
Have you ever been ripping down the mountain at high speeds and thought something along the lines of “wow, I must look/sound really cool and fast right now”? Chances are you didn’t actually look that cool. Maybe you made some good carves and got some attention, but you probably didn’t make anyone say “holy sh*t, that guy is going so damn fast” (unless you’re a professional, or just really good. Some of you may fall into this category, so don’t take the previous statement too seriously).
If, however, you were to be a speed skier, shooting to break records, you’d probably get a bit more attention. Professional speed skier Marc Amann certainly falls into that category, skiing at speeds up to 242 kmh (~150 mph).
Do yourself a favor and track your speed next time you go skiing. Try to go as fast as you can while staying in control (THIS PART IS VERY IMPORTANT. STAY IN CONTROL, KNOW YOUR STOPPING DISTANCE, AND DON’T DO THIS IN SLOW SKIING OR FAMILY SKIING ZONES. DO NOT SKI OUT OF CONTROL). What speeds did you reach? 60 mph? Maybe closer to 70mph? World Cup skiers are reaching around 80mph on downhill runs. Try to imagine more than doubling that. That’s getting close to how fast speed skiers are going.
They’re going fast enough to sound like a full blown jet while ripping down the mountain. Don’t believe me? Here’s a video.
Also, in case you’re curious what it looks like to be going that fast, Marc Amann shared his crazy POV in another clip. It’s… not an incredibly comforting point of view. It definitely doesn’t make me think “hey, I want to give that a shot.”
Related: Speed Skiing World Record Broken @ 158.76mph
Image Credit: Marc Amann via TikTok