Winter Olympics 2022

[Adolf Allerbush]

Like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYj9kIxAL_o

or this

[altasnob]

Rhalves grew up skiing mank in CA surrounded by the Tahoe scene. My brother grew up Eric Pollard at Hood. Pollard was a pretty good racer. Not US Ski Team elite but one of the better racers in the PNW in his youth. Jon Olsson comes to mind as someone who could do it all. I've never been impressed with the clips I've seen Bode Miller try to ski powder.

[Conundrum]

I guess Travis Ganong only finished 20th.



And the gold medal guy probably can't bend a ski...

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Just like track and field, the sprinters can't run a fast 5,000 meters any more. They're all garbage now.

[altasnob]

The west coast ski scene appreciates big mountain skills. That's why you will see CA racers who can freeski. The Euro guys would never even try. They think big mountain powder skiing is lame. They sit in the lodge all day and go out for their race runs and a few training runs. Obviously the Alps are amazing freesking mountains that produces amazing big mountain skiers, but it's not world cup racers. Those guys are more into moto sports.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

So let me try to understand this. The men and women who make a good living racing courses on bullet proof snow actually concentrate on doing just that? That's super weird.

[Conundrum]

The west coast ski scene appreciates big mountain skills. That's why you will see CA racers who can freeski. The Euro guys would never even try. They think big mountain powder skiing is lame. They sit in the lodge all day and go out for their race runs and a few training runs. Obviously the Alps are amazing freesking mountains that produces amazing big mountain skiers, but it's not world cup racers. Those guys are more into moto sports.

I'll defer to your expertise.

[The AD]

Ever wonder why there hasn't been that many elite ski racers from Oregon, Washington, and hell, even BC (the best place for real skiing on Earth)? Are we all just terrible athletes out here?

My theory is that ski racing is just more popular in areas with less snow and less real mountains to ski on. In those places ski racing becomes more appealing since skiing on ice and/or skiing on a 500 foot hill gets a bit boring after a while, so people race. It's different in Europe because ski racing is such an entrenched and high profile sport.

[Kevo]

Steep and bulletproof…
made to order for racing.

I don't think that it is just bulletproof. Several people have mentioned that the women's GS course snow was inconsistent, grabby and unpredictable.

[fatnslow]

So let me try to understand this. The men and women who make a good living racing courses on bullet proof snow actually concentrate on doing just that? That's super weird.

x billion................Kind of funny a few high school racing washouts talking shit about FIS racers. What's next , talking shit about NBA players who don't want to rat ball at the local Y on their days off ?

[jono]

I'll defer to your expertise.

Like

[altasnob]

My theory is that ski racing is just more popular in areas with less snow and less real mountains to ski on. In those places ski racing becomes more appealing since skiing on ice and/or skiing on a 500 foot hill gets a bit boring after a while, so people race. It's different in Europe because ski racing is such an entrenched and high profile sport.

This. But the PNW used to produce gold medalists. In America, to compete, you have to a) come from an extremely wealthy family, and b) go to one of those private East Coast racing schools, or maybe one in Utah or CO. Whistler is hands down the best ski area in North America, and is next to a major metro area. How many gold medal racers are coming out of Whistler?

I'm just a homer who misses the days when dudes from Yakima, Washington, and Sandy, Oregon, could shock the world and stick it to those uptight Euro snobs.

[Adolf Allerbush]

Rhalves grew up skiing mank in CA surrounded by the Tahoe scene. My brother grew up Eric Pollard at Hood. Pollard was a pretty good racer. Not US Ski Team elite but one of the better racers in the PNW in his youth. Jon Olsson comes to mind as someone who could do it all. I've never been impressed with the clips I've seen Bode Miller try to ski powder.

IMO being able to ski the ice back east is a big advantage for the US ski racers...that said Tommy Ford is a solid ski racer...I guess he was born somewhere back east but he's a Central Oregon guy. Shiffrin is from Vail, CO but did ski in Vermont for quite a while. Bennett is Tahoe I think...Wiles and Winters are from Oregon. Could go on. Bill Johnson (Oregon), Tommy Moe (MT), Mahre bros (WA), etc.

ETA: I see you're talking current crew of racers. I'd argue there are a bunch from out west still. Bennett just won a DH race not long ago.

[SumJongGuy]

They all race on manmade injected bulletproof for FIS events so once they get past the Jr USSA and local bump race team stuff they're all training thousands and thousands of hours on pretty much exactly what we see in China this month.

[The AD]

I'm just a homer who misses the days when dudes from Yakima, Washington, and Sandy, Oregon, could shock the world and stick it to those uptight Euro snobs.

That was cool, but part of what made it cool is that it was so rare. Now the U.S. has the two most decorated female skiers of all-time with Shiffrin and Vonn, plus Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, etc. on the men's side.

[fatnslow]

This. But the PNW used to produce gold medalists. In America, to compete, you have to a) come from an extremely wealthy family, and b) go to one of those private East Coast racing schools, or maybe one in Utah or CO. Whistler is hands down the best ski area in North America, and is next to a major metro area. How many gold medal racers are coming out of Whistler?

I'm just a homer who misses the days when dudes from Yakima, Washington, and Sandy, Oregon, could shock the world and stick it to those uptight Euro snobs.

Outside of the Mahres no real sustained success from NW skiers. Bill Johnson won all of 3-4 races before flaming out and Debbie Armstrong won a medal but no real sustained success.

[Benny Profane]

So let me try to understand this. The men and women who make a good living racing courses on bullet proof snow actually concentrate on doing just that? That's super weird.

There was a Swiss racer who was in the top ten a lot back in Tomba's time that I read actually refused to ski bumps, probably because he couldn't. Forgot his name.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

There was a Swiss racer who was in the top ten a lot back in Tomba's time that I read actually refused to ski bumps, probably because he couldn't. Forgot his name.

That was super insightful.

[Benny Profane]

That was super insightful.

I think you'd be surprised how many racers suck at all mountain skiing. Not saying all, but, they spend all their time training in gates.

[Dee Hubbs]

The Downhill Gold medal is pretty elusive.
Since the first Winter Olympics in 1948 (20 Olympic Games ago) only 6 Nations have won the Gold Medal, with only 8 nations ever standing on the podium.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

I think you'd be surprised how many racers suck at all mountain skiing. Not saying all, but, they spend all their time training in gates.

Wow. Stop me if I posted this already but that's super weird.

[fatnslow]

I think you'd be surprised how many racers suck at all mountain skiing. Not saying all, but, they spend all their time training in gates.

IDK, ALL the best skiers I know and have skied with came from racing background. I think their once was a guy named Doug Coombs who might have raced at one point in his collegiate life. If one's goal is to make the US ski team it would kind of make sense to train as much as possible.

[Benny Profane]

But, the thing is, the successful ones don't make that transition, and spend even more time training, training, training.

[SirHeady]

Watching the late dh runners on replay now.

Olympic thought:

Man, these are The Most Interesting Men In The World.. I mean, these guys from Israel or Bolivia suiting up, putting a pair of 220s on, and holding it together at 70mph running this DH 4 seconds off the pace. They’re in the back seat, they’re catching an edge, it’s life and death. This is a remarkable fucking thing.
Hat’s off for all that. That shit is rad, those guys are fucking rad.

TBH the most interesting part of the games is watching the dudes from obscure skiing countries like Pakistan or Bermuda negotiate DH or GS....some of the guys on the lower end of the spectrum are far worse skiers than the avg mag

[The AD]

But, the thing is, the successful ones don't make that transition, and spend even more time training, training, training.

At some point they're going to retire from elite racing, though. Either they quit skiing entirely--and I'd imagine many do--or they free ski and I'm pretty confident the skiing skills they acquired during their racing careers are transferable.