Cookie's Corner: Reasons to try the speed disciplines

Cookie’s Corner: Reasons to try the speed disciplines{mosimage}Anyone outside the skiing world who happens to know anything about ski racing always seem to know that there is an event called giant slalom. It sometimes surprises people that it is not the only event in ski racing. Of course if they have ever watched the Olympics, they will almost certainly remember something from a downhill race, like Hermann Maier in Nagano, but they still seem to think that was giant slalom.

When a skier gets the desire to try gates for the first time, or when a youngster is enrolled in a learn-to-race program, they will definitely be first exposed to the event of giant slalom. Even if they would like to call it slalom, they still use panel gates, and it really is a giant slalom.

Giant slalom and slalom are the events most commonly raced outside of the World Cup circuit. From junior racers to Masters, almost every race will be a tech event and then every once in a while a super G will be thrown in, and very rarely a downhill will be offered. Resorts that provide a lane or a run for training will generally only provide enough space for the tech events. They are not wide or long enough to set a course for the faster disciplines. But instead of giving up the idea of running speed, I want to give you 5 reasons why you should make the extra effort to train and race in a speed event.

1.) Extra Confidence The fear of going fast is definitely something that 99 percent of racers have to deal with in skiing. Most people have a comfort zone that they are very happy to stay in. The good news is that comfort zones grows and can grow very quickly. All you have to do is test your limits, and that is easy to do when you jump into a super G course. A super G course has a way of distracting your fear because it is still technical and you mentally have to stay on top of what you are doing.

2.) Working on the small stuff Once you are gain the confidence of going at a super G speed, you will find that it is not much different from a giant slalom. If you are one of those people who have been working on something specific in giant slalom and just feel too rushed to do the task, then super G will give a split second more of time between the gates to work on it. For instance, if you were working on your transition, the transition in a super G turn is longer and more drawn out. You will have more time to work on it, even though you are going faster. Once you get it down in a super G radius, all you have to do is speed the movements up a little bit and you have a GS turn.

3.) Better touch on the snow The faster you go, the more apparent every little bump and roll becomes. If you learn how to handle these bumps at a higher speed, it becomes really easy to do at a slower speed. Super G can also teach you to have a light touch on the snow, cause you don’t always have to pressure so hard. The less you use your edges, the faster you are going to go.

4.) Mixing it up If you ever get tired of doing only slalom and giant slalom, just add super G and downhill to your resume you have instantly doubled your number of events!

5.) The adrenaline rush You wouldn’t ski if you were not seeking some sort of adrenaline rush, which is what the sport is all about. And how many times have you arrived at the bottom of a super G course with a smile from ear to ear saying ‘that was so much fun, I want to do that again.’ While maybe a little intimidating at first, I have never meet someone who has said, ‘I don’t want to ever do that again.’ Everybody seems to love the rush you get once you just try going fast.

So there you have it. The speed events are not just about going fast. They can teach you some very valuable things that can easily be taken back to the tech events. Your skiing will almost inevitably improve and you will certainly have fun at the same time.

Update: For all my concerned fans, I am back on snow and everything feels good. I am going back to Europe soon, so look for me in the San Sicario World Cup race, February 25-27.