Edgework:
Today, the Winter Film Festival goes deep with a series of films, long and short, on powder skiing.
Powder is to skiing what clay courts are to tennis–the purest expression of the sport (downhill competitors might disagree but…still…it’s pretty much the Holy Grail for most skiers).
Several decades ago, a very good friend of mine, who was also an excellent skier and accomplished tennis player, said to me that after 40, you should only ski powder and only play clay court tennis.
He was totally correct.
Both past times require solid, even exceptional technique (by the time you’re 40, you should have under control, right?), effective conditioning that can handle stressful physical situations, and professional level judgment. It also helps immensely if you stay in “the moment” the entire time you’re on the hill or the course.
Besides the incredible tactile sensation and the simply joy of skiing powder or playing clay court tennis, both sports are easier on your body: you don’t have the jarring, knee-and-hip hammering impacts that you get on hard pack or hard courts.
So…with that short briefing, on to the video, this one–“Powderwhore” produced/sponsored by Echoboom Sports, Freeheel Magazine Telemark Skier, and Couloir magazine. The name is a little unfortunate for these PC times but the footage is good (but not high def) and it will get you in the mood. Denoted in the titles as PW05, there might be four others in the series out there. If we can find them, we’ll repost them during the WFF.
See you at the bottom.
Reminder: The Winter Film Festival is now in process. New videos are put up daily at 12:15PM Central/18:15 GMT.
The Fine Print: Embed courtesy of our friends at You Tube, who have an amazingly large collection of great ski videos available for your viewing pleasure. Thanks, guys, for sharing. This post is number 958 for this site. All rights belong to their respective rights holders.