I just browsed through our old posts and bumped into these two about one of my all-time favourite skiers, Eric Pollard:

Ski Movie Review: Idea by Poor Boyz Production and Erik Iberg

and

Eric Pollard for President!

Eric Pollard, source: www.biglines.com

If you are bored and want to get some kicks for skiing, check out the clips on these older posts. (Ps. the Primus song on the “Focused” clip also kicks ass)

I also found another great edit of Pollard on YouTube, taken during last year’s Idea movie, consisting of the best excerpts of the man himself in said flick. Check it out:

I guess I just like the “mellow” approach Pollard has towards skiing and tricks. Also, at the age of 35, I often find myself pondering the risks of park skiing and jumping in general. But after watching this clip, all I can say is that if I can ever pull off a 360 as stylishly as shown at about 1:36 in the clip, it is worth all the effort. Pollard’s smooth style and attitude also makes me think that it is all right to backtrack when the conditions are not optimal (at this age especially). In the end the best skiing is not “competitive” or “charging” but creative, fluid and all about having fun, IMHO, and the kind of skiing shown in these clips fits that bill perfectly (again IMHO). Also, it is not about going for the biggest but finding your own way to do things and letting your personality and style show in your skiing.

That said, it is almost ironic that Pollard is a former racer who has a rock-solid basic tehnique -  after accomplishing that it is definitely much easier to add your personal approach and style. Not many people ski like him but that is probably just because not that many people actually can?

Anyway, I’d like to see more of this kind of skiing around. And every time I view this stuff I want to buy a set of rockered skis and try some new, silly things on skis. They say an old dog doesn’t learn new tricks but you can always try, right?

Edit:
Bonus clip…this is partially the same material as the earlier ones. But the song (Death Cab For Cutie- “Soul Meets Body”) and the footage, oh man…I have to quote YouTube commentator “nickandstu”, “no one can ski like him. no one can make you so chilled from just watching”. What can I say? I don’t like to admit to being a fanboy but I agree with that statement 100%…