The best skiers I know are always playing with something. Ask them, "what are you working on?" or similar, and you'll get a pretty clear answer. Watch them when terrain is less challenging. They tend not to waste vertical.... railroad tracks, one ski skiing, switch, etc.... they're almost always inventing new ways to play and feel something in a new or different way. (Show me someone who just straight runs a cat track, and I'll show you someone who's probably plateaued.) Rarely do they ski the same run in the same way day after day. They refine and get better over time, which is why I watch and think, "they're pretty good!"
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We never ever never ever EVER dare to call ourselves a 'great skier' or even 'good' in the PNW.... , matter of fact, if not buoyed with WC Globes, etc.... it generally brings on ridicule, and in 9,999 cases out of 10,000, rightly so. Freeride world champions don't call themselves good. Ingrid doesn't call herself good, nor does Deb Armstrong and other former US Team members who learned to ski and race here. There's not a 'good'* skier I know that would ever claim to be great. I very much doubt if Mikaela would call herself 'great'. I imagine she probably says, "I felt pretty good today", but you'll note the transitory nature of the statement. 'Good'? That's for others to attribute. A bit of humility is a 'good' thing. If you aren't seeing some folks as good as you on the hill, you need to find a bigger pond, put up some video for affirmation, or go ski with Tobin out at Mt. Washington. He's good.
