Finesse and Power?

[markojp]

"So is Mikeala a power or finesse skier?" "Yes."

 

[James]

Her boyfriend isn’t exactly a finesse skier.

 

[markojp]

Loads of power, but gliding is all about finesse and feel.

 

[Philpug]

I think at the end of the day, I would rather use 'power' and 'finesse' as attributes to types of skiers than to types of skis.

4 pages and we are no further along than where we started. There are no two terms than will work for everyone and I believe these are still the two best.

 

[James]

4 pages and we are no further along than where we started. There are no two terms than will work for everyone and I beleive these are still the two best.

We’ve gone backwards.
If people put this much scrutiny on general english usage the nightly news would be full of word and grammar stories.
Whatever, both types can ski good.*

* the horrible trend to not use an adverb

 

[markojp]

Speaking only for and about myself, ( ), I'd say I'm a physically larger, stronger (5'11", #205), finesse skier who generally prefers more powerful skis.

 

[James]

Loads of power, but gliding is all about finesse and feel.

I agree, but gliding is very little of downhill. Lucky if 10% probably. @Primoz had some statistics on how much time is spent on a flat ski.

 

[Cheizz]

4 pages and we are no further along than where we started. There are no two terms than will work for everyone and I believe these are still the two best.

Welcome to summer

 

[Ogg]

This is an interesting thread, IMO. My two younger brothers are both former comp mogul skiers who were at or near the top of the food chain when they were competing. The older one is definitely more of a power skier. He just bulls through anything. The younger one is more of a finesse skier who looks more like he's dancing through gnarly terrain. They both have an incredible amount of power(and finesse) in their skiing but the younger one just makes it look easier. In competition the younger one was more successful on average but the older one won finals in duals his last year competing. I would be happy if I ever achieved half of either of their skill level but I really strive towards finesse.

 

[ski otter 2]

"So is Mikeala a power or finesse skier?" "Yes."

Yeah, that's a good one.

To me, also a balance, I guess, but I'd say more to the finesse side, a bit: the male skier that most comes to mind, who seems most similar stylewise with her, is/was Jean-Claude Killy. No obvious power moves, nothing extra, very hard to imitate or do an impersonation of her/his style: because there's nothing extra gesture-wise, nothing wasted. With whole body flexibility and versatility. Both look effortless.

(What, three and a half months to go?)

 

[AlexisLD]

4 pages and we are no further along than where we started. There are no two terms than will work for everyone and I believe these are still the two best.

I am still struggling with the usefulness of finesse.

If I am thinking about usefulness, I think power would make it down the list. If someone tells me they are very powerful, I would know which ski to chose between a few. It might not be a necessary question, but it goes with the series of questions about weight, skill, style and speed of skiing. It is all about figuring out how much force you put on your skis to figure out how stiff a ski you should use.

But finesse... I still think of it as not very useful. If someone tell me they are a finesse skier, it doesn't tell me much about which ski they would like. They could be skiing fast or slow, they could be powerful or not, they could be skilled or not, etc. The only thing I could think of is that they they may prefer a slightly shorter sidecut radius to turn more with the terrain, but I would say that longer radius would still be admissible if you achieve finesse through drifting.

So what do you learn about someone if someone tells you they are a finesse skier?

 

[KingGrump]

So what do you learn about someone if someone tells you they are a finesse skier?

It usually just their way of saying they are out of shape without saying they are out of shape.

 

[Philpug]

So what do you learn about someone if someone tells you they are a finesse skier?

They are a little more relaxed on a ski, they will tend to ride a ski verses drive it.

 

[tromano]

It usually just their way of saying they are out of shape without saying they are out of shape.

So power skiers are more weekend warrior types ?

 

[KingGrump]

So power skiers are more weekend warrior types ?

No, some of the so called power skiers falls under what a Taos instructor would commonly termed as very athletic skier.

 

[KingGrump]

What do finesse skiers do if they are skiing at the limit of their control in terms of speed or terrain or both? Do finesse skier ski "on the edge" of what they can control (pun semi-intended)?

A true finesse skier would never get close to being "on the edge of control."

 

[slow-line-fast]

This is an interesting thread, IMO. My two younger brothers are both former comp mogul skiers who were at or near the top of the food chain when they were competing. The older one is definitely more of a power skier. He just bulls through anything. The younger one is more of a finesse skier who looks more like he's dancing through gnarly terrain. They both have an incredible amount of power(and finesse) in their skiing but the younger one just makes it look easier. In competition the younger one was more successful on average but the older one won finals in duals his last year competing. I would be happy if I ever achieved half of either of their skill level but I really strive towards finesse.

It’s hard to define power vs finesse but examples like this are what comes to mind for me. It’s different from skill level, fitness, effort etc.

I think also of that internet-famous short vid of someone following Michaela as she makes a few short turns on soft courduroy. It’s been discussed at length but I don’t have the link at hand. To me that is finesse skiing, a lighter touch with precision. She of course does that at a very high level. And she is also obviously a power skier, and a power+finesse skier, but on that particular run she was skiing more with finesse.

 

[slow-line-fast]

So what do you learn about someone if someone tells you they are a finesse skier?

Among general skiing public, if someone tells me they are a finesse skier, I think they may prefer not to ski as fast and hard as they could, like to really fine tune their balance and touch for the snow conditions of the day, and maybe enjoy some varied terrain and rhythm changes, more a dance with the mountain. For ski selection, one step shorter and/or softer flexing.

If someone tells me they are a power skier, I double check that I have the local SOS number on speed dial…

 

[François Pugh]

The terms are not totally useless.

Life is full of compromises, and sliding scales.

Speaking as a light skier (140 lbs currently, and for most of my skiing life), who used to have freakishly strong legs, but now has normal-strength legs, I cannot (and never could) make a "power" ski or a "charger" ski function well at slow speeds; I need (and needed) a "finesse" ski for that. If you weigh 220 lbs, you won't quite need as much of a "finesse" ski to make it work well at slow speeds. On the other hand, even as a light skier, "finesse" skis just don't cut it at high speeds; there is no way to make a "finesse" ski work well at high speeds and the forces that come with high speeds, even for a 140 lb skier. As an engineer, I reason that the speed and the performance limits on that finesse ski would be even lower for a heavier skier.

If you have a particular purpose/performance in mind, the terms finesse/power can be useful in making up your mind what ski to use for that.

 

[Philpug]

In technique-
Finesse-Skis the fast line slow.
Power-Skis the slow line fast.