How fast have you gone on skis?

[slodave]

speed-o-meter for an iPhone App Dave.

that's very fast, be careful

Alright, I DL'd the app. I'll see what I can do tomorrow...
I'm getting old, so I doubt I'll get anywhere near 75.

P.S. I saw Glen Plake today and even managed to get in front of his camera crew. Pic of Glen and myself when I get home tomorrow.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Take the summit single to the top of whiteface.

Can I borrow your time machine?

[HarryD]

Me, maybe about 50 or so.

But a former co-worker is listed here: Speed Skiing History and Records.

Now that real speed!

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by slodave

Alright, I DL'd the app. I'll see what I can do tomorrow...
I'm getting old, so I doubt I'll get anywhere near 75.

P.S. I saw Glen Plake today and even managed to get in front of his camera crew. Pic of Glen and myself when I get home tomorrow.

An old college buddy of mine and I were skiing some crappy iced out bumps at Holiday Valley New York one cold night about 15 years ago. We had stopped part way down when we suddenly heard some thumping and looked up and saw someone fricking hammering across the tops of these crap iced out bumps at high speed. We followed him down and at the base of the chair realized it was Plake. My buddy had him sign his skiis with a sharpy.

[slodave]

Well, so far I have hit a top speed of 47mph. I will see if I can improve on that.

[t6dpilot]

Dave, Glen Plake? Very cool. Is he still sporting that goof mohawk? He was the schnizzle back when I was skiing a lot. Loved to watch him.

While I liked to ski very fast in my "day," I was more into the steeps and mogul bashing. I have a friend who wanted us to race in a Masters Downhill for amatures. While I had/have the skill, I would have probably scared myself silly. My estimated top speed - maybe 45??

[slodave]

Yes, Glen still has his Mohawk.

update: I just hit 59mph.

[Schumi]

Water ski'd at about 60.

Never really got into the snow ski thing.

Tried snowboarding a few times, spent more time in the clubhouse hitting on chicks than on the slopes.

[Tobra]

Fastest I ever went was from the top of Squaw Valley, old Olympic downhill course, can't for the life of me recall the name of that run, prior to them knocking down the ice skating rink for more parking.

Could not say how fast exactly, much faster than was prudent. Faster than I ever went on a bicycle, and have been north of 40 mph on dirt before, broke my GD cyclo-computer doing that.

I have better judgement now.

[ckissick]

There's a steep run at Mt. Bachelor Oregon that goes uphill at the end. So you can go real fast, but then stop as you go uphill. Makes it a little less scary, however, you get pushed down in the transition from downhill uphill. I was told I went about 55 mph.

[madmmac]

Somewhere north of 80+ mph my friend said before I let loose.

Behind a small drag boat, a dare, a bet and a few beers is all it took.

About ripped my arms out out of their sockets when he hit the throttle to start with.

Blasted by the prop spray I swung out from behind the boat, over the wake and realized that the boat was still accelerating very hard and the water was moving very fast.

Saw my life flash before me once my eyes cleared and let go of the rope. You glide a LONG ways even in water from that speed. The whole thing lasted less than 10 seconds probably.

Yes, I am an idiot.....but I did win the bet!!

[911Rob]

Originally Posted by slodave

Well, so far I have hit a top speed of 47mph. I will see if I can improve on that.

It's OK Dave, don't kill yourself on our account bud.
Just tell them you're dyslectic (47 = 74)
Ha.

[slodave]

Rob, I managed toswitxh it to kph while in my pocket and when I pulled the phone out I read it at first as 77 mph.

My two faster speeds today were 59 and 53 mph. It was not safe to push it any faster. Not a crowded mountain, but enough people to keep it sane.... Next time.

[911Rob]

I'm gonna have to ask my old buddy what speeds he does; I thought he said it was 100Km/Hr, but maybe it was faster? Must've been, because he told us some amazing stories about his wipeouts.

One time a beer company was filming the events and captured his wipeout on film. He was taken to the hospital unconscious and it was a real duzzy with broken ski's and cartwheels. They made a beer commercial out of it he said.

This guy teaches at Silver Star in Vernon and he's a huge guy about 6'6" and weighs in about 260Lbs, they call him Wild Bill and I can guarantee he was one crazy muther when it came to speeding down a hill. Could it have been 100MPH?

Glad to hear you're safe Dave

[slodave]

I'm home.

Can it be??? Who else wears a Mohawk that tall?


Why yes, yes it is Glen Plake.


And here are the two fastest speeds I could post today...

I was hoping to hit the mid 60's, but this will have to do for now
59 MPH


53 MPH


I will try and hit 60+ the next time I go.
The app seems to be pretty accurate.

[Monza_dh]

I've tucked high speed runs straight down the China bowl at Vail and the downhill course at Beaver Creak when it was groomed flat with no one on it. The bowls are fine as there is plenty of room for run off but the trail run scared the crap out of me a few times. I would think I hit somewhere in the 40-50 range with older GS (and long 207's) skis and race boots.

I wish I had an app for that!

I also saw Plake blasting out run after run on a long steep run at Kirkwood years ago. He was a machine. This was his peak mohawk period but he had it pulled down so I didn't realize it was him at first. I kept up for two runs then he crushed me and kept going and going.

[slodave]

I am currently on 184's, Rossi - RPM 17's. I think part of my problem today was my jacket. It's a bit bulk and can't be helping with aerodynamics. The other part were the people all over the nice steep groomed runs.

Originally Posted by 911Rob

Glad to hear you're safe Dave

Rob, I have been skiing for 34 years. I still take risks - Yup, found that out in the X-games superpipe a few years ago and ended my season early... I have been staying away from the terrain parks and sticking with the skiing I know - Steep and deep. Skiing is the one sport that if I died while on ski's, I'd be happy.

Originally Posted by 911Rob

This guy teaches at Silver Star in Vernon and he's a huge guy about 6'6" and weighs in about 260Lbs, they call him Wild Bill and I can guarantee he was one crazy muther when it came to speeding down a hill. Could it have been 100MPH?

It could be. The right clothes, hill...

The current world record is 251.4 km/h (156 mph), held by Simone Origone.

[McLovin]

59 mph, that's insane! Are you catching any air during a run like that?

Where were you skiing today? Looks nice.

[slodave]

I do catch a little air over big rollers, but it's only about 6" off the ground. The worst part about going over about 40, are the little bumps and washboards that you can't see in the shade. Everything looks flat, just keep your balance and let your knees act as shock absorbers.

Here's a nice downhill clip that shows the rollers and how far and the air he catches because of his speed. Unfortunately, the clip also shows how not to cross the finish line.



Here's an actual speed skiing clip (w/accident as well)


P.S. I forgot to mention that we were skiing Mammoth Mountain.

[slodave]

And then there's Plake...