The Icarus Neurosis

I am a ski fanatic . I now admit it to myself and to others, but for many years I hid this passion ( some would say "obsession" ) !

I have all the ski magazines since the 1970s. Yes all ! In the Summer months I read them and realize how true some of the older articles still are!

Some of you would know a man called Bill Grout. He is a guru in the skiing world and this story is more about the" Icarus Neurosis" and skiing than about him, however it is worth the while to Google his name!

He wrote an article in the 1984 SKIING magazine entitled, "The Merits of Skiing Slowly" !

In short his article goes like this.

His wife skied so slowly that, "Rocky Mountain barnacles would grow on the bottom of the skis" ! Like all husbands he tried several methods to "cure" her of this "poor" skiing behavior,,,never realizing what all husbands discover sooner or later. That is,,,,the women is always right !!!

The article is about how Bill Groot, the publisher, the ski instructor, the ski media man accepted that his wife had a point in skiing S,,,,,,,L,,,,,,O,,,,,W....,L,,,,,Y,,,,,,,,,,,ZZZZZZZZZZZ !!!!!!!!
( I will get to Icarus soon)

Here was his conclusion why we should ski slowly ! ( I add ,,,,,,,,,,,,sometimes)

1. Skiing slowly is good for your technique.

2. Skiing slowly will give you an new appreciation for the mountains.

3. Skiing slowly is safer ( [i]imagine someone saying this in 1987 )

4. Skiing slowly develops patience. ( I call it ,,letting the ski do work ,,,,wait for ski to turn)

5.Skiing slowly makes it easier to meet others on hill.

6. Skiing slowly is an important part of testing ( demoing) a new ski !

And the very last point is the most important one Bill Grout forwards.

SKIING SLOWLY SAVES MARRIAGES !!!!!!

What does Bill Grout's article have to do with Icarus ?
First I assume you know about Icarus,,,,,if not please Google Icarus first!

Most male skiers and some female skiers are like Icarus. They want to go faster,,, higher,,,till they get to their level of incompetence and then go beyond!

The feeling of freedom, of the wind ,,,,of the power ( of those wings) is too much and so 90% of males are doomed for that Icarus fall!

Yes, going slowly some of the time is good ,,if not essential.

I love to soar. I admit that sometimes like Icarus,,I went too far, but I never went over the edge! I always flew with safety in mind. Extra room on both side of slope "if there is a crash",,, ( notice I wrote if ),,,quick set edge just on lip when a steep section was coming ,,(just to see how steep it was ), etc,,,
I also take one hour per day when I ski S......L.....O.....W.....L..Y even when my sons bug me about it!

Try doing a slow slow perfect carve! Really really hard!
Try taking one ski off and slowly skiing with just one ski,,,slowly !!!! Really really hard!!!!
Try lifting that INSIDE ski and putting all the weight (yes 100%) on the inside ski edge of the downhill ski! Really really hard! ( Please no technical debate here)
Try skiing slowly with both boots unbuckled. I am sure knees will shake!

In short,,you budding Icarus wanttobees! Speed is not the way to fly! The sun always wins!
For you older Icarus wanttobees,,,save your marriages.
Slow down. Enjoy the view.

Try this!
Stop at a quiet well wooded part of the ski slope! Ask your wife/girl friend to come closer!
Kiss her!

Then look at her face!

It will shine,,,,then a smile will come over her face!

She will be asking you SOON ,,,when will the next ski trip be!!!!!


Trust me, I tried it ! It works ! That is why now I do at least three ski trips with wife ( at her request). Seems those kisses are better than the wax I apply to make her ski better!

If you can read Bill Grout's article, "The Merits of Skiing Slowly "

Respectfully
Pavel

Pav, I love reading your posts about skiing even though I don't have the faintest clue about it due to being an evil snowboarder. I am not one of your baggy trouser, hang around the park types (well my pants have got baggier over the years), I ride for the speed, the wind in my hair and the sun in my face. If you catch me off the floor, then 99 times out of 100 I have made a mistake.

Don't get me wrong, I see your point, but for me the whole thing is about speed (and control). The idea of having nothing but my ability and the conditions to think of thrills me. I go out on flat light days for this reason, no-one about. I ride out of season, late in the evening, on glaciers and at lunchtime for this reason. Give me a crowded piste in Tignes in December then I'd rather be in the bar. I'm not up there to meet folk, woo my girlfriend, or carve the most stunning s-turns down the hill. I'm up there to put something between me and the rest of this sterile, risk free, mundane society we live in. I know the risk, I don't ignore it, quite the opposite, I embrace it. I want to spend 2000m oF vertical and 14km thinking of nothing other than what I can see 100 yards in front of me. I don't panic on ice, I don't miss a change in the weight of the snow (anymore), I don't look around at the mountains (that's what bars are for) and if the most beautiful woman in the world was up there for me to find, I'd wait till the aforementioned bar before worrying about it.

Before I get a load of nay-sayers talking about the risk to others, I never learn to drive for exactly that reason. I won't do it. Simple.

For me it is all about, steeper, faster, deeper - mainly faster ) I don't want to fly into the sun, I want to slingshot it and come back faster.

Pav,
You have hit the nail on he head again! My OH is a bit timid and slow and this can cause mega frustrations with myself and my two sons that like a blast now and again however, in order to keep the peace we take it in turns to pair up. That means there is always someone skiing with the OH slowly and the other two can open it up. This compromise keeps everyone happy. :D

Tino,

Please do not get me wrong,,,,I am a cruiser looking for that extra speed when I ski alone with no one (or few skiers) in my slope!
I know exactly what you feel. That "on the edge" feeling with your heart in your throat, the thighs straining, the wind playing with your hair, and the skis on the very edge of the "take off" !

Yes I have felt the "free fall", zero gravity plunge! Yes I know that feeling as you go over a lip and there is no resistance, no sound and just your heart going, "bump,,,,bump,,,,,bump,,,," Then the "haaaaaaaa" !

That is why I have some 181 cm. Head Supershapes ! Stable at any speed!

My point in the story was that there is another side to this passion! That sometimes slow has its good points!. Send me your email and I will send you a picture I took at 5 PM at the top of a run. I am sure you will catch your breath! You will understand why stopping "sometimes" for such a view is worth it,,,since that view will last you a summer and many more!
I understand your "passion" and share in it,,,but to do speed you have to know how to 'harness" it! Few do so well!

Keep on soaring!

Pavel

Alistair,

My wife and girl love skiing. Just not my style of skiing!

So we go on ski trips together,,but we rarely ski together. We have accepted that we have different skiing needs and we do not "force" the other to change!

Yes I will do one or two runs with them,,but the I am off to the clouds!

They love to sleep in. I love to be the first on slope!

They love the relaxed slow non-stressful runs. I love the skier free steeper faster trails !

As long as we all love skiing and at end of day feel happy, that is what counts!

My wife is all elegance, perfect carve skiing. I am more the Icarus,,looking for that great up-draft, that lip for take off, that soft snow for that fast carve! I do my best soaring from 8:30 till 11 am. Then when the crowds come,,,,I find narrower trails chutes with less skiers,,yes slower but still,,,,

We have stopped trying to convert each other to "our" skiing! We just enjoy skiing for the inner happiness it gives us!

Hope you and your wife find this "balance" of happiness, respect and yet mutual sharing of the mountain! All I know is that often my wife and girl go off skiing and do not invite me. In the evening all I hear is,,how great the day was! How nice this man was ! How nice the snow was!!!!

Just enjoy each other!

Pavel

Enjoyed this post Pavelski.... its all so true. I am female and have 2 grown up children and a 10 yr old (who skis faster than me now!!) I have skied for 8 yrs and love it so much. I am also a fitness instructor (Aqua, Aerobics) so dont want to go like a lunatic down steep slopes and damage my knees. I really hurt my knee last year just simply skiing along nicely down a red. So now to preserve life and soul i put the breaks on knowing the damage too much speed can result in. Your post was mature, very sensible and its not surprising that TINO11 cant 'go there',,, i suspect he is young ! (Tino11... you lucky devil)
Another reason for going carefully is so you dont injure other , or worse still kill someone. The speed some young lads go at downhill is scary and if there was a little child in the way , god help them......foolish or what?
Take it easy all you young people (especially the boys/young men) ...wiping out a 5 yr old isnt funny...
I have been wiped out by a young male snowboarder who was coming down backwards, and as i went flying i shouted..."Look where you're bloody going...Idiot!!" From then on when i hear that noise of a snowboarder I get apprehensive, keep looking behind and hope they will go away..
...But, boys will be boys!

Thank youTroicana.
Yes I knew you were a women from the picture and the posture.
I also had your skiing competence level down.

You are a fitness instructor so you know that from ONE movement of your client you can tell many things!

Look again at your picture,,,very very carefully. What does it reveal to a trained fitness instructor?

Just enjoy skiing.

As far as "backward skiers ( some do) and boarders,,,,seems in my area there is a "fun Park" where tricks can be done. Free skiers are not supposed to go there! Like you I have met several such animals since we are in the world of "tricks" rather than skiing!

More accidents are coming with the radical "Rockers" ( those skis with raised tips and tails) !

Speed is not just the cause. it is also attitude, inexperience, and yes stupidity and bad manners!

Often I blame the parents who witness this but,,,,,,

Pavelski, "Look at your picture ... . ."
What does it reveal??