New top speed record, and some shopping to do

Every since I started carrying my GPS with me during ski sessions, top speed data has been an interesting thing for me. Normally I don't set out to register max speed runs, and differing snow conditions make the numbers pretty meaningless, but its still an interesting number to note.

Last year after hitting 52 mph one day, I bought a helmet. The thought of hitting the slopes at highway speeds made me think I needed a brain bucket in a bad way. Well today I was skiing angry, and I hit a new top speed run of 54.7 miles per hour. Nearly the double nickel.

Now before I start getting hate mail about out of control and safety, let me clarify that I only let them run towards the bottom of the slope when there are no others around. This particular run today had a long, flat run out perfect for a speed run. You will also notice on the speed graph that after getting out my frustration in the form of speed, I backed way off the pace and just skied well within my limits.

So why was I skiing angry? Shouldn't I be happy to be skiing on a bright, sunny day when I would normally be working?

Well it would have been a great day, and it ultimately was, but as we were getting a locker to throw stores our shoes, someone jacked my ski poles. Seriously. I had put my poles and Jill's together between our skis, and when we got back someone had sorted our poles out and walked off with mine. They were really nice poles, about $90 retail, and new this season.

Well I was steamed, and unsure of what to do. Should I ski without poles? Should I go try to buy some new at one of the shops? Should I just snowboard instead?

Ultimately I talked to a Copper Mountain host, and they very politely comped me a rental of a set of poles for the day. I was very gracious for the gesture, and skied all day on the borrowed poles before returning them.

So after 2 days at Copper I've put in about 65 miles and 45k vertical feet, and strangely enough my legs are pretty fresh. Tomorrow I'll be faced with the pole dilemma again, and I'm not sure what I'll ultimately do but it may be time for me to snowboard again.

Regardless, I'll be watching SteepAndCheap.com for some replacements...

And here is the speed data from my data today.