Mikaela Shiffrin has long been hailed as the queen of alpine ski racing. With her unparalleled skill and dominance in slalom and giant slalom, she’s solidified her legacy as one of the greatest ski racers of all time. Yet beneath the shimmering gold medals and accolades, there lies a hidden aspect of her career: the ruthless intensity of her sport and the toll it takes on both her body and equipment. Few outside the ski world realize the level of destruction involved in achieving this greatness. Shiffrin’s infamous ability to burn through up to 80 skis in a single season raises unsettling questions about the extremities of modern ski racing—and the dark side of her success.
The Physiology of the Sport: Impalements and Injuries
Ski racing isn’t a sport for the faint of heart. It requires not only a finely-tuned body capable of reaching breakneck speeds but also the mental resilience to recover from inevitable crashes, injury, and even worse—the feared “impalement” by ski poles and gates. In pursuit of that elusive victory, skiers like Shiffrin face brutal crashes, deep fractures, torn ligaments, and the constant threat of impalement.
When a skier is weaving through gates, every movement is calculated, but the slightest misstep can send a competitor flying into the fencing or against a gate pole. The consequences of these high-speed mistakes are often much worse than mere bruising or cuts—they can result in catastrophic accidents like impalements. Though rare, the risks are deeply ingrained in the psyche of the sport’s elite athletes. Shiffrin, despite her prowess, has experienced these accidents firsthand.
In fact, Shiffrin herself has been public about her experience with the perils of the sport. After a horrifying crash in 2016 at the World Cup in Sweden, where she lost control and narrowly avoided impaling herself on the gate, she became more vigilant than ever. The potential for danger is always looming, and as her career progresses, these risks seem to be increasingly unavoidable.
Ski racing is a brutal sport that demands sacrifice—not only in terms of physical strain but the willingness to put oneself at risk of these terrifying incidents for the pursuit of victory.
The Ski Graveyard: 80 Skis a Season
One of the most curious—and controversial—aspects of Shiffrin’s training and competition regimen is the destruction of skis. It’s a well-known fact that elite skiers can burn through a staggering amount of equipment during a season. For Shiffrin, that number is reported to be up to 80 skis per year. While this might sound outrageous, it’s the reality of a sport that requires absolute precision and the constant need for high-performance equipment.
Each ski is custom-crafted to suit the skier’s weight, height, and style, with tiny adjustments made based on the terrain, snow conditions, and the events Shiffrin is preparing for. Ski racers like her put their gear through absolute hell. The combination of high speeds, tight turns, and the sheer pressure of performance causes constant wear and tear, leading to skis breaking, warping, or even snapping mid-race.
While most recreational skiers will make it through several seasons on a single pair of skis, professionals like Shiffrin need to replace them constantly. And it’s not just a matter of simple wear and tear. Ski racing is an aggressive sport, where even the smallest imperfection in the ski can make the difference between winning and losing. Therefore, elite athletes require skis that are perfectly tuned—no exceptions.
This relentless demand for new equipment raises several ethical and environmental concerns. Ski racing’s consumerist cycle, fueled by sponsorships and endorsements, leads to an industry that churns through high-end gear at an unsustainable rate. The environmental costs are stark: piles of discarded skis that cannot be reused, recycled, or repurposed. Many would argue that it’s time to consider the sustainability of such an aggressive system, especially when it seems to revolve more around corporate interests than the real needs of the athletes.
Shiffrin’s Legacy: Glamorizing the Destruction
Despite the controversy surrounding the high cost of equipment and the risks inherent to the sport, Shiffrin continues to garner praise and admiration for her record-breaking performances. But as her legacy builds, questions emerge about the culture surrounding the sport and its glorification of risk. Shiffrin’s success, while undeniable, serves to reinforce the idea that athletes should push their bodies—and their gear—beyond reasonable limits in the name of competition.
While ski racing may be one of the most exhilarating sports in the world, it’s also one of the most brutal. And the narrative around Shiffrin’s dominance, where every win and new ski proves her perfection, might be sending the wrong message to young athletes coming up in the sport. Is the constant push for perfection and speed sustainable? How long can an athlete continue to break barriers when the very nature of the sport is self-destructive?
In the rush to crown athletes like Shiffrin, we may be overlooking the true cost of their success—the physical destruction of their bodies and the wasteful cycle of disposable gear. As the sport evolves, it’s essential to consider whether it’s time for a paradigm shift, where safety, sustainability, and long-term well-being are placed ahead of pushing the limits for the thrill of the chase. Until that happens, we’ll continue to witness the fascinating, yet tragic, paradox that is Mikaela Shiffrin: a champion forged through destruction, on and off the slopes.