Some people just don’t have what it takes to perform at the highest levels of competitive powder 8-ing. Put them in a freshly laden snowfield and the unprepared skier will completely lose his head. All it takes is a couple of face shots for the average lotus eater to become overwhelmed by debilitating euphoria. The resulting mental regression utterly depletes the athlete of any semblance of competitive drive or focus.
Just look at this run. The judges must have been appalled. Rapidly deteriorating synchronicity, lack of symmetry, progressive expansion of turn radii, diminishing turn frequency. They’re not even wearing matching outfits. Pphff!
This clip is a prime example of a powder 8 team succumbing to the lowest base instincts of the powder hound. Surely at the conclusion of this run, or perhaps the following morning, after a night of celebratory reverence in homage to the conditions of the mountain that day, the duo came to from their temporary hypnosis with the devastating realization of their flagrant lapse in self discipline. They could have been champions. Instead they threw it all away for a couple of airs and a few endorphins… Amateurs.