About Me

Hello, everyone!

My name is Alec Heye and I’m a senior at Radford University. I am currently a marketing major on course to graduate in may 2017! For my marketing 388 social media class i’ve been given the opportunity to elaborate on my passion for skiing. Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always had a thing for skiing and really just being on the mountain itself. I was really intrigued by the mountains the second we arrived at the ski resort. I already knew that this was going to be a blast, I just had no idea that I would enjoy everything about it as much as I did and still do. Well, maybe except for the cold that part has never been too enjoyable.

I tried out snowboarding first because I thought it had a much better look to it and most of my friends had already gotten into it.  As I quickly learned, snowboarding has a pretty deep learning curve which resulted in numerous falls and frustration. I decided that maybe snowboarding wasn’t for me so I picked up the skis and fell in love immediately. In my opinion skiing is a much easier alternative to going down the mountain and the motions and techniques seemed to come easily, I was really having the time of my life.

When I was a kid I was always looking forward to going skiing with my family and friends. The excitement and joy that I received through skiing was unmeasurable and it wasn’t even the act of skiing that grab my full attention. The atmosphere that the Ski resorts provided me made me fall in love with being on the mountain. Having the ability to cherish those moments with the people closest to me really made it one hell of an experience.

Since i’ve been in college my friends and I Ski and go snowboarding any opportunity that we get. The past few winters have provided my friends and I with some of the greatest times of our lives. In some aspects Skiing has shaped me into who I am today, the friendships and experiences that we shared will last a lifetime. Skiing is also a great stress reliever for me and has a great effect on clearing my head and really just bringing peace to my state of mind.

In this blog, I hope to share some of the experiences and knowledge that I’ve developed over the years with skiing. Throughout this blog you will find history, techniques, and types of skiing while providing more to view and learn from.

I hope you enjoy the read. thanks!

 

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Ski to safety

Understanding the dangers of the mountains

For my final post this wintermester I’d like to discuss the dangers of the mountain and how to ensure your safety. 

Skiing can be one of the most dangerous sports known to man when you are not being careful. Throughout my time skiing I’ve seen numerous injuries that could have been prevented if they were more careful. Falling on skis is a very normal act and is almost guaranteed to happen from time to time. In fact I’ve actually separated my shoulder from going to fast and falling, all of this can be avoided. I want to give you all some information to avoid any type of injury to happen to you!

EQUIPMENT! helmets are no joke, nor is it uncool to wear one, helmets can potentially help save your life. Mountains can develop ice coats over any of the snow making the surface extremely hard and painful to land on. Gloves are also essential to help fight against frost bite while dealing with frigid temperatures.

STAY IN YOUR LEAGUE!  – This is very important for your safety, going on the wrong course could end up in serious injury! Beginners: Whenever you get the opportunity to visit a ski resort I highly recommend visiting the bunny hill slopes first. I recommend this because it will give you a solid representation of what type of Ski run you should go on. Ski runs are broken down into separate colors to represent the difficulties of the run. 

Green – Intermediate course for beginners 

Blue – For more experienced skiers, requires some skill. These are the most popular and populated courses you can find. 

Black diamond – These runs are for the very skilled and experienced skiers, amateurs will have serious difficulty handling these runs, big mistake for most!

Double black diamond – These courses are very dangerous and should be done at your own risk. I would highly recommend anyone who is not highly skilled to stay far away!

triple black diamond – For the daredevils these runs are absolutely insane, the risk of injury is very high and should of course be taken with high caution and patience. Below I’ve included a link to a YouTube video of unprepared skiers attempting this type of course.

I want to make sure that everyone understand how important it is to go for the course that best fits you. A lot of Ski resorts range in difficulties so a blue run at one resort could resemble a green at others, TAKE CAUTION!

When going down any hill and your speed is increasing at a rapid rate, slowly turn your skis inward to resemble a triangle or pizza. This will reduce your speed and allow you to regain your control. Ski from side to side on hills that are too steep for you, nothing is more frightening than losing absolutely all control of your skis. 

Whenever falling when skiing, let go of your Ski poles!! this will help prevent skier’s thumb which is one of the sports most common injuries known. 

USE THE RAIL ON THE SKI LIFT – this is very important to remember because it could potentially save your life. 

GO WITH A GUIDE! – This way you will have a good example to lead on when heading down a hill. This can help you reduce mistakes by going down a run that you have little to no knowledge on, this will help prevent a ton of frustration!

I chose to do safety last because I wanted to show you all the great aspects of skiing before I described the dangers that come with the activity. I hope you all gained some interest on this sport and could potentially give it shot. I hope this last post helped you all understand what you must prepare to do before you decide to go on some of these dangerous mountains.

THANK YOU ALL!!!! – Alec

 

 

 

Snowing For Gold

Skiing in the olympics and other related events.

In this post I’d like to show a little bit about skiing in the olympics and other related events. Skiing has changed drastically over time from its use of transportation into what we consider a sporting activity today. The very first national skiing competition won by Norway took place in 1868 and introduced a new look on skiing around the world.  Both men’s and women’s skiing first had their first Olympic debut in 1936 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany. These were very basic events that only consisted of downhill races for both men and women. Over time the skiing events have transformed into something much more. 

Over time the events have spread out to five separate events, which consist of:

1. Alpine skiing events (racing, obstacles) these events deal with very high speeds.
2. Cross country events (endurance)
3.  Ski jumping (height, distance)
4. Nordic combined (consists of team ski jumping and cross-country events)
5. Freestyle skiing (more exciting segment, tricks and style)

In my personal opinion I think the freestyle is the event that all of you should give a shot! The event itself combines speed and the ability to show off your ariel maneuvers while skiing. The event was first debuted in 1988 during the Calgary games in Canada. This event has become very popular over the past few decades.

World cup competitions are held by the International Ski Federation or (FIS) for short. The FIS is responsible for setting international competition rules and for the olympic disciplines for each event in the Olympic games.  This organization has now spread to 118 national ski associations and is based in Switzerland. 

The next winter olympics are in 2018 and I really hope you all can get a chance to watch the sport in action. I have a lot of faith that most of you will enjoy some of the events if you give it a shot. Watching these events really makes you want to get better and strive to be the best skier you can be!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the read!

 

 

Ski Resorts

Ski Resorts in Northern America

To snowboard or Ski? Blog #4

Snowboarding vs Skiing – How to decide which is the best for you

For this post I’d like to touch up on the similarities and differences between skiing and snowboarding and how to make a decision on what’s potentially best for you. Both of these sports share some similarities, the differences between the two typically determine which one is best for you. 

When first starting out with snowboarding, standing on a board with both feet attached can be troubling and awkward for some. This may take some time to get used to, snowboarding has a pretty steep learning curve and isn’t always for everybody. 

Skiing on the other hand does not have as steep of a learning curve, having the ability to have both legs free allows for better control and balance with your body. Chances are if you ask someone who has tried both which one is easier, that person will say skiing. It is just simply easier to get used to in limited time. In terms of getting around, Skiing is simply just a pain. Having to carry around poles and attempting to handle your skis can be a flat out mess, the ski boots don’t help out too much either. Snowboarding on the other hand is much easier to get around considering you only need to carry one board and aren’t in clunky ski boots. 

Going down the hill is much easier on skis. The movements made while skiing are very leg dependent and can be easily grasped with a decent amount of time depending on the person. Snowboarding on the other hand requires your whole body to provide movement which can cause balance issues for many. For those who struggle with balance issues, skiing is the go to without a doubt. 

Snowboarding has an edge in comfortability in my personal opinion. Once you are used to standing up on the board, it blows skiing out of the water. I say this entirely due to the Skiers boots and ski poles, they provide plenty discomfort for some at first.  

For the adrenaline junkies, Skiing is definitely the way to go if you prefer speed. Given the equal ability, Skiing beats snowboarding virtually every time in terms of velocity. Skiing aerodynamics gives the one the ability to exceed to great speeds. In fact the current world record for top speed on a ski was up to 158.424 mph!!!

Although I prefer skiing and will most likely always stay with skiing, snowboarding has by far the better look. These aren’t facts of course, but I think the younger crowd tends to lean on snowboarding more because it provides more of a “cool” factor. 

At the end of the day both provide so much entertainment for whichever you choose, there is no true winner only personal preference.

Learning gap – Skiing*

Comfort – Snowboarding*

Getting down mountain – skiing*

Speed – Skiing*

looks – Snowboarding*

 

 

 

 

Blog post # 2

Blog Post # 2 – The history of Skiing 

Although the true origins of skiing may be cloudy, it is believed that skiing could have developed as far back as 8,000 B.C! That means that the ski was invented before humans had even developed and utilized the wheel. Skiing was not invented for racing down a snowy hill for the fun of it, skiing was put to use for the means of transportation and survival. The oldest ski artifacts discovered trace back to 6,000 BC where fragments of skis were found in Northern Russia by an archeologists by the name of Grigoriy Burov in 1960. Skis were a very important asset that the people used during this time, skis allowed the people to cross over frozen bodies of water to hunt for food and gather goods. This also gave the people the opportunity to travel from point A to point B in the harshest of times. 

In terms of the sport, skiing really began to take shape in the 1760’s in Norway. The norwegian army held trail and competitions that ranged from skiing down slopes, around trees, and other obstacles. These races led to the early development of sport of skiing and what we see today. More and more civilians throughout Europe began to put their skills to the test and try out skiing. In the late 1880’s we witnessed a huge shift from Nordic skiing (cross-country skiing), to Alpine skiing (downhill skiing) due to the mass appeal and thrill that the transformation provided.

Although the mass love for the popular Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing was the only skiing related event to witness its first Winter Olympics in France, 1924. Alpine skiing had to wait twelve years for its debut in the winter sports in Germany. This event took place in 1936 which was actually the same year that the first ski life was invented.

Skiing in terms of recreational use became very popular around the world during the 1950s and 1960s because of how much more accessible it was to the people. The metal ski was invented in the 1950’s, the ski boot came in the 1960’s which all led to the development of the modern ski and the control it provided for going down the slopes. In modern times there has been many modifications to the ski, most are for preference and comfortability while some provide looks or fashion for the particular person.