04 Effort

One of my longer-term goals in alpine sport is to accomplish almost everything by doing practically nothing.

Power is derived through dexterity, finesse through engineering.

There is more than one way to bend a ski.  Perhaps the most effective is to use subtle movements, which allow the ski design, in combination with its forward movement, and the plastic nature of the snow, to bend the ski into reverse camber.

Or, you can set an edge and stomp on it.  Or pivot the ski and skid it.

Either way, each ‘turn’ presents the skier with the opportunity to engage with the energy present in the system, partially defined as PE=MGH.  The options then, are to stand in conflict with this energy, or to harness it.  The former will fatigue, the latter, exhilarate.  Either way, the initial ‘work’ done by the ski lift will be ‘undone’ by the skier by way of their downhill progress.

When a skier uses less effort to engage the ski, there is greater physical reserve available to use the energy stored within the ski.  ‘Proper’ gear configuration will allow a skier the option of skiing well with minimal effort, but will not guarantee that outcome.

Effort, of course, can only be truly quantified by its total absence.

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