Day 44 Downhill skiing and its dangers

I heard today from the Hong Kong newspapers that there was a Queen's College student who went downhill skiing in Korea, hit his head on a skiing post and died. News said that he knew how to ski, but probably not very good at it, he then tried out the advance course and that was when the accident happened.

As you know, from my previous posts, that I have recently grown in love with this sport. But I will have to admit, downhill skiing is actually quite dangerous and can be fatal when a beginner is 'too brave' and tries out the advanced course.



Having skiied only twice in my life, I have tried the advanced course in Lapland and as I was skiing down from that steep slope, I could think of multiple ways of getting myself injured or killed:

1. Other skiiers bump into you at a dangerously high speed.
2. you want to make a turn but lose control, your neck snaps or you crack your head.
3. you lose control of your skiis and bump into a tree, a block of ice or the ski lifts
4. you cannot get off the ski lift or the ski lift in front of you hit you on the head (I am not kidding, the ski lifts I am talking about are those that you wrap between your legs, not those that you sit on.)



So here is a little advice from a beginner like me, to all the beginners out there.

1. Stick to the beginner's course
2. If you really want to do a harder course, go with someone who skiis better than you and is willing to take care of you
3. If you are on a harder course, make sure that you are not going really fast.
4. If you feel like you are beginning to accelerate, intentionally make yourself fall down before it is too late (i.e. when you are at a dangerous speed).
5. Make snow plouge when you ski
6. Know that to be really good at skiing takes time. There was a Swiss exchange student who started skiing when she was 3 years old and probably go skiing every single day in Switzerland, she went crazy fast down the slopes. But beginners beware, don't try to follow the pros!

Well, that is all I have to say, skiing is fun, but sometimes you really have to watch it!

Happy skiing everyone!



By the way, I am heading to LONDON tonight! I am SUPER DUPER CUPER CHUPER EXCITED, WOOOHOOOO.
Oh, and I discovered that my 20-Euro universal adapter BROKE. =.=!
I think I will get an adapter in London.