Shredders have better vision

[bushwacka]

...and I am not talking about how well that can pass an eye exam, although I am willing to bet great skiers will usually have great eye sight as well. I am talking about HOW they see things. When a skier looks down a slope and sees  piles of snow, bumps, ruts, ice, trees, cliffs , crud, powder and all of the above, they start thinking of what they can not do and what they need to avoid. The shredder thinks what they can do, and how they can make what nature and the skiers before them have given them to work to their advantage. Instead of avoiding the bumps, the shredder use its to launch over the ice patch. While others go around the cliff, the shredder knows that there is great snow above and below it. What its comes down to is the shredder's confidence in themselves and also their optimistic outlook on skiing conditions. The ability to look at whats in front of you and not only to think of all the creative ways to ski it but having the skills to accomplish that is one of joys of skiing.

 
So are you a shredder or not?

inspired by Ted Shred.

[jim-ratliff]

I think it's all experience.  The person that's run 5 marathons knows a lot more about how to deal with the unique challenges of the next marathon than the person running the first. We learn, primarily, by making mistakes ourselves and by watching and adopting from others.


So you are right about confidence in themselves, but that confidence has to accumulate with experience.  And that is one of the things that I liked when you mentioned taking younger skiers off-piste, but still in a somewhat controlled situation.  You were there to make sure they didn't make really bad decisions while they were gaining confidence to ski like you do.


Paying it forward is a good thing.

[Gary]

Shredder....

Bush...great post. I personally love to play with the natural features of terrain....aim for, go around it, jump over it. Flying down the mountain in high speed arcs is a blast, gravity, g forces and all that....but...takin g my time playing, carving, jumping, smooshing.....the best for me.

I've always told friends I'm skiing with no matter what level....I can find features on a green run to have a blast with. It's all about finding that inner kid...which I find quite easily. It's what's make playing on the mountain fun for me. Off camber banks, high banks, gullies, ...whatever....the more the Shredder...the better...

[midwif]

NOT

[dan.boisvert]

I utterly suck at this.  I've been getting a little better over the past year or so, but that isn't saying much, since I couldn't possibly have gotten much worse.

Interestingly, I'm actually decent at this in a kayak, and people seem to enjoy following my lines through rapids.  I have no idea why I'm so bad at it on skis.  Maybe it's because a lifetime of canoeing and competitive swimming gave me a feel for water that I just don't have for snow.  In any case, it's on my list of things to work on next season.

Any ideas for how to improve this sort of thing (aside from following dudes who are great at it, which I'm already doing) would be awesome!

[meput]

To shred or not to shred, that is the question  .

I look at it as a matter of risk tolerance. We all have a level of risk tolerance as we participate in activities of daily life, including skiing. Dan, you state you are much more aggressive when kayaking because of your lifetime of canoeing and swimming. Your prior experiences shape the level of risk you are willing to tolerate as you kayak  . As Jim implied, confidence increases with experience  . Then, we all have a certain level of risk tolerance that is innate. Guys tend to have a higher level than gals  (sorry Lynn) .

Bottom line: Bush has a high level of risk tolerance due to his prior skiing experience and big cajones (natural inborn risk tolerance & being a guy), hence he shreds 

[jim-ratliff]

I will say that Lynn is bit of an adrenaline junkie -- but not if a roller coaster is involved.

[HighAngles]

My brain still thinks I'm a shredder and likes to attack the mountain as such, but my body is constantly there to remind my brain that it just can't perform at that level consistently any longer.

[bushwacka]

To shred or not to shred, that is the question  .

I look at it as a matter of risk tolerance. We all have a level of risk tolerance as we participate in activities of daily life, including skiing. Dan, you state you are much more aggressive when kayaking because of your lifetime of canoeing and swimming. Your prior experiences shape the level of risk you are willing to tolerate as you kayak  . As Jim implied, confidence increases with experience  . Then, we all have a certain level of risk tolerance that is innate. Guys tend to have a higher level than gals  (sorry Lynn) .

Bottom line: Bush has a high level of risk tolerance due to his prior skiing experience and big cajones (natural inborn risk tolerance & being a guy), hence he shreds 

Sorry I guess the example I used were risky examples. but you can shred with not more risk than not shreding.

IE says you coming up to crud field and from looking ahead and looking for natural terrain features to help you turn.  going though a bump run and find the smooth line and/or using the bumps to you advantage is the same principle. Thats shredding just not at the risky level.

With that said shredders are migrating risk though skill and confidence.

[Gary]

Thansk Max...my wife is giving you high fives...she is also a shredder... she and just this season is looking for features to play on, around and through...not jumping yet....but she's had an amazing break through season.

I just think it's a matter of to what degree if any a shredder lurks within.

It doesn't have to be in the most extreme conditions either...it can be a groomer mid day with piles of pushed around snow, along the edges where that 6 inches of sandy loaming snow screams "come get me"...for us...it's just more ways to entertain ourselves with the gifts the mountain offers up.

G

[midwif]

since the definition of shredder has been modified, the answer to the question is also:



                                               YES

[meput]

Sorry to have waded in to this thread with the risk tolerance thing alone.

I agree with Bush that some individuals have better ability to choose a line ie shred. Line analysis improves with experience. Line analysis and selection does depend on skill set, prior experience, confidence, risk tolerance (sorry) and ability to analyze on the go. The ability to analyze variables on the go can be trained but some people just have a better ability to read and react. Why do some hockey or soccer players have that natural ability to score? They just seem to be in the right position at the right time. More to the point of shredding, why do some skiers and mountain bikers focus on an obstacle (often hitting it) rather than looking beyond the obstacle and safely navigating it? I would suggest their innate ability to read and react/analyze on the go.

... shredders are migrating risk though skill and confidence.

I would modify this as follows: Shredders are migrating risk through skill, confidence and the ability to read and react.

[jim-ratliff]

Iimagine the word should be "mitigating" risk.

[meput]

Jim, you don't need to imagine that mitigate is the word. Mitigate is the more appropriate word .

Shredders are mitigating risk through skill, confidence and the ability to read and react.

Thank you.