Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas
Objectives: To determine typical speeds of skiers and snowboarders on-piste groomed trails across the United States (US). Design and methods: On-slope speeds of skiers and snowboarders were measured on trails of varying difficulty at 8 ski areas across the US. The trail difficulty designation and sl...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | JSAMS Plus |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696723000145 |
| _version_ | 1827370834037047296 |
|---|---|
| author | Lenka L. Stepan Irving S. Scher Gerhard Ruedl Jasper E. Shealy |
| author_facet | Lenka L. Stepan Irving S. Scher Gerhard Ruedl Jasper E. Shealy |
| author_sort | Lenka L. Stepan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: To determine typical speeds of skiers and snowboarders on-piste groomed trails across the United States (US). Design and methods: On-slope speeds of skiers and snowboarders were measured on trails of varying difficulty at 8 ski areas across the US. The trail difficulty designation and slope were documented for each location where speed measurements were taken. The equipment used (skis or snowboard), whether a helmet was worn, and the estimated ability (determined by the researchers) of snowsports participants were recorded. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the influence of these individual and environmental factors on the speeds of snowsports participants. Results: 4164 speed observations were made between 2004 and 2020 on groomed trails at 8 ski areas representing 5 geographic regions in the United States. Across all observations, the average speed was 34.9 ± 13.6 km/h. The ability of the snowsports participant had the largest effect on speed. Advanced snowsports participants traveled faster (44.5 ± 11.7 km/h) than intermediates (32.4 ± 9.9) and beginners (19.9 ± 7.2). Skiers on average were faster (35.8 ± 13.8 km/h) than snowboarders (33.0 ± 13.2 km/h) and beginner and intermediate snowboarders were slower on average than their skiing counterparts. While the average speeds increased with increasing trail difficulty and slope, the correlation was weak (R2 = 0.15). Conclusions: The ability of the snowsports participant was found to be the most influential factor affecting speed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:28:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b935686ece744eca0efec1d27afabe2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2772-6967 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:28:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JSAMS Plus |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b935686ece744eca0efec1d27afabe22024-01-27T07:01:49ZengElsevierJSAMS Plus2772-69672023-01-012100033Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areasLenka L. Stepan0Irving S. Scher1Gerhard Ruedl2Jasper E. Shealy3Guidance Engineering and Applied Research, 205 NE Northlake Way, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Corresponding author. Guidance Engineering and Applied Research 205 NE Northlake Way, Suite 100 Seattle, WA 98105, USA.Guidance Engineering and Applied Research, 205 NE Northlake Way, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; University of Washington, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Way, Box 352600, Seattle, WA 98195, USAUniversity of Innsbruck, Department of Sport Science, Fürstenweg 185, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaGuidance Engineering and Applied Research, 205 NE Northlake Way, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98105, USA; Rochester Institute of Technology, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 81 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USAObjectives: To determine typical speeds of skiers and snowboarders on-piste groomed trails across the United States (US). Design and methods: On-slope speeds of skiers and snowboarders were measured on trails of varying difficulty at 8 ski areas across the US. The trail difficulty designation and slope were documented for each location where speed measurements were taken. The equipment used (skis or snowboard), whether a helmet was worn, and the estimated ability (determined by the researchers) of snowsports participants were recorded. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the influence of these individual and environmental factors on the speeds of snowsports participants. Results: 4164 speed observations were made between 2004 and 2020 on groomed trails at 8 ski areas representing 5 geographic regions in the United States. Across all observations, the average speed was 34.9 ± 13.6 km/h. The ability of the snowsports participant had the largest effect on speed. Advanced snowsports participants traveled faster (44.5 ± 11.7 km/h) than intermediates (32.4 ± 9.9) and beginners (19.9 ± 7.2). Skiers on average were faster (35.8 ± 13.8 km/h) than snowboarders (33.0 ± 13.2 km/h) and beginner and intermediate snowboarders were slower on average than their skiing counterparts. While the average speeds increased with increasing trail difficulty and slope, the correlation was weak (R2 = 0.15). Conclusions: The ability of the snowsports participant was found to be the most influential factor affecting speed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696723000145SnowsportsSkiSnowboardSpeedHelmetAbility |
| spellingShingle | Lenka L. Stepan Irving S. Scher Gerhard Ruedl Jasper E. Shealy Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas JSAMS Plus Snowsports Ski Snowboard Speed Helmet Ability |
| title | Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas |
| title_full | Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas |
| title_fullStr | Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas |
| title_short | Skier and snowboarder speeds at US ski areas |
| title_sort | skier and snowboarder speeds at us ski areas |
| topic | Snowsports Ski Snowboard Speed Helmet Ability |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696723000145 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lenkalstepan skierandsnowboarderspeedsatusskiareas AT irvingsscher skierandsnowboarderspeedsatusskiareas AT gerhardruedl skierandsnowboarderspeedsatusskiareas AT jaspereshealy skierandsnowboarderspeedsatusskiareas |