I was watching the men’s Downhill last night, and I didn’t see one pole plant. Other than at the start, what use are the poles in this event? They’re either tucked or flailing out at the sides. Why not chuck them right after the start? The only thing that seemed to makes sense is that they somehow help with balance… similiar to how a cheetah uses it’s tail to facilitate quick changes in direction during a sprint.
Yes, even as just a novice skier myself, I can still testify to their usefulness in increasing my angular momentum in a turn. One might as well tell the high-wire artist that he could get across the ravine much quicker without his long pole.
Ski poles don’t do much to slow you down, so there’s no real reason to get rid of them. They’re bent to conform to the body in the egg-shell position, so wind resistance isn’t an issue.
Ski poles are useful for timing turns, even if they don’t actually stick in the ground, and I’m quite sure comfort is a big issue as well.
I grew up on skis; YMMV.
I’m not sure they have enough mass or length to make significant angular momentum. I just think if they all dumped the poles, you’d have to either send someone down slope to retrieve them or let the last guy steer his way around several dozen discarded poles.
Poles are pretty good at it, that’s why. The Swiss and the Scandinavians are even better.
Sailboat
Nowadays, no they wouldn’t; one’s arms would have a greater effect in terms of that.
I don’t know how to articulate something like this very well: using the poles just makes it easier. One doesn’t need them, in some sense, for any type of skiing, really. What they do is help with timing, posture, & technique, and after spending a lifetime w/ them, it’s very uncomfortable to not use them. If they were a significant hinderance, they might be jettisoned; however, they aren’t a hinderance. There’s no reason to dump them.
Here would be a related question:
Is a skier allowed to race with no poles or can s/he finish the race after losing a pole on the run?
I thought even a light pole would help lower one’s center of gravity and hence maintain one’s balance. The physics to prove or disprove this is beyond my current abilities. However in lieu of a rule requiring use of ski poles their continued use would tend to prove my hypothesis.
I think it’s for emergency balance/misstep recovery. If you have some random misstep hurtling downhill at 70MPH, a well-place swing or plant of the pole can make the difference between a bronze medal and a lifetime on a ventilator.
But can you actually plant a pole at 70 mph? It seems all that would accomplish would be to rip the pole out of your hand.
I had a look at the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) rules.
http://www.fis-ski.com/data/document/equipment0506.pdf]They say (NB PDF file) :
Very helpful :rolleyes: But I don’t believe you have to have them. AFAIK you are not penalised for dropping them. (I have competed in a few slalom and GS races and never saw anyone DQd for this.)
As for why you need them - well, from my point of view, even if you don’t actually use them, they are nice to have. If you catch an edge or go off balance, you can jab out a pole and gain vital support, quite apart from the use to initiate turns etc.
Oh darn. Must preview. That PDF link in full.
Also, don’t they use them to push off at the start of the race?
Yeah, I said that in the OP.
The reason that made me think if this question was the one skiier I was watching (couldn’t remember his name) who lost his grip on his pole earlie on, and lost some time having to regrip it. Then I thought-- sheesh, you’re not even using the damn things, get rid of them!
I guess I can understand the “emergency situation” thing, but snowboarders get along just fine without them.
They wouldn’t work on a snowboard, either you’d have to have you’re whole body twisted or they’d wind up either infront of the board (and the other behind) or planted IN/ON the board.
But some other balancing mechanism could be envisioned if poles don’t work.
Now, I’ve done plenty of skiing and snowbaording recreationally, I can see the definite benefit for ski poles in that world. But again, none of the explanations seem to make sense. Has anyone ever competed without poles? Given the lengths to which aerodynamics are considered, there has to be a very good reason.
That’s a good point, to which I would say snowboarders have both feet fixed on the board, which means that in a wipeout they have less chance of independent leg torsion or taking a nice long tumble down the slope. One thump and it’s all over, for better or for worse. Also… snowboarders generally don’t go as fast as competitive downhill skiiers, do they?
I’m not a very good skier, but I could see several times Sunday where the skier took the wrong line on part of the course & went flying too high & a bit out of control - you could see them flailing their arms & poles to try to regain balance - and it worked. I knew exactly what they were doing - I get out of control easily & the poles do help, exactly as SentientMeat points out, like a tightrope walker’s pole helps him.
But how much do the poles, as opposed to the arms, have to do with this? Modern poles weigh next to nothing-- I’ve never heard of poles being rejected for being too light.
Right. Tightrope walkers use long and heavy poles to help them balance. The modern ski pole would seem scarcely more effective than a fly swatter to a tightrope walker.