Fast and furious

I was lucky enough to be here in Sun Peaks between March 4th and 7th to watch the 2010 Subaru Velocity Challenge FIS World Cup of Speed Skiing, the only speed skiing race in North America.

Simply put: It is the fastest non-motorized sport on earth, and it was one of the wildest sports events I've ever witnessed.

Forty of the fastest skiers on the planet from 9 different countries came to Sun Peaks to try to exceed their limits. We are talking about guys like Simone Origone, who owns the speed skiing world record, reaching an unbelievable record of 251.4km/h on a pair of skis!

Watching them preparing their gear was a show in itself! They wear tight rubber suits, Darth Vader helmets and wax their 240cm skis for several minutes non-stop.

But the best part of the show of course happened at the steep, icy and treacherous Headwalls Speed Track. The 300 meters long course has a pitch of 38 degrees, making the skiers accelerate from 0km/h up to 175km/h in 7 seconds! And that is the easy part, the tough job is stopping from 175km/h to 0 in another 7 seconds... 

Watching the skiers up close by the fence was an amazing experience, the sound they made while passing was similar to a sports car on an autobahn. Just incredible!

Just like normal skiers, speed skiers are also prone to crashes, and when this happens it's really scary to watch. I witnessed two of them, and also a near crash followed by an unbelievable recovery. I've got to say that for a few seconds my heart jumped to my mouth. Fortunately, the netting slowed the skiers down and the medical team was ready and close to the crash. And in the end it was not really serious and all the skiers had confirmed their presence in next year's Velocity Challenge.

Thanks to John, Mike and all the Velocity crew and volunteers for the all the information you gave me and for letting me watch the race really close to the course. And congratulations to all the racers, you guys are impressive skiers and provided such a wicked weekend!

Thiago,
the Snow Bum