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Comment by kolbe | Hacker News Reader

Speed skiers go over 150mph, versus 120 for a flat-oriented free falling person. It's conceivable that orienting yourself to slide down a groomed black diamond ski run could be a winning strategy, too.

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Maybe you should target a steep avalanche terrain with fresh snow. Not only you have a hell of a ride while falling down, you get to enjoy a ride in a snowy feather all the way down the valley! Don't forget to mount your GoPro while boarding!

>Don't forget to mount your GoPro while boarding!

Man, I wonder if we're going to end up seeing someone's free fall smartphone video someday. Not everyone is going to read this article and be prepared to survive like we now are, so what if they decide to use those couple of minutes falling to try to record a message to their loved ones? The audio would be blown out but I don't see why the camera wouldn't continue working. That would be quite disturbing to watch.

Potentially NSFW / terrifying videos:

Multiple gopros record an in-air collision of skydiving planes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p6hqMnsLFY&list=FLR2K9vyQEB...

Tangled chute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIjdvNo65s

I can't find it but I've seen two more videos of people who have survived near freefall after parachuting accidents. One became a paraplegic IIRC.

> Man, I wonder if we're going to end up seeing someone's free fall smartphone video someday.

Undoubtedly, since it has with other kinds of video cameras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFSp-SRGhNs

"I'm dead. Bye." (He was not, amazingly.)

that would speak to the debris you possibly grabbed on the way down. Use that piece of fusilage, seat or luggage as a sled and work those bank turns

I've just got an idea for a new smartphone game! :D

Except then you're stuck in freezing temperature, with what is probably totally inappropriate mountaineering gear and odds are you've got an avalanche to dig yourself out of.

Aim for the bunny hill instead?

Same with MotoGP riders. They basically slide and then they have gravel/sand catches around the turns they are most likely to fall off. Sometimes they tumble. It's not pretty but it does the job most of the time. But, it's also perpendicular. So if you're in a desert, aim for the top of a large sand dune, try to get your perpendicular velocity as high as possible.

> Sometimes they tumble.

As someone who has actually done that, tumbling is really bad. The titanium artifacts in my foot and leg are a permanent reminder of it.

Stick to plain sliding and trust your leathers.

Which is fine, except when the seams split due to the stitching disintegrating, and you end up with a large friction burn.

I needed a skin graft.

Or the jacket double-backing over, exposing the skin. I lost half-pound of skin & flesh to it. Didn't get the graft though.

PS: That's waaay better than tumbling...

What happens if a speed skier tumbles?

Pretty much what you'd expect - massive injuries, sometimes death. Search Youtube for "speed skiing crash" for examples. Sometimes people get lucky and just slide to a stop, depends on how they fall.

Sliding can lead to burns.

No idea, but remember that their speed is parallel to the surface, not perpendicular.

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