Foo goes skiing. Sartorial disaster?

[jrd617]



Also, when exactly did 90% of people start wearing helmets? I'm not that old, though I went a few years without skiing in the middle of the decade. In the early 2000s, it was mostly children wearing helmets. Heck, we weren't even required to wear helmets when racing slalom--just a chin guard. Now it seems truly unusual not to wear them. A lift operator even commented on how I wasn't wearing one last year ("oh, tough guy without a helmet, huh?"). Are head injuries really that common? Based on anecdotal experience, at least, it doesn't seem like it. Not one of my friends or teammates has ever hit their head. In fact, I've never even heard of such an injury by word of mouth. You'd think that if skiing were so dangerous, then some friend of a friend would have, at some point, had a head injury. I'm all about rational safety measures, but I can't help but suspect that helmet companies are just feeding the social amplification of risk in this case.

POC popularized the "cool" ski helmet about five years ago (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/201776)

There are a lot more US skiers now than there were five years ago (11.5 million vs. 10.3 million in 2006). So there are more collisions. Also have to factor in snowboarders, where the numbers have also increased. (8.2 million vs. 6.8 million in 2006). I hate to say it, but many snowboards are reckless on groomers. They swerve all over the place with no regard for families, beginners, etc.

Also, skiing is a much more "extreme" sport than it was just five years ago. Recreational and professional skiers are pushing the limits in the backcountry and in the terrain park. High profile deaths have highlighted the need for head protection. Natasha Richardson (skied without a helmet on a BUNNY HILL), Shane McConkey, CR Johnson, Jamie Pierre, Sarah Burke Sonny Bono, Michael Kennedy, Doug Coombs, ... the list goes on and on

 

[yarnsforth]

"In the early 1940s, skiwear became more streamlined due to the fabric shortages of the war. This trend continued into the late 40s, when ski pants, now more commonly made from wool gabardine, became much slimmer, and often had zippers in the lower legs to allow for better movement on the slopes.

Gabardine ski suits were often two-tone, and the jacket was commonly reversible with one side matching and the other side contrasting with the pants.

Colors during the late 1930s through the end of the 40s were generally somber – browns, greys and dark blues – but were accented with bright yellows, oranges and reds."



The comments are from a history of women's sportswear, but by then women had begun "wearing ski trousers similar to those being worn by men."

 

[Dinhilion]



I started skiing a few months after I learned to walk, have been to most of the major mountains in North America, and used to ski 6 days/week in high school (slalom and giant slalom racing). I never wore anything but cotton as a base layer, except in the back country. Even racing (where we used ultra high speed tow ropes and could run the gates 45 times in a practice session), I never got very sweaty. Technical fabrics mostly matter if you're going to work your tail off getting up the mountain on foot, and then head down it at high speed, with the constant threat of getting stranded in the wilderness. If you're skiing bunny hills in-bounds, you're not going to need high tech synthetic textiles.

Also, when exactly did 90% of people start wearing helmets? I'm not that old, though I went a few years without skiing in the middle of the decade. In the early 2000s, it was mostly children wearing helmets. Heck, we weren't even required to wear helmets when racing slalom--just a chin guard. Now it seems truly unusual not to wear them. A lift operator even commented on how I wasn't wearing one last year ("oh, tough guy without a helmet, huh?"). Are head injuries really that common? Based on anecdotal experience, at least, it doesn't seem like it. Not one of my friends or teammates has ever hit their head. In fact, I've never even heard of such an injury by word of mouth. You'd think that if skiing were so dangerous, then some friend of a friend would have, at some point, had a head injury. I'm all about rational safety measures, but I can't help but suspect that helmet companies are just feeding the social amplification of risk in this case.

Ya I haven't gone in about 6 or 7 years and that comment shocked me. That being said, a helmet saved me a lot of damage when I hit ice in a glade and slammed my head into a tree.

 

[Bradford]



Bradford, given your familiarity with Vail and thinking ahead about Foof's upcoming trip, what color cast should he get at the middle of the first day?
I'm thinking classic white. Good for cool sigs, and will really show off those Transformers stickers.
Thoughts?

I don't know, a pink cast would definitely stand out...

bradford, you look very handsome in that picture. I was going to add "no ****" but the more I look at it, I wonder ...

Uh, thanks?

 

[comrade]



So, I'm going to Vail this weekend. Skiing for the first time since childhood--not good then, don't expect to be good now. Had to buy new clothes. Have no idea what I'm doing. Too coordinated? Concerned I will look too much like one of the X-Men, but the yellow gloves were too good to be true.

Yellow gloves might save your life in an avalanche.

 

[jrd617]



Yellow gloves might save your life in an avalanche.

 

[comrade]



I think Rubinacci should be consulted on this question.....

The cut of the armholes ease the descent.

 

[cptjeff]



Ya I haven't gone in about 6 or 7 years and that comment shocked me. That being said, a helmet saved me a lot of damage when I hit ice in a glade and slammed my head into a tree.

Come ski out east a few times. You'll master dealing with ice quickly enough- it's not hard if you know how to use your edges.

Of course, I'm also pretty damn good on skates, and have been skiing in fairly icy conditions on expert slopes since about 8, so easy for me doesn't necessarily translate to most others.

 

[Dinhilion]



Come ski out east a few times. You'll master dealing with ice quickly enough- it's not hard if you know how to use your edges.
Of course, I'm also pretty damn good on skates, and have been skiing in fairly icy conditions on expert slopes since about 8, so easy for me doesn't necessarily translate to most others.

That was at Gore. And it wasn't really a glade, more of a path wide enough for one person that took a 75 deg turn. The turn itself was solid ice. By the time I went to dig in I had already hit the tree. My head slammed into the tree, I bounced off, fell down, and promptly got run over by the person behind me. Not my best skiing moment.

 

[Mr Knightly]

Yeah, anyone can struggle on ice if it surprises you. The worst was always the end of the day on an eastern mountain that had gotten a few inches overnight. It starts off nice and soft, but by the end of the day it's pretty well scraped off in places. The light starts getting flat and you can't see the snow very well. You start of on an easy, floating turn through some soft stuff, and all of a sudden you're on ice and you have hardly any pressure or your edge. Add to the mix the fact that the skis you're wearing for a recreational day with fresh snow have probably not been sharpened as religiously (or with as sharp of a bevel) as your "go fast" skis, and you can easily lose control.

 

[imatlas]



As a skier and a mafoofan fan, I look forward to the One Goggle thread to come.

Edit: Damn autocorrect. Google --> Goggle

I've long been on a quest for the One Boot for all my snowsports: alpine, nordic, half-assed tele, randonnee. Alas, every such attempt is a lame compromise at best, so I have a closet full of specialized boots.

 

[NAMOR]

Semi on topic: beautiful day at Northstar

 

[cptjeff]



That was at Gore. And it wasn't really a glade, more of a path wide enough for one person that took a 75 deg turn. The turn itself was solid ice. By the time I went to dig in I had already hit the tree. My head slammed into the tree, I bounced off, fell down, and promptly got run over by the person behind me. Not my best skiing moment.

Ouch. Yeah, that sounds like a problem.

Yeah, anyone can struggle on ice if it surprises you. The worst was always the end of the day on an eastern mountain that had gotten a few inches overnight. It starts off nice and soft, but by the end of the day it's pretty well scraped off in places. The light starts getting flat and you can't see the snow very well. You start of on an easy, floating turn through some soft stuff, and all of a sudden you're on ice and you have hardly any pressure or your edge. Add to the mix the fact that the skis you're wearing for a recreational day with fresh snow have probably not been sharpened as religiously (or with as sharp of a bevel) as your "go fast" skis, and you can easily lose control.

See, these are the conditions I learned in, on rental skis. I'm more threatened by hitting honest to god powder than I am hitting ice.

The one accident I've ever actually been injured in (the aforementioned AC separation) was in that low light, and for some unknown reason, there was a giant chunk of ice in the middle of the slope. Snowman head size, I still have no idea where it came from. I didn't see it until too late, hit it and went flying. The only other time I've ever been close to injury was a big spill where I wound up rolling down the slope, and my ski didn't come off. I got lucky as hell on that one, my leg could have been destroyed. I've never even come close a situation where a helmet would have been useful. Thought the bluetooth speakers mentioned upthread could be nice.

 

[eg1]

Since most base-layer tops are crew-neck, you may need one of these: http://www.hanksclothing.com/dickie_neck_warmer_with_turtleneck...ganka_buy.html

 

[Manton]

I was much better able to handle powder than ice. Powder is a joy. True powder in the Sierras almost never happens. You have to be there literally as the snow falls and it doesn't last.

But I had some spectacular powder runs in Colo and Utah.