Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters
A combination photo shows Lotte Smiseth Sejersted of Norway crashing during the women's Alpine Skiing World Cup downhill race at the Rosa Khutor Alpine resort in Krasnaya Polyana near Sochi, Russia, Feb. 18. Sejersted was not injured in the crash. Rosa Khutor will host the men's and women's alpine skiing events at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Seeing pictures of skiers wiping out like this makes me cringe given that their bindings are adjusted very tightly so as not to release easily. I can only imagine the punishment a ski racer's legs...and other body parts for that matter...could potentially take in such a fall.
Full story: Vonn clinches title, Hoefl-Riesch wins downhill
Related content: The Week in Sports Pictures
Arno Balzarini / EPA
First-placed Fadri Casty, pulled by Bergonzi, center, competes during the Skijoring Grand Prix Credit Suisse race on the frozen Lake of St. Moritz, during the first weekend of White Turf races in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Feb. 5.
According to whiteturf.ch:
Back in the days of the first skijoring race in 1906, many things were quite different to today. The race followed a route by road from St. Moritz to Champfèr, and the participants did not start all together, but individually at one-minute intervals. Philip Mark, President of the Alpina Ski Club, and his Irish chestnut gelding, Blitz, were the fastest, taking 20 minutes and 22 seconds to complete the almost ten kilometre stretch. Ever since skijoring was transferred to the racecourse, it has been run like any other horse race – in a group, horse against horse, skier against skier. This demands a great deal of skiing prowess on the part of the athletes, as well as firm control of their four-legged partners.
Read more: History of skijoring in St. Moritz
Alessandro Della Bella / EPA
Skiers enjoy the view of a sea of fog on top of the Weisshorn mountain, at an altitude of 2,653 meters in Arosa, Switzerland on Monday. Heavy snow and a severe cold snap have killed at least 36 people across eastern Europe and many areas were under emergency measures, as schools closed down, roads became impassible and power supplies were cut off.
Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
A combination of six pictures shows Norway's Tom Hilde crashing during the final of the first event of the 60th four-hills ski jumping tournament in Oberstdorf, December 30, 2011. Austria's Gregor Schlierenzauer won the competition ahead of his compatriots Andreas Kofler and Thomas Morgenstern.
Daniel Karmann / EPA
Norway's Tom Hilde is stretchered away following a crash during the second round, at the Schattenberg ski-jump at the 60th Four Hills Tournament in Obertsdorf, Germany on Friday.
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John G. Mabanglo / EPA
Patrick Thaler of Italy (R) reacts into the videographer's lens in the finish area at the Men's Alpine Ski World Cup Slalom race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, Dec. 8 2011. Thaler placed seventh in the race.
I can't tell if Thaler is unhappy, or if this is just another example of showboating for the camera. In any case, Ivica Kostelic of Croatia settled a score with a course that's given him quite a few scars.
Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters
A freeride skier carves his way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.
Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters
Freeride skiers carve their way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.
I don't think of myself as someone who is scared of heights, but these pictures definitely make my feet tingle with the thought of skiing down a steep slope full of rocks! It is quite impressive how this photographer managed to balance his camera(s?) and ski poles, and still made it to the bottom to transmit his pictures.
Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters
Freeride skiers carve their way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.
Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters
Freeride skiers carve their way down a steep slope of crushed rocks, in the western Austrian village of Haiming, about 28 miles west of Innsbruck on Nov. 30, 2011.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Freeskier Ted Davenport of the United States launches off a drop during the World Heli Challenge Extreme Day at Mount Albert on Minaret Station in Wanaka, New Zealand on on Aug. 1.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Ted Davenport crashes after launching off a drop.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Ted Davenport lays on the ground after landing a drop and breaking his leg. Medical mountain guides rushed to assist him.
I've been trying to track down information on the injuries sustained by freeskier Ted Davenport following his crash at the World Heli Challenge in New Zealand.
Yesterday Davenport tweeted:
@helichallenge went off on day1 freestyle. tomro is BigMt day!!! (and snow is EPIC)
and today snowboarder Maria Kuzma tweeted:
Fingers crossed @davsport is okay after his gnarley crash @helichallenge Mt Albert today. Sounds like fractured tib & fib heal fast buddy
Read more about Davenport's previous exploits at his personal website.
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AFP - Getty Images
Croatian ski fans wearing only underwear ski on Sljeme mountain near Zagreb, on March 22, 2011. Dressed only in underpants - fans of skier Ivica Kostelic chose this way to celebrate Kostelic's overall winning in men's alpine World Cup.
PETR JOSEK / Reuters
Simon Ammann of Switzerland and Austria's Martin Koch (R) walk down the stairs for their practice jump on the Large Hill HS134 at the Nordic Ski World Championships in Oslo, March 1, 2011. Picture taken at a tilted angle.
Olivier Maire / AP
The Google Street View snowmobile takes pictures of ski slopes for Google's Street View in front of the Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland on Feb. 21.
Olivier Maire / AP
The Google Street View snowmobile takes pictures of ski slopes for Google's Street View in front of the Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland on Feb. 21.
Yes that's right, Google Street View is no longer confined to the street. Here's a Google video explaining more:
Street View is now on the ski slopes!
Pawel Ulatowski / AFP - Getty Images
Polish Catholic priests warm up on Feb. 12 ahead of the 14th Alpine Ski Championships for clergymen in Wisla, southern Poland.
Pawel Ulatowski / AFP - Getty Images
Priests limber up before taking to the slopes.
Pawel Ulatowski / AFP - Getty Images
A priest puts on his ski boots.
Pawel Ulatowski / AFP - Getty Images
Priests take to the slopes.
Pawel Ulatowski / AFP - Getty Images
A priest competes in the 14th Alpine Skiing Championships for clergymen.
I've hunted high and low for more information on this very special event, but all I can find is this tantalizing snippet from thenews.pl:
Skiers in clerical collars are out in force this weekend in the resort of Wisła in the Beskid Mountains for the national skiing championships for priests.
The leaders of the faith compete for the Pope John Paul II Cup in several Alpine disciplines, the main of which [sic] is the 800-metre-long giant slalom.
The tradition of such events goes back to the early 1980s. Click to see more of today's best images.
Liu Jin / AFP - Getty Images
Kazakh podium assistants stand before the awarding ceremony for the men's and women's alpine skiing downhill event of the 7th Asian Winter Games at Shymbulak Alpine Sport Resort in Almaty, Kazakhstan on January 31, 2011.
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