Why is self arresting such an important skill for skiers to learn? Because if you don’t learn it, you can end up like this guy.
Stijn de Man shared this video of a pretty nightmarish 1,100 meter (~3,600 feet) slide down an icy ski trail after falling and losing both skis. It’s pretty spooky to see, with him gaining more and more speed until he hits some netting at the bottom of the trail. According to his GPS, he fell while going 55 km/h (~34mph) and reached 82 km/h (~50mph) right before he hit the net.
Also, if you’re wondering why he didn’t self arrest, he says it’s because he didn’t know what it was or how to do it in the moment. Now he says he would have done it if he knew to.
“A friend and I went skiing on a very steep and icy slope (closed the previous day, during which the top layer of snow melted and froze again), I fell and didn’t manage to slow down. I learned my lesson and I hope some of you will too! Be very careful on steep, icy slopes and learn how to self arrest! I got lucky and managed to get away with just a few bruises.“
Related: CONFIRMED: New Ski Jump World Record Set By Ryoyu Kobayashi