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My favourite thing is “carving”, going really fast, and tilting as if I were on a racing track.
Hello to all the Box Repsol fans!
I’m back on the Repsol Team Blog to tell you more about some of my favourite hobbies that you may not be aware of. The thing I like to do most in winter is to go skiing. The first time I ever skied was when I was 18, when I was recovering from an ankle injury. I went to the French Pyrenees with a personal trainer and some friends. Given my injury, they suggested I try cross-country skiing. I really enjoyed the experience and a year later I started alpine skiing.
To be honest, at first I found it hard because the cross-country skis I used were long and thin, and had very little grip. I couldn’t carve (shifting the ski to one side on its edge to turn) to take the bends and I couldn’t go fast, which is what I love. With alpine skiing it was completely different; I found it really easy. On the second day I was already carving and leaning like I do on the bike!
Now I’m the one teaching my brother to ski. When I watch him it makes me think of how my friends must have laughed at me when I started out. When you’re learning, you eventually end up covered in snow and it’s just hilarious. I’m also one of those people who likes to ski in a group. When you have company there’s always something new to tell and it’s much more fun.
Something I always remember is when I was skiing in Verbier (Switzerland). We were minding our own business, going up and down the slopes of the resort. We got off a ski lift at the top where the bar is and we saw lots of skiers dancing in the snow, as if they were at a nightclub. We were baffled because there was no music but they were all dancing like crazy, so we went over to see what was going on. It turns out that they were wearing wireless headphones and there were two DJs. You could take a set of headphones and choose between two types of music, by changing the channel. One was chill house music and the other was disco. It was cool to put on the headphones and see everyone dancing to the music, especially knowing that there were people outside enjoying the sun who couldn’t hear any of it. It was an awesome and really unique experience.
So far I’ve only tried alpine and cross-country skiing. I still haven’t tried snowboarding or ski mountaineering, but I’d love to give them a go. They are different disciplines and give you different sensations, and as you know, I’m all about experiencing new sensations. For now, my favourite thing is “carving” (smaller skis to turn better), going really fast, and tilting as if I were on a racing track. The thing I most enjoy is skiing down a long slope and gaining speed as I go. And if it’s a sunny day, there’s nothing better!
What about you? Do you like to ski? Let me know!
Talk to you soon!
Dani Pedrosa