still only top at 35ish.

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 02/19/2014 at 07:15

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For a top speed? Definitely.

Broken limbs are also suprisingly rare in skiing - snowboarding gets lots of broken wrists etc. Muscle and ligament tears are much more common. It's pretty amazing what you can get away with as long as you slide and roll, though - just as long as you don't stick in the snow or hit anything.

The worst crash I've ever seen was probably a friend of a friend on this:

(Should be a picture of Soldeu.)

Started falling at relatively low speed maybe halfway down (roughly where the pistes meet and diverge, I guess), but kept tumbling and sliding all the way to the bottom, gathering speed the whole way. Everyone on the mountain stopped to watch, was rushing to help - the bloodwagon guys flew over without being called - because it looked like certain hospitalisation. The guy who'd fallen walked/skied gingerly away. The medics insisted on checking him over, and apart from being a bit shaken he was entirely unharmed.

If you hit something, though, count yourself very lucky not to be injured. I once went backwards into a tree at full pelt, hard enough to burst the plastic bottle of water in my backpack - the water bottle probably saved my life, or at least my ability to walk. I'm not so crazy these days :)

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > davedave1111 02/19/2014 at 12:09

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Ouch. Nasty.

I've had a situation worryingly close to what happened to Schumacher actually. Me and a couple of uni mates were skiing off-piste just after a ton of snowfall. Absolutely beautiful conditions. Great sun, best snow I've ever skiied on. Really cool day.

At one point, my ski dug into the powder and I went head over heels pretty spectacularly, and I distinctly remember there being rocks poking up through the snow a couple of feet from my head.

Very, very glad I missed them and walked away unscathed. Wasn't wearing a helmet either. Will be next time I go.

willkinton247 > davedave1111 02/19/2014 at 14:29

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They can get up to about 25mph in a full sprint across the ice

davedave1111 > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 02/19/2014 at 19:32

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Yeah, that's where the surprising speed comes in. I generally ski much faster on-piste, and that's fine because there's usually nothing to hit. (I once did something stupid and skied down the icy piste-bashed path for a double button-lift, and about halfway down became very aware of why they have the big orange pads on any lift-poles you're likely to hit.)

Off-piste feels a lot slower, but you're still going more than fast enough to have real trouble if you are unlucky enough to hit a rock with your head. You have to be pretty unlucky, though.

I tried helmets a few years back, and they made me feel very unsafe. At the time I was dumb enough to think that meant they were more likely to make you have a serious accident than to save you from one, and that may be right. What I was missing back then is that it's a reason to find a better helmet, not a reason to ski bare-headed.

If you only ski on-piste, though, it's hard to say whether it's the best way to spend the money to ensure the best quality of life - it's a lot more likely you'll benefit from more expensive medical insurance which covers you for torn ligaments and so-on.

davedave1111 > Sir Halffast 02/19/2014 at 20:02

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Yeah, I guessed something like that. I was wondering what the speed difference was - whether they get to top speed and so-on. Someone else said top speed in hockey is about 25.