AI Running Excellence: Achieve Race Preparation with RunBox

Before the snow season ends, let's quickly catch up on some lessons!

Today, Guanguan wants to talk to everyone about...

"How beginners can navigate a ski resort, which feels like a human roller coaster,

with grace and composure for an entire day."

For beginners, the most important thing is to always remember ski safety. Skiing speeds can reach over 100 kilometers per hour. Whether someone crashes into you or you crash into someone else, it's a significant disaster, so maintaining a sense of awe is crucial. Please pay attention to the following four points to spend a graceful day at the ski resort.

First, learn to brake. Without basic braking skills, you will become a despised "torpedo," rushing straight down with a look of despair, shouting "Get out of the way, I can't brake," with piercing screams echoing over the slopes. Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, you crash into someone or a barrier, get carried away by patrollers, and have to cover your face to avoid being photographed. So, the first thing to learn in skiing is speed control and braking. For details, see the skiing techniques chapter in this book.

Second, know your limits. Challenging slopes you can't handle without guidance, venturing into forests alone without prior experience, daring to ski moguls without instruction, or attempting jumps and cliffs without mastering the basics. Many such accident stories circulate in the skiing community, as seen in Huang Zhenli's articles about various bone-breaking incidents. I once visited Jackson Hole, the top-ranked ski resort in the U.S., and hovered around the famous Corbets Cliff before deciding not to jump. I probably never will because the technical requirements are too high. Compared to boasting about a cliff jump, preserving my legs to ski beautiful resorts worldwide is far more valuable.

Third, don't chase speed. Some people, feeling confident in their skills, start seeking the thrill of speed, using mobile apps to record their descent speeds—80 km/h, 100 km/h, 120 km/h! Then they brag about it. We are not athletes; we should compare our form, the number of resorts we've skied, and who has the better gear and outfits. Chasing speed puts both yourself and others in danger.

Regarding speed control, my advice is to ski at a comfortable pace. Your body will tell you what speed feels right. There's no need to compare with anyone or catch up with your companions. Snowboarders shouldn't compete with skiers on speed. As you accumulate more ski time, your speed will naturally increase. Skiing at your maximum speed is unsustainable; it's best to attempt it only once or twice under ideal conditions (refer to my Yabuli B-cable skiing experience). For everyday skiing, using 60-70% of your maximum speed is sustainable, as speed is just one aspect of enjoying skiing.

Fourth, always wear protective gear. Helmets are a must, and many ski resorts now prohibit those without helmets from taking the lifts. Some might argue that foreign resorts don't have strict helmet rules because people there grow up skiing and generally have higher skills; the snow is thicker, providing more cushioning in falls; and the resorts are larger with fewer skiers per unit area, reducing collision chances. In domestic resorts, skier density is higher, so even if you don't fall, you might get hit by someone else. Additionally, the artificial snow is harder than several meters of natural snow, despite advanced snowmaking technology. On the bright side, modern helmets are lightweight and stylish, serving as both warmth and decoration.

Other protective gear includes shin guards for skiers, and hip, wrist, and knee guards for snowboarders. While skiers rarely fall once proficient, falls can be severe, making chest and back armor effective. For snowboarders, with both feet bound and balance taking time to master, falls are more frequent. Protective wrist and knee guards help when falling forward, and hip guards help when falling backward. If necessary, you can also wear armor. Once you reach a certain skill level, you can decide whether to continue using protective gear.

Allow me to disdain a certain type of person: those who don't exercise regularly, are physically weak, and lack skiing knowledge. On a whim, they head to the ski resort in a coat and jeans, without hiring a coach or consulting experienced friends. Seeing others ski well, they line up for the lift to the intermediate slope, only to be stunned at the top, unable to brake. They recklessly speed down, ending up bruised and battered, then go home to post on social media about how terrifying and dangerous skiing is, vowing never to ski again.